Hi Reader,

I was at a private equity networking breakfast in November and a Chair mentioned they'd replaced three CEOs in one portfolio company over four years.

I asked: "What changed in the company between CEO number one and CEO number three?"

Long pause.

"Well... the business model got clearer."

You might not be in private equity. But you'll have seen this pattern.

A new leader comes in with a strong CV and high expectations. Six months later, same problems. A year later, they're gone.

And everyone assumes it was a hiring mistake.

But what if it wasn't?

Here's what actually happened in that PE story and what's probably happening in your organisation.

They spent roughly £600K on three rounds of executive search (each replacement costs £185-275K when you factor in search fees, lost productivity during the 3-6 month vacancy, and onboarding costs).

When you replace a leader without diagnosing why the system broke them, you're not solving anything.

The pattern looks like this:

· Decision framework that were never clarified (who actually has authority to do what?)

· Leadership teams where challenge becomes personal instead of productive

· Shadow operations - someone else running things informally while the official leader tries to lead

· Post-change paralysis that everyone assumes will "sort itself out"

Sometimes the leader genuinely is the problem.

But sometimes, the leader is the canary in the mine – that visible sign that something in the system isn't working.

Here are some questions that reveal which problem you actually have:

1. What broke down with the last 2-3 people in this role?

If you're hearing variations of the same problems, you're putting people into a system designed to break them.

2. What changed in the system between hires?

If the answer is "we hired someone better," that's not a system change.

3. Can you already see where the next person will get stuck?

If yes, you don't have a people problem.

If these questions revealed something broken in your system, let's talk.

I work with leadership teams and boards to diagnose whether they're dealing with a people problem or a systems problem before you commission another search or watch another talented leader fail.

​Book a free 30-minute diagnostic →​

We'll map what's actually broken and whether the operating system work can fix it.

Catherine

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