I am adding an Integrator seat to our Accountability Chart, but I want to keep personal accountability for our key enterprise client relationships and product R&D. How do we structure this on the chart without rendering the new Integrator's seat toothless?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To pull this off, you must first separate your equity owner status from your functional seats on the Accountability Chart. You are moving into the Visionary seat, but you want to hold two other distinct seats: Enterprise Accounts and Product Research. This is structurally fine, but you must draw a hard line on reporting relationships.

These two specialized seats must report directly to the Integrator, not to you as the Visionary. When you are sitting in the Enterprise Accounts seat, the Integrator is your boss for that function. If you bypass the Integrator or pull rank because you own the business, you will break the Accountability Chart on day one and render the new hire useless.

Write down five clear, measurable roles for the Enterprise Accounts seat and five for the Product Research seat. Ensure the Integrator has the authority to manage your performance in those seats, including holding you accountable to your Rocks and weekly measurables. If you cannot accept having the Integrator manage you in those operational roles, you are not ready to hire one. You must either hand those relationships over completely or commit to being managed. There is no middle ground.