Many organizations still struggle to find top talent in key moments. That challenge is real, and it's not going away. But there’s an equally damaging issue that shows up after the search, and it’s discussed far less often.
Organizations also struggle to sequence leadership and capability correctly. Even when companies hire strong people, they often hire them out of order, and that misalignment affects execution, momentum, and value.
This isn’t a recruitment problem. It’s a talent operating model problem.
Why “Good Hires” Still Fail to Create Momentum
Across industries, I see the same pattern repeat:
- A leadership or critical skills gap becomes visible
- Pressure builds
- A role opens quickly
- A strong candidate is hire
- Execution doesn’t accelerate the way leadership expected
That’s when you will hear – “They weren’t the right hire.”
In reality, the hire may have been strong, just early, late, or mis-sequenced relative to what the business actually needed next. Hiring quality and hiring timing are not the same thing – both matter, most organizations only manage one.
Sequencing Can Be The Missing Layer Between Strategy and Execution
Sequencing answers the fairly uncomfortable question – what capability must exist next for this organization to move forward now, not down the line. When sequencing is missing, organizations default to:
- Hiring based on urgency instead of leverage
- Filling multiple leadership roles in parallel without clear dependency logic
- Adding experience when clarity, alignment, or process is actually missing
This creates friction disguised as progress.
I’ve seen failed Sequencing show up across industries in FinServ/Private Equity, Consulting & Prof Serv, Software Dev, Construction, and Healthcare.
- CRO’s are hired to fix growth before true market penetration is resolved or even ICP’s are established.
- Senior Op’s Leaders are hired to professionalize execution without any existing metrics or clear authority lines built amongst teams.
- VP’s of Engineering are hired to increase speed before the product team has their act together.
What Strong Talent Sequencing Actually Looks Like
Organizations that get this right don’t necessarily hire faster, they hire more intentionally.
1. Role Priority Is Tied to Outcomes, Not Titles
- What must materially improve in the next 6–12months?
- Which role unlocks that outcome first?
- What breaks if this role is hired too early or too late?
Result - eliminates “nice-to-have” leadership hires that shrink focus and margin.
2. Not All Roles Require the same discipline – Tiering is the answer
High-Impact Roles Require:
- Clear mandates
- Outcome-based definitions of success
- Explicit decision rights
Lower-risk roles don’t need that overhead. Sequencing without tiering leads to either over-process or under-emphasis – neither elevates time to impact
3. Leaders and Critical Skills Are Hired Into Readiness
Strong organizations ensure:
- Authority matches accountability
- Infrastructure supports execution/delivery
- Expectations are visible and measurable
Result - allows leaders to operate the business instead of endlessly “solving problems”
4. Talent Decisions Are Treated as Operating Decisions
Hiring is managed like any other critical business system:
- Clear ownership
- Structured inputs
- Evidence-based decisions mixed with human intuition
- Feedback loops, retention & succession plans after the hire is made
Result - creates repeatability instead of reset every week/month/quarter.
Why You Can’t Afford To NOT Do It
Typically, when leadership and capability are mis-sequenced, organizations end up with:
- Slower value creation despite higher spend
- Leadership churn that feels “unlucky” but isn’t
- Frustrated executives who inherit ambiguity instead of leverage
- Teams that lose confidence in decision-making
None of this shows up immediately on a dashboard, so resentment builds.
The Shift
Hiring strong talent repeatably and systematically is hard, and it always will be – no person, system, tool, or process will ever change that. But hiring strong people at the wrong moment, into unclear mandates, or without supporting capability is just plain unnecessary, quite damaging, and more expensive.
Organizations that scale effectively don’t just ask (who should we hire?), they
lean more toward (what capability must exist next for this business to move
forward?)
That shift - from reactive hiring (ambition) to intentional sequencing (meaning) is where talent becomes a true operating advantage.
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