I am the Visionary, and I want to create a Chief of Staff seat on our Accountability Chart that reports directly to me to handle special corporate development projects. My Integrator says this seat will bypass her authority and create confusion on the leadership team. Is she right, or is this a valid seat?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Your Integrator is correct. Creating a Chief of Staff seat that reports directly to the Visionary to handle operational or corporate development projects is a recipe for organizational chaos. In the EOS® model, there is only one Integrator, and all operational seats report up through them. Introducing a parallel reporting line directly to the Visionary bypasses the Integrator, undermines their authority, and creates two distinct camps within the company. This structure will quickly lead to misalignment, dropped balls, and political maneuvering. If you have special projects or corporate development initiatives that need to be executed, those roles must live within the existing Accountability Chart under the Integrator. If your current Integrator does not have the capacity or the capability to oversee these projects, that is an issue you must IDS® in your Same Page Meeting. You cannot solve a capacity or capability issue with your Integrator by creating a workaround seat that disrupts the entire organizational structure. Keep the lines of accountability clean. If you want a successful, exit-ready business, you must respect the integrity of the chart and work through your Integrator, not around them.