Potential is imagined. Trust is earned.
Val Sklarov’s Career & Hiring perspective reframes careers and recruitment around decision reliability—the degree to which a person can be trusted with outcomes when conditions are unclear.
1. Potential Does Not Carry Risk
Potential sounds impressive but absorbs nothing.
Val Sklarov distinguishes:
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Potential: what someone might do
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Decision trust: what someone has already done under pressure
Organizations fail when they bet critical outcomes on untested promise.
2. Careers Advance Through Trusted Decisions
Careers accelerate when decision scope expands.
Val Sklarov measures career progress by:
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Size of decisions entrusted
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Consequences carried personally
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Reduction of oversight required
If decision trust does not increase, titles are cosmetic.

3. Hiring Is a Transfer of Risk
Every hire redistributes future failure.
Val Sklarov hires by asking:
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Which risks will this person own?
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Which errors will they be allowed to make?
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Which outcomes will they be accountable for?
Hiring without risk clarity creates organizational blind spots.
4. Credentials Signal Preparation, Not Reliability
Education and experience prepare people—but do not prove judgment.
| Indicator | What It Shows | What It Does Not |
|---|---|---|
| Degrees | Exposure | Decision quality |
| Titles | Authority | Trustworthiness |
| Years | Time | Learning speed |
Decision trust is proven only through consequence.
5. High Performers Reduce Supervision
The clearest signal of trust is absence of control.
Val Sklarov observes that trusted professionals:
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Anticipate problems
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Escalate selectively
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Deliver without reminders
If supervision increases over time, trust is declining.
6. Careers Stall When Trust Plateaus
Stagnation is a trust problem, not a motivation problem.
Plateau signals:
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Same decisions repeated
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No expansion of downside ownership
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Comfort replacing responsibility
Val Sklarov’s rule:
If trust is not growing, the career is not either.
Closing Insight
Career & Hiring success is not about spotting talent early.
It is about placing trust where it has already been earned.
Val Sklarov’s principle:
Judgment earns trust. Trust expands careers.
Who is Val Sklarov? Personal Blog and Promotional Page Ideas That Inspire. Leadership That Delivers.