Is Your 2026 Strategy Sitting on the Right people?

As the year closes, leadership teams across Thailand are finalising their 2026 strategies - refining targets, outlining transformation plans, and setting bold growth ambitions. But amid all this planning, one critical question often gets overlooked:

Are the people who will carry this strategy into 2026 the right ones to do it?

In my recent conversations with CEOs and CHROs, the answers to this question are rarely clear. Many leaders think they’ve got the right team - but they haven’t pressure-tested that belief. The world is changing fast, and the leadership qualities required even two years ago may not match what’s needed next year.

From Strategy to Execution - Where Talent Becomes the Differentiator

The truth is, strategy doesn’t fail in the boardroom, it fails in execution - often quietly, and often because the wrong people are in the wrong roles.

I recently worked with a Thai industrial group preparing for regional expansion. Their strategy was strong, the structure had been recently adjusted, but in reviewing their executive talent, it became obvious that some critical roles were occupied by people who were excellent in the past… but not equipped for the future.

There was no scandal, no crisis - just a growing misalignment between capability and ambition. The cost? Slower progress, missed windows, and rising internal frustration.

2026 Will Reward Bold, Aligned Leadership - Not Legacy Comfort

When organisations grow, shift markets, or introduce new technologies, the people who once “fit” may no longer stretch far enough. But companies often delay change out of loyalty, out of habit, out of hope that potential will catch up with reality.

But misalignment in your leadership team is expensive - and the cost compounds.

Now is the time to ask:

• Who are your real drivers of transformation?
• Who is stalling momentum, but protected by history?
• Where are the gaps that no one wants to say out loud?

These questions aren’t easy, but they are the ones bold companies are already asking.

The Right Leaders May Not Be Inside - or Even Looking

Let’s also face a practical truth: the leader you need for 2026 may not currently exist in your organisation and they probably aren’t browsing job boards either.

But they are listening. Listening for purpose, for challenge, for the right opportunity, from someone they trust.

That’s where we come in.

At Grant Thornton, our executive recruitment and leadership advisory work is grounded in strategic alignment - not just filling a seat. We help you define what great looks like, assess who you already have, and reach who you truly need, even if they aren’t actively looking.

Final Thought

If you’ve spent time shaping your 2026 strategy, spend a little more time asking: Who is going to deliver this? And are they ready?

Don’t let next year’s ambition sit on yesterday’s leadership. You deserve more than that.