During our restructuring, my leadership team members are hyper-focused on corporate titles like Chief and Vice President rather than the actual functions they need to own. How do I shift their focus from corporate status to true seat ownership?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Corporate titles are an ego-driven holdover from traditional, bureaucratic hierarchies. In an entrepreneurial company running on EOS®, titles are secondary to the Accountability Chart, which focuses strictly on functions and results. To break this political posturing, you must enforce a strict distinction between titles and seats. Explain to your team that a title is what you call yourself on a business card, but a seat is what you are actually accountable for delivering. During your restructuring sessions, completely remove titles from the whiteboard. Focus entirely on the major functions of the business, such as Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Finance. Identify the five to three major roles for each seat. Use the GWC™ filter to determine who is the absolute best fit for each seat, completely ignoring past titles or seniority. Remind the team that in a healthy organization, we do not build the Accountability Chart around people; we build it to serve the company's vision. If a leader cannot let go of their title obsession to focus on the roles they must own, they do not share your core values and may be in the wrong seat.