The Leadership Gap You Cannot Take Into 2026
Why Waiting Until January Will Cost You the Entire First Quarter
Every year, I see the same pattern happen inside mid-market industrial companies and PE-backed portfolio businesses. Leaders enter November with the intention of getting all their hiring decisions wrapped up neatly before the holidays. Then Thanksgiving hits, budgets get finalized, travel picks up, and suddenly January arrives with open leadership seats and a tired team trying to carry the load.
It is one of the most expensive patterns in business. Not because leaders are negligent or disorganized, but because the cost of waiting is invisible until it hits the P&L. By the time it does, it is too late to recover the first quarter.
Today I want to pull that cost out into the open. If your company, plant, division, or portfolio company is carrying a leadership gap into the new year, it is not a minor inconvenience. It is a direct hit on performance, morale, and growth. The good news is that you can fix this now. The window is wide open for companies that act before January.
Let me explain why.
The True Cost of Entering 2026 With Leadership Vacancies
When a key leader is missing, everyone feels it long before the board sees the numbers. Targets slip. Projects stall. The wrong people make decisions because the right one is not in the seat. Accountability gets cloudy. Morale dips. Your strongest employees pick up the slack until they burn out or quietly entertain other offers.
Most companies underestimate the financial impact because it is spread across so many areas. Delay an Operations leader and you lose throughput, miss production targets, and create a ripple effect of labor inefficiency that compounds every week. Delay a Supply Chain leader and volatility increases, inventory swings widen, customer commitments slip, and cash gets trapped on shelves or in transit. Delay a Finance leader and forecasting weakens, reporting accuracy drops, and strategic decisions lose the clarity needed to protect margin and support growth. These are not slowdowns. They are direct hits to profitability.
The right leader pays for themselves faster than any other investment. The wrong leader costs you more than you realize. No leader at all is the most expensive option of all.
The Myth That Hiring Season Starts in January
This is one of the biggest misunderstandings in hiring. January is the least efficient month to start an executive search. It is crowded, noisy, and slow. Decision cycles drag out because half the players are still catching up from the holidays. Competitors flood the market with job postings. Candidates field multiple overtures at once.
Meanwhile, November and December are the months where top performers take a step back, assess their accomplishments, reflect on their growth, and quietly consider new opportunities. They want clarity heading into the new year. They want to know if their contributions will be rewarded. They want to see if there is a better fit where their skills and leadership can have more impact.
Don’t get complacent during the holidays, this is when the highest quality conversations happen.
Why Smart Companies Move Before the Holidays
The leaders who are winning in Q1 2026 already know this. They are finalizing search scopes, mapping the market, and lining up interviews now. They are not waiting until January. They want their new executive starting early in the year, not lost in the shuffle.
Here is what these companies are doing:
- Aligning expectations between internal stakeholders now so decisions are faster and cleaner once the process begins. When leaders take time to level-set expectations, define priorities, and agree on what success actually looks like, the entire hiring effort moves with less friction. This prevents the delays and conflicting opinions that tend to surface once January workloads increase.
- Partnering with an Executive Search Firm that understands your industry, reads the talent market accurately, benchmarks compensation with real data, and brings forward qualified, interested leaders who can deliver results rather than tire-kicking candidates who look good on paper but will never move the needle.
- Positioning the role clearly so the right candidates want the conversation and understand what the next stage of the company requires. High performers look for clarity, purpose, and a realistic mandate. When the role is defined well upfront, conversations are stronger, alignment is faster, and unqualified candidates naturally fall away.
- Creating a clean approval process that avoids holiday and January delays by identifying who signs off, what information they need, and how decisions will move forward even when schedules are tight. This eliminates long gaps in communication, keeps candidates engaged, and prevents losing strong contenders to timing issues.
- Moving quickly at the end of the year while their competitors are slowing down gives companies a natural edge. Leaders are easier to reach, conversations are more candid, and the talent market has far less noise. The organizations that act now gain access to stronger candidates and secure early momentum going into Q1.
This is how you claim a competitive hiring advantage. It is simple timing and clarity.
