We have two highly skilled, long-term managers