If the Right Person Is Missing in a Critical Role, How Long Can a Strategy Hold?

Strategies are often defined by strong presentations, clear objectives, and ambitious roadmaps. Yet their real strength is tested not on paper, but in execution. And execution depends less on how well a strategy is written than on who is responsible for delivering it. If the right person is missing in a critical role, how resilient can even the best strategy be?

The Inseparable Link Between Strategy and People

Strategy Gains Meaning Through Execution

A strategy, on its own, is a statement of intent. It only creates value when translated into action. This translation depends on the decision-making ability, prioritisation skills, and leadership impact of those occupying critical roles.

Why Critical Roles Matter Disproportionately

Certain positions have an outsized influence on organisational performance. Senior leadership roles, key functional heads, and transformation leads directly shape the pace, direction, and consistency of strategy execution.

The Hidden Effects of a Poor Match

Risk of Strategic Drift

When the capabilities of a person in a critical role do not align with the decisions a strategy requires, objectives begin to shift quietly over time. This is often labelled as “adaptation,” but in reality it reflects strategic drift.

Erosion of Decision Quality

Mismatched profiles may respond to uncertainty with excessive caution or unnecessary risk-taking. Both extremes weaken strategic resilience and undermine long-term outcomes.

What Determines the Durability of a Strategy?

Beyond Capability: Behavioural Alignment

For critical roles, technical competence alone is insufficient.

• Decision-making style

• Behaviour under pressure

• Stakeholder management

• Approach to change

These factors largely determine how robust a strategy remains in practice.

Alignment With Organisational Culture

Strategy does not operate independently of culture. A leader who is misaligned with the organisation’s values may agree with strategic goals, yet fail to create the conditions needed to deliver them.

How Gaps in Critical Roles Weaken Strategy

Temporary Solutions With Lasting Consequences

Leaving critical roles vacant or covering them with interim fixes slows decision-making. Over time, this delay leads to missed opportunities and reduced strategic momentum.

Erosion of Organisational Trust

Teams look for clarity and direction. When uncertainty persists in key roles, confidence declines and belief in the strategy weakens.

Why Strategy Is Unsustainable Without the Right Person

Strategy Ultimately Operates Through People

Although strategies appear to function through systems and processes, decisions are always made by individuals. One wrong person can render even the best-designed system ineffective.

Discipline of Execution

Sustaining a strategy requires consistent goal tracking, protection of priorities, and early detection of deviations. This discipline depends on the leadership exercised in critical roles.

How to Achieve the Right Match for Critical Roles

Structured Assessment

Selections based purely on past success or intuition carry high risk in critical roles. Role-based assessment and behavioural analysis significantly increase the likelihood of an effective match.

Timing and Clarity

When the right person enters the role at the right time, with clear expectations, strategy gains real traction. Otherwise, strong plans deteriorate into weak execution.

E&E Group evaluates strategic sustainability not only through the quality of planning, but through the placement of the right profiles in critical roles. Through executive search, interim leadership, and structured assessment approaches, E&E Group focuses on leadership matches that allow strategy to deliver real results.

If the right person is missing from a critical role, the resilience of any strategy is seriously compromised. Even the strongest plans can quickly lose impact when execution is led by the wrong profile. Sustainable strategy depends not only on clear direction, but on having the right people in the roles that matter most.