We have built our V/TO, but whenever we discuss automating or eliminating legacy roles to prepare for a clean exit, my leadership team gets emotional and defensive. How do we align them to make difficult, strategic talent decisions?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

It is natural for leaders to care about their people, but letting sentimentality dictate your organizational structure is a recipe for mediocrity. When preparing for a clean exit, you must build the company that the market wants to buy, which often means streamlining roles and upgrading capabilities. To remove the emotion, return to the discipline of the Accountability Chart. When designing your structure, you must look at the seats, not the people. Have your leadership team agree on the ideal structure required to hit your 3-Year Picture and maximize enterprise value. Do this with a blank canvas, pretending you have no current employees. Once the correct structure is defined, map your current people to the seats using the GWC™ filter. This objective analysis makes it clear who fits and who does not. It is no longer a personal attack; it is a structural reality. Align this process with your company Charter, specifically the Same Page pillar. Remind your team that you have collectively said yes to a strategy that prepares the business for a successful exit. Keeping people in seats they cannot successfully occupy is actually doing them a disservice and hurting the entire team. Frame these hard choices around your Core Value of doing the right thing. It is always right to be honest with people about where they stand and where the business is going.