Three Leadership Roles That Cannot Wait Until 2026
Looking across the industrial, manufacturing, and PE-backed world, there are three roles that carry the highest cost when they are unfilled heading into a new year.
1. Operations Leadership (COO, Operations Executive, Director, GM, or Business Unit Leader)
Production challenges do not pause for the calendar. Plants and multi-site operations need structured leadership that drives throughput, labor alignment, safety, and accountability every single day. Without a strong operations leader in place, teams stretch themselves thin, bottlenecks build, and early-year targets slip before the first quarter even picks up speed.
The right operations executive stabilizes a company faster than almost any other hire. They unify expectations, improve process flow, strengthen frontline management, and ensure the organization enters the year with the clarity and momentum needed to hit performance goals.
2. Supply Chain Leadership (CSCO, Supply Chain Executive, Director, or Senior Manager)
Supply chain is the backbone of every industrial business. When leadership in this area is missing, forecasting accuracy declines, inventory swings widen, supplier relationships weaken, and customer requirements become harder to meet. These issues compound quickly in Q1 when demand shifts and cost pressures typically intensify.
A strong supply chain leader restores visibility across purchasing, logistics, planning, and materials management. They help the entire executive team make better decisions and protect the business from the kind of disruptions that can derail the early months of the year.
3. Finance Leadership (CFO, VP Finance, or Director of Finance)
Financial clarity drives operational momentum. When a CFO or senior finance leader is absent, reporting gets delayed, banking relationships weaken, forecasting accuracy suffers, and cost controls fall behind. By the time the board sees the impact, Q1 opportunities have already been lost.
A skilled finance leader brings discipline, transparency, and confidence to an organization. Whether it is a CFO or a VP or Director of Finance stepping into the role, strong financial guidance ensures the company enters 2026 with the visibility and control needed to support aggressive growth targets.
If any of these three roles are vacant or underperforming, the organization will feel it deeply in the first quarter.
The Strategic Window You Are In Right Now
You still have time to get ahead of this. When companies start engaging potential candidates now, they get early visibility into who is actually interested, available, and aligned with the role. This makes decision-making cleaner and prevents the January scramble that usually slows companies down. The talent market is quieter in November and December, which means leaders are easier to reach and the conversations are more honest. You gain momentum while others are waiting for the calendar to turn.
Another advantage of moving now is the ability to structure the hiring process in a way that protects time and reduces risk. Starting with a targeted slate of vetted and interested candidates helps leadership teams assess fit before committing to a full process. It also shortens the path to a strong hire, especially if your goal is to have someone in the seat in January or February when Q1 demands begin stacking up.
For companies planning ahead, our 5-Year Replacement Program provides additional peace of mind as you move into a new year with new expectations and a heavier performance load. It is designed for organizations that want long-term stability in key roles and understand the cost of turnover in Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance. Having this kind of protection in place means you enter 2026 focused on growth instead of worrying about whether the seat will stay filled.
What You Walk Into January With Determines the Direction of Your Year
If your leadership team is stretched, misaligned, or missing a key player, you do not have to take that into 2026. You can change the trajectory right now by taking action while the hiring market is quiet, talent is more open, and the window for early momentum is at its widest.
If you are ready to explore your options or want clarity on what the talent market looks like for your next executive hire, I would be happy to talk. We can walk through your goals, any gaps you are seeing, what success looks like in Q1, and a search strategy that is right for your team.
Your best year starts with the right people in the right seats. Let us make sure you enter 2026 with leadership strength, not leadership drag.
When would be a good time for us to speak? I would welcome the opportunity to learn what you are working toward and help you build the team you need to get there. My calendar is below for your convenience.
Anjela
https://calendly.com/anjelamangrum/hiring-strategy-call-ul
Anjela Mangrum, the founder of Mangrum Career Solutions, is a trusted authority in executive recruitment for the manufacturing industry! She’s dedicated to matching top-tier candidates with rewarding opportunities in the field. Connect with her on LinkedIn and join the MCS LinkedIn group for the latest in manufacturing recruitment news and trends. Let’s partner in your hiring success!