The Year You Stop Filling Roles - And Start Building Capability

At the start of every year, the same urgency kicks in: "We need someone now."

A resignation lands, a new project begins, a headcount is approved - and suddenly, we're back on the treadmill of reactive hiring.

But what if 2026 is the year we stop doing that?

Not long ago, I was speaking with the COO of a regional industrial group in Thailand. His team had just made two senior hires where both came with strong profiles, ticked the usual boxes and six months in, were underwhelming.

"On paper, we did everything right," he said. "But somehow, it’s not clicking."

I asked him one simple question: "Did you hire to replace a role - or to build the capability you actually need?"

That question stopped him cold.

Why This Keeps Happening

Most organisations still anchor hiring decisions to vacancies, not capability.

Someone leaves, HR refills the same job title, the team continues with the same structure, chasing different results. It’s comforting, it’s fast, it’s how it's always been done.

But it’s also why so many businesses quietly stagnate.

When you hire to fill a gap, you replicate the past.

When you hire to build capability, you invest in the future.

And in a market like Thailand, where talent is scarce, transformation is constant, and every headcount matters, that distinction is everything.

Capability is Not a Buzzword. It's an Operating Strategy.

Let’s get specific. Capability is not just “skills”.

Capability is a combination of what your business needs to do exceptionally well to win, and what your people are actually able to deliver, at scale, under pressure, and across teams.

It’s what lets a manufacturer launch two new product lines in six months without chaos.

It’s what allows a financial institution to enter a new market without blowing up its compliance.

It’s what enables a founder to delegate, scale, and step out of daily operations.

It is invisible; but unmistakable.

At Grant Thornton, we’ve worked with organisations where the trigger wasn’t headcount, it was opportunity. A family-owned Thai conglomerate wanted to expand into ASEAN. They didn’t start by replacing their retiring CSO. They asked: "What do we need to become to play at this level?" That led to a different kind of brief, a different kind of leader, and ultimately, a strategic hire that became a growth multiplier.

How to Shift from Roles to Capability

This isn’t about blowing up your org chart. It’s about asking different questions before you hire:

• What strategic priorities are at risk if we get this hire wrong?
• What are we really missing, knowledge, influence, execution, mindset?
• How will this person lift the team around them, not just do the job?

This approach requires alignment between business strategy, people strategy, and hiring decision-makers. It’s harder, it’s slower but it pays off.

And yes, it changes how you engage with your executive recruitment partner. You don’t just hand over a job description, you co-design the brief, challenge assumptions, and assess for impact, not just pedigree.

Final Thought

The most successful organisations in 2026 won’t be those who filled roles the fastest.

They’ll be the ones who built the right capabilities, deliberately, strategically, and ahead of the curve.

So, before your next executive hire, stop and ask:

Are we hiring to replace a name on an org chart? Or are we investing in what will make us great tomorrow?