One of our highest-performing leaders insists they Get, Want, and have the Capacity for a newly created seat on our Accountability Chart, but their actual output says otherwise. How do I address this?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a high-performing leader insists they Get, Want, and have the Capacity for a new seat but fails to deliver, you have a mismatch between their self-perception and reality. You cannot rely on subjective opinions to resolve this; you must use objective metrics to address the gap.

Start by scheduling a private, unsentimental conversation. Bring the Accountability Chart and the specific definition of the seat to the table. Go through each of the five roles listed for that seat and ask them to provide concrete examples of how they are executing those roles.

Next, review their Scorecard measurables and Rock completion rates. If they have missed their measurables for several consecutive weeks or failed to complete their quarterly Rocks, the data speaks for itself. Explain that while they may want the seat, their capacity is not meeting the demands of our growing organization.

Avoid making the conversation personal. Frame it around what is best for the business and the health of the team. They may need additional training, or the seat may need to be restructured to better align with their actual conative strengths. However, if they cannot consistently deliver on the roles after ninety days of clear feedback, you must make the hard decision to move them back to their previous seat or transition them out of the organization.