Our head of operations was brilliant when we were a small team, but now that we have grown, they are drowning, micromanaging their people, and failing to execute strategic Rocks. How do we address this without losing a dedicated employee?

This is a classic GWC™ problem. Your leader had the capacity for a ten-person company, but they do not have the capacity to manage a scaled, fifty-person operation. Keeping them in a seat they cannot fulfill is unfair to them and damaging to the rest of the leadership team. You must run a diagnostic using the Accountability Chart. Separate the person from the seat. Does this person still Get, Want, and have the Capacity to lead, manage, and hold people accountable? If they are micromanaging, they are likely trying to do the work themselves because they lack the leadership capacity to delegate and elevate. Sit down with them outside of your regular quarterly sessions. Explain that the seat has outgrown their current capacity and that you want to reposition them where they can win. This often means moving them out of the leadership seat and into a highly specialized individual contributor role where their deep technical knowledge is an asset, not a bottleneck. Reference your company Charter, which emphasizes a Same Page commitment to doing what is best for the organization. If they share your Core Values, they will eventually feel the relief of being out of a seat that was crushing them. If they resist and demand the title, they are putting self-interest above the team, and you must make the hard choice to exit them.

Category: Leadership Team