When the Role Can’t Hold the Candidate: Why Executive Hires Fail (and How to Get It Right)

When the Role Can’t Hold the Candidate: Why Executive Hires Fail (and How to Get It Right)

We’ve all heard it before: “They looked perfect on paper.” The CV was impeccable, the interview was smooth, their experience, impressive, even enviable and yet, six months in, something’s not working.

The reason, the role simply couldn’t hold the candidate.

This is an increasingly common and costly issue at the senior and executive level. You secure a high-calibre leader, but the position itself lacks the scope, challenge or strategic alignment to keep them engaged. Before long, they’re restless, under-utilised or quietly plotting their next move.

The Real Cost of a Misaligned Hire

As Forbes’ The High Cost of a Bad Hire highlights, hiring mistakes aren’t just budget line items they derail strategic initiatives, drag down morale, and drain time and energy from the wider team. When the hire is senior, the ripple effect can spread across departments and reach all the way to board-level frustration.

But the root cause isn’t always the person. Often, it’s the role itself or more specifically, a mismatch between the position and the candidate’s capacity, pace or ambition.

Why Prestige Does Not Mean Equal Fit

It’s tempting to chase the big CV. Someone with a high-flying background, household-name employers and all the credentials but as Susan Pike Partners and 1EQ Consultants highlight, hiring for prestige without clearly defining what the role really requires often leads to misalignment.

Executives want to make an impact. If the role lacks challenge, influence or decision-making scope, they will outgrow it or lose interest entirely. A role that does not stretch and evolve becomes a cage instead of a platform.

The Hidden Reasons Executive Hires Fail

Loxo’s 7 Reasons Why Half of Executive Searches Fail digs deeper, pointing to issues like:

• Vague, shifting briefs
• Internal misalignment between decision-makers
• Over-reliance on gut feel instead of structured, evidence-based hiring

The result, mismatched expectations, poor integration and high churn at the most senior levels of the business.

Getting it Right: The Case for Clarity and Partnership

So what’s the solution? It isn’t just about finding stronger candidates it’s about building a stronger process from the very beginning, one that focuses on clarity, alignment and mutual fit.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

Start with the “why,” not the wish list
What is the real challenge this hire is solving? What does success actually look like?

Design the role around outcomes, not titles
Think about the impact needed at 6, 12 and 18 months. Does the role truly allow for it?

Be honest about pace, politics and structure
A brilliant candidate can still struggle in a system that does not support or trust their leadership.

Partner closely with your recruiter
When your recruiter understands the job, the context, the culture and where the business is going, they become a strategic advisor not just a CV provider.

Too often, talented executives are placed in roles that were never truly set up for success. The result is frustration, misalignment, and ultimately, turnover. That’s why a more thoughtful approach to executive hiring is essential one that prioritises clarity, cultural fit, and long-term support from the start.

Organisations that take the time to define clear outcomes, assess both capability and behavioural fit, and build roles that can truly support high-performing leaders are far more likely to see those leaders stay, thrive, and deliver real impact.

Because great hires aren’t just qualified they’re energised and the right role doesn’t just attract them, it holds them, if it can’t, eventually, it won’t.

By Charlene Craig, Senior Recruiter at Corvus People