Beyond the Box: Finding Human Passion in a High-Tech Frontier

I’m coming to you from Florida with some serious energy because I’m sitting in the middle of history at NASA. We’re here with our Customer Advisory Board, surrounded by the legacy of space exploration, and I have someone very special in the hot seat for the first time.

Brenna Garbelman is a powerhouse on my team. She has been the outside observer of this podcast for a long time, but today she is the one sharing her heart. When I asked her who she is, she did not lead with her title or her impressive resume. She told me she is first and foremost a work in progress. She is a mom to a 10-year-old son, a sister and a friend. She is human, raw and incredibly insightful.

[Watch the podcast, listen on Spotify, or continue reading for some quick takeaways]

The Awe of the Space Shuttle

We’ve spent the last few days immersed in the atmosphere of NASA, and let me tell you, it changes you. Garbelman admitted she did not come here as a “space girl.” Star Wars and Star Trek were never really her thing. But something shifted when we stood before the space shuttle Atlantis.

She described an instant, overwhelming feeling of pride. It’s that rare moment of pure awe that we don’t get enough of in our daily lives. I felt it too. Even as a self proclaimed space geek who named my son after astronomer Carl Sagan, seeing Atlantis again brought tears to my eyes. It’s not just about national pride. It’s about human pride. It’s what we can accomplish when we push petty things aside and work together.

“We don’t look for that often in our daily lives,” Garbelman said. “There are very few moments of awe in your life. And that was one of them yesterday. It was very inspiring.”

Passion in the Eyes of a Commander

We had the incredible honor of hearing from Commander Michael Baker, a four-time shuttle astronaut. Garbelman noticed something immediately: the twinkle in his eye. Even decades after his missions, his passion for space and exploration is palpable. He remembers the specific lens used for a photo from 20 years ago better than most of us remember what we had for breakfast.

“He is still so passionate about it, even though he’s 15, 20 years removed from the experience,” she said. “You can still see the twinkle in his eye. Tell me that’s not passion. Tell me that’s not what got him out of bed and still gets him out of bed in the morning.”

That kind of deep, singular love for a mission is what we are looking for in our organizations. Our Customer Advisory Board members, who lead some of the largest companies in the world, feel that same passion for the talent in their organizations.

As Garbelman talks to these leaders, a common theme emerges: a heavy sense of responsibility. They want to innovate and be curious, but they’re also hesitant. Innovation can’t be just for the sake of doing something cool. These leaders want to ensure that every new tool or process actually makes their team’s life easier or provides real value. They’re carrying the weight of pushing the envelope while making sure everyone stays safe on board.

Breaking Out of the Box

Garbelman’s own journey has taken her from leading a recruiting organization to becoming a director of strategy. When we looked back over the last eight or nine years, she pointed out something fascinating. While technology has changed night and day, many of our problems feel like “same crap, different day.” 

The real barrier? Mindset. She has seen leaders who are closed-minded and stuck in legacy thinking. She hates being put in a box. For her, the best way to work is “blue sky and dreaming.” She wants to be up in the stars and then have someone she trusts bring her back down to earth to execute the vision.

She believes there is a shift happening where professionals are becoming more vocal about what works and what doesn’t. We have to be willing to try new routes because, from a process standpoint, trying something new costs us absolutely nothing.

The Human X Factor in AI

We can’t talk about the future without talking about AI. There is so much fear that technology will replace people. Garbelman’s take is refreshing: AI lacks the “X factor.” It doesn’t have the human touch or the deep, lived passion that a recruiter brings to the table.

Her biggest fear as a leader was never that AI would take her job. It was that she would miss out on the right person or hire someone wrong because she lacked the intelligence to focus on the right candidates. AI provides that layer of intelligence so we can focus on what matters.

“My biggest fear isn’t that AI is going to replace me. My biggest fear is that I hire someone wrong, or that I miss out on someone who happened to apply minutes before the job closed and I never had the chance to get to them. That was my fear. Never that AI was gonna replace me, but that we were missing out because we don’t have that layer of intelligence that creates focus for an organization.”

If a recruiter is just checking boxes, then yes, technology might replace them. But if you’re curious, you become irreplaceable.

We can already see a world where AI handles the technical screening, leaving the human recruiter to become a “culture facilitator.” Garbelman once helped a homeless woman find a job that eventually allowed her to buy a home. That’s the power of this work. We might not be building the rockets, but we are finding the people who build them.

My advice is the same as Garbelman’s – get curious about the tech, find your passion and start crafting your own new role. Put the box away and reach for the stars. Because at the end of the day, we are here to serve the candidates and build the cultures that will change the world.