Leadership resignations, sudden redundancies, sweeping restructures…

For all the appeal of a corner office, leadership gaps risk becoming a silent epidemic across even the most respected organisations. It’s not because great talent is hard to find. In fact, with rising redundancies and uncertainty in the job market, the executive talent pool is becoming deeper than it has been in years.

The real problem?

A hiring process that’s fundamentally (sometimes invisibly) broken.

At North Search, we observe this pattern play out time and again: mission-critical leadership roles remain vacant for months, teams are stretched thin, and businesses quietly absorb the financial and cultural fallout as the gap widens.

Below, we unpack 5 reasons this happens and what organisations can do to fix it.

1.   The Visibility Gap
Most companies aren’t accessing the full talent market; they’re attracting candidates who are directly visible to them via job ads and job boards, or perhaps by utilising network connections. They fail to attract candidates who might be considering a new position but are not actively applying to vacancies. Job ads only reach a fraction of potential candidates. Key talent must be sourced and engaged directly. Utilising a detailed market mapping process changes that.

2.   Hiring at Speed or Waiting Too Long
Balance readiness and decisiveness; don’t rush, but don’t stall. Vacant positions cost an organisation far more than may initially appear, both financially and culturally. Invest in a talent partner to ensure your critical hiring process is strategically mapped and executed.

3.   Misalignment at the Top
Internal disagreements slow everything down. Boards often debate what “good” looks like - sometimes for months. By partnering with an exec search agency that runs split briefs, you can test two market hypotheses side by side, then bring back data – rather than opinions - to guide the decision. This replaces debate with evidence. Data-driven briefs bring clarity and inspire momentum.

4.   Failing to Share Your Employer Story
Top candidates want to trust in your organisation’s EVP. They don’t want to see bullet points that fail to tell the whole story of who you are and why they should join your organisation. Your employer story must inspire, attract and engage key talent.

5.   No Hiring Roadmap
Critical hires shouldn’t depend on urgency. Without a structured hiring roadmap, organisations drift into reactive cycles that undermine stability and succession planning. A clear, forward-looking roadmap aligns leaders, accelerates decision-making, and ensures the business is never caught unprepared.

Long-term vacancies are rarely about talent scarcity. They’re signals of a strategy out of step with organisational goals. The fix isn’t volume; it’s precision. Clear decisions. Better preparation. And the right search partner.

At North Search, we align leadership intent with decisive execution, transforming stalled positions into sustained organisational impact.

Let’s talk about how we can develop your hiring strategy to secure the leaders who will drive your business forward. Get in touch.

You can also book an introductory call here with  North Search Managing Director, Paddy.