It also takes time to see results: the higher up the ladder, the more the work is second or third order effects which take time to show up.

If I hire someone to be a JS grunt, I’ll know very quickly if they can make a CRUD form because their job is to produce tangible assets which are immediately usable. In all but the most extreme cases, it takes months to years to tell whether a C-level hire is making good decisions, policies, hires, etc. and repairing the damage can be a substantial amount of work in its own right.

Sounds simple, but C suite executives have a high profile, high turnover at the C suite can spook the board, investors, etc. you don’t want too much turnover.

Hiring takes time and not having people in roles can be worse than a mediocre performer and sometimes worse than a bad performer who generally gets the job done.