The Best Execution Capabilities That No One Talks About

Organisations today are rich in talent. Yet despite this and their unprecedented access to data and technology, many still struggle to get the results they want. Work moves slowly, teams of capable people struggle to align and move forward together, and busy-ness is often mistaken for progress. At the heart of this problem is not strategy or motivation, but an ability to execute; more specifically, the soft skills that people need to move work forward and get results. Martina Doherty explores the issue and outlines how we need to rethink the soft skills we develop in our teams.

Execution is the oxygen of survival in financial markets and one of the core determinants of success. Simply put, if an organisation lacks the ability to execute then there is no revenue. But I’m not talking about trading here – I’m talking about workforce capabilities. Despite unprecedented access to data, technology, and highly capable people in today’s financial markets it’s surprising how often busy-ness is confused with achieving actual outcomes.

This is visible by:

• The inordinate amount of time and energy that gets sucked up into meetings that never seem to move things forward
• Teams of capable people struggling to align and move forward together
• Projects taking too long to complete and then workloads building as more projects come on board. The result is a vicious cycle of busy-ness without impact.

This isn’t a problem of intelligence, motivation, or talent. It’s a soft-skills gap – the gap between intention and action i.e. the ability to get things done.

Talent vs. Execution: What’s Missing?

Most organisations invest in some sort of leadership development or soft skills training programmes. These programmes typically focus on communication, emotional intelligence, confidence, influence, executive presence, and critical thinking. These are undoubtedly essential skills for today’s leaders and workforce, as human capabilities are fast becoming the defining differentiator of positive client experiences in our increasingly tech- and AI-driven world.

But there’s a blind spot.

Most of us have been shaped by an instruction-based education system. From school through university, and then into early career, success is generally defined by our ability to follow instructions and deliver what has been asked of us.

Eventually, though, the cracks appear.

People lack the ability to self-start; they wait to be told what to do; they struggle to adapt when conditions change; they hesitate to move work forward without permission or direction – and in our fast-moving, complex environment, this creates a serious gap between talent and execution.

The soft skills few people are taught

What’s missing is not effort or capability, but a specific set of execution-focused soft skills – skills that very few people have ever been trained in:

• Driving outcomes – the ability to create momentum, unblock progress, and move conversations toward decisions without ruffling too many feathers – not just participation and discussion.
• Visible ownership – being explicit about what you own, taking responsibility for it, and following it through to completion.
• Strategic voice – this is not about speaking up to have a presence, but knowing when to speak, how to frame issues, what truly matters, and when something needs to be elevated so others can act.

When these skills are underdeveloped, that’s when organisations feel the drag. In market terminology, the organisation has the assets, but no flow. The resources are there i.e. the talent, intelligence and effort exist – but nothing is moving efficiently. 

So, what’s the solution?

If execution is the oxygen of financial markets, then the skills that enable execution deserve far more attention than they currently receive.

Soft-skill development is not just about building interpersonal skills or helping individuals transition from technical expertise to people leadership. It must also address the shift from individual contribution to organisational impact. Talent alone is not enough, and soft skills such as communication, collaboration, and emotional intelligence are completely meaningless if they do not translate into results.

Closing this gap between talent and execution therefore requires training that goes beyond capability-building to impact-creation – training people how to deliver outcomes, not merely participate. That means expanding soft skills training to include these capabilities, because like all skills, they can be taught and strengthened.

After all, a team and individual’s success will never be defined by their ability for extensive analysis, multiple discussions or even intelligence. Excellence will always lie in their ability to execute.