Every organisation feels the pressure to fill a senior leadership vacancy quickly.
The inbox fills. The Acting CEO carries extra weight. Councillors, community and staff ask, “When will someone be appointed?”
That pressure is real, and understandable. But in executive recruitment, speed and certainty are not the same thing.
Those of you who know me know I’m obsessive about fishing and executive search and here’s what experience both passions have taught me, time and again:
You never fish in the same river twice.
The leadership market moves - even when the role doesn’t
When a role goes to market, it captures a moment in time.
Some candidates haven’t seen the opportunity yet.
Some aren’t ready yet.
Some aren’t thinking about moving, until something prompts them to reflect.
When a campaign is extended, paused or run again, you are not fishing in the same water. You’re engaging with a different mix of leaders, shaped by new timing, new confidence and new personal and professional circumstances.
This is why returning to market often produces a different, and sometimes better, outcome.
A recent example: strong candidates, but not the right appointment
We’ve seen this play out very recently with some recent projects for council clients in New South Wales.
In that process, we presented a shortlist of genuinely strong candidates. On paper and in interview, they could do the job. The candidates themselves felt they could work with the council.
But the council didn’t feel fully confident about working with the individuals who emerged at the top of the process.
That wasn’t a failure of assessment.
It wasn’t about capability or competence.
And it wasn’t about personalities clashing.
It was about something more fundamental: the council had to feel comfortable placing their trust, collectively and over time, in that leader.
Those moments happen. They are normal. And they should be respected.
Leadership, particularly at CEO level, is relational as much as it is technical. Councils and executives must work together closely, often under pressure, scrutiny and disagreement. If that foundational confidence isn’t there, forcing an appointment rarely ends well.
The real risk isn’t waiting - it’s settling
In situations like this, the most dangerous response is to talk yourself into an appointment because the process feels “close enough”.
The phrase “they can do the job” is an answer to only one of the three questions of recruitment. It’s necessary -but not sufficient.
Leadership roles in local government require judgement, trust, political awareness and the ability to navigate disagreement constructively. These are lived experiences, not abstract capabilities.
Choosing the “best of who applied” can sometimes mean choosing the best of a particular moment, not the best leader available to you over time.
Waiting is an active decision, not a passive one
Advising a council to wait is not about indecision or discomfort with making hard calls. It’s about recognising that:
confidence and readiness evolve
leadership markets change
and seeing a role, or a council, again can prompt someone new to step forward
In practical terms, waiting might mean:
allowing the market to move
re-engaging candidates who weren’t ready before
or simply creating space for the right person to recognise themselves in the role
You are dipping the net into a different river.
What patience signals to candidates and councils
Experienced anglers know that patience isn’t about doing nothing. It’s about reading the water, thinking, adjusting your approach and trying again.
It’s the same in recruitment, taking time doesn’t signal weakness. It signals thoughtfulness, experience and care.
It tells candidates that this appointment matters, that the council is serious about fit, trust and long-term success, not just filling a vacancy.
And it reassures councillors that choosing not to appoint is sometimes the most responsible decision they can make.
Our position is simple
We don’t believe in rushing to fill leadership roles.
We don’t believe in settling for second best.
And we don’t believe that every strong shortlist must end in an appointment.
Sometimes the best advice we can give is:
Let the river move — and cast again.
Because when the right leader does emerge, the decision feels different.
It feels clear.
It feels confident.
And it feels worth the wait.