Business-critical programs fail because companies make poor leadership choices

If you’ve ever been involved in a large, business-critical program, you’ll know how much is at stake.

Deadlines loom, budgets stretch thin, and everyone – teams, suppliers, and stakeholders – feel the pressure.

At the centre of it all, you need a Program Director who can lead the charge.

But here’s the catch:

In our experience drawn in the last 30 years of salvaging business-critical programs, too many companies shoot themselves in the foot when they appoint someone to this role.

Instead of choosing a leader with the skills to deliver, they pick an accountant, a technologist or the “most affected director” who typically oversees the function most impacted by the change.

These people may be brilliant in their specialist domain, and will no doubt be key players in the program execution process – but they are usually ill-suited to lead complex programs themselves.

So, what makes an ideal Program Director?

Why do companies get it so wrong? And how can you avoid falling into the same trap?

Let’s unpack this.

The Ideal Program Director: Leadership First, Expertise Second

A truly effective Program Director is not defined by their technical expertise but by their ability to lead, align, and deliver. These are the qualities that set them apart:

• They keep the big picture in sharp focus, making sure the program’s outcomes align with the organisation’s strategic goals.
• They are master orchestrators, pulling together diverse teams, suppliers, and stakeholders to work toward a shared vision.
• They thrive under pressure, confidently managing risks, resolving conflicts, and adapting to change – without losing momentum.
• They know how to communicate. Board decisions are often too high-level to drive clear action. A good Program Director will work with the Board, making sure that decisions are precise, practical, and actionable.
• Crucially, they understand what it takes to inspire and motivate people – turning confusion into clarity, frustration into action, and silos into collaboration.

Program Directors don’t need to be the smartest person in the room. And they don’t need to know all the technical answers.

The decisions made at board level are often expressed in terms that are too high-level or broad to drive clear action on the ground.  

This creates a gap where those tasked with implementation either don’t fully understand the intent or interpret the decisions differently, leading to inconsistent or stalled execution.

To stimulate the right actions, decisions need to be expressed with greater precision and practicality, ensuring they are actionable by the people doing the work.

Program Directors must be totally focused on delivering the program, with no distractions or other responsibilities, no time-sharing, and no compromises.

They need to have an ability to bring the smartest people together, ask the right questions, and steer the program to success.

Why Companies Shoot Themselves in the Foot

Despite all of this, why do companies choose the wrong people to lead their vital strategic programs?

It feels safer. But this is a BIG MISTAKE.

When the program has a strong technical focus, senior leaders naturally gravitate toward the person who knows the most about the technology.

After all, technical expertise brings credibility, and the perception is that the “expert” will figure things out.

But here’s the problem:

Running a complex, business-critical program is not a technical problem to solve. It’s a leadership challenge.

When a technologist is put in charge, they tend to focus on what they know best – technical detail.

Instead of orchestrating the big picture, they dive into the weeds.

Instead of unifying stakeholders, they focus on solving isolated issues.

The program becomes reactive rather than proactive, with strategic goals falling by the wayside.

It’s a similar scenario when the “most affected director” is appointed to lead the program.

Appointing this person because they control most of the resources needed to execute the program might seem like a straightforward solution to a complex organisational challenge.

Yet the “most affected director” usually does not have the time, inclination or competence to manage the program on a day-to-day basis.

Instead, they tend to spread execution responsibility down the organisation to several “available” subordinates already thinly stretched with their regular duties. This means that no single person is truly accountable for the program.

The Results: Frustration and Failure

The usual results are all too familiar:

The program gets bogged down in technical minutiae and/or departmental power games while broader priorities are ignored.

• Stakeholder alignment falls apart as competing interests go unresolved.
• Teams lose focus, and morale drops as leadership struggles to set clear priorities or adapt to changing circumstances.
• Risks are not managed effectively, leading to delays, cost overruns, and missed milestones.
• Even if technical progress is made, the program often fails to deliver the business outcomes it was meant to achieve.

In the end, companies are left wondering why a program with all the technical “brains” in the world still went off the rails.

The answer is simple: they chose the wrong kind of leader. And you can probably think of a few examples right now.

How to Avoid This Trap

So, who’s leading your business-critical program?

If you want your business-critical program to succeed, you need to appoint a Program Director – not a technologist who happens to be “available”.

Here’s how you avoid the trap:

Prioritise Leadership Over Technical Expertise

Look for someone with a proven track record of delivering large, complex programs. Leadership, stakeholder management, and strategic vision matter far more than domain-specific knowledge.

Understand the Role

The Program Director’s job is not to solve technical problems – it’s to bring people, resources, and priorities together to achieve a successful outcome.

Surround Them with Technical Experts

A great Program Director knows how to leverage specialists. Let the experts handle the technical details while the Program Director focuses on leadership, orchestration, and delivery.

Test for Strategic and People Skills

Ask: Can they see the big picture? Can they align stakeholders? Can they inspire teams?

These qualities will make or break a program far more than technical knowledge ever will.

The Bottom Line

When it comes to business-critical programs, choosing the right Program Director is everything.

Technical expertise or appointing the “most affected director” might feel like the safer option, but it’s not the answer.

Programs don’t fail because they lack technical knowledge; they fail because they lack leadership, alignment, and strategic execution.

The best Program Directors are leaders first.

They empower technical teams, unify stakeholders, and keep everyone focused on delivering real outcomes.

If you want your program to succeed, choose someone who can lead – not someone who may be tempted to get lost in the weeds.

About the author

David Hilliard is founder of Mentor, specialists in strategic program execution.

You can call him on 0118 359 2444 or email david.hilliard@mentoreurope.com.