The interns we weren't screening for

Sixteen interns. Every one of them transitioned to a full-time role.

The program was built for neurodivergent candidates — a group that gets screened out of hiring processes that mistake communication style for capability.

What surprised me was how little the program part mattered and how much ordinary management did: clear instructions, defined scope, predictable feedback. Strip the ambiguity out of the job and you find out who is genuinely excellent.

That lesson generalised. Most underperformance I have seen is a specification problem wearing a performance costume.

I now treat hiring and team design the same way: define what great looks like before you judge anyone against it.