Why Operational Leadership Hiring Deserves More Strategic Attention
In recent years, I’ve been involved in a range of executive operational appointments, from CEO and COO to Operations Director and Heads of Production across various sectors like manufacturing and engineering. One thing becoming increasingly clear is that while operational performance is more measurable than ever, finding exceptional operational leadership is still a significant challenge.
Businesses today have a solid grip on KPIs, OTIF, labour productivity, margin performance, downtime, and service levels. So, what’s the real issue? It often lies in interpretation, context, and the impact of leadership. The highly methodical operations leader who excels in continuous improvement and team development might not be the right fit for leading a major transformation or navigating a period of rapid growth. Conversely, a commercially minded leader focused on change might struggle in a more established environment that values consistency and process discipline.
As businesses move through different cycles, the operational leadership capabilities they need often shift, and that’s where it gets interesting.
The Perception of Operational Leadership
Sales and Finance usually steal the spotlight in the boardroom. Sales drive revenue, and Finance safeguards profitability. Both functions have immediate visibility and a clear connection to performance outcomes. Operations, on the other hand, often works quietly in the background… until something goes wrong.
That “break” could be anything from a machine failure to a supply chain disruption, rising labour turnover, or declining quality standards. When operational issues surface, the impacts can be swift: margin erosion, customer dissatisfaction, and organizational instability can follow in no time.
A recurring challenge I see with clients is not just defining the role itself but understanding when they are hiring for it. In scaling businesses, there’s often tension between hiring for the operation as it stands today versus what the business aims to achieve in 18 to 36 months.
This leads to important questions about capability and succession planning.
Questions like, do we hire someone to professionalise and structure the current operation? Or do we bring in a leader with broader transformation experience to get ahead of the curve? Or are we addressing today’s operational challenges or building leadership capacity for future growth?
In many cases, the right answer isn’t obvious. Both sets of requirements are valid, but they can demand very different leadership profiles. This is where operational leadership hiring shifts from functional experience to timing, ambition, and business trajectory.
Ultimately, the best operational leaders don’t just enhance efficiency metrics. They build resilience, scalability, accountability, and consistency throughout the organisation. They develop teams that can sustain performance under pressure and adapt to change- qualities that increasingly separate good businesses from genuinely high-performing ones.
This is where I come in. I ensure business owners, CEOs, and senior leadership teams can define what they truly need from an operational leader at this specific point in their journey. I work with them to refine the brief, ensuring the search aligns with both today’s realities and tomorrow’s ambitions.
If you have a senior business critical Operations role that you’d like to discuss reach out to Sarah McGimpsey at sarahm@artemis-humancapital.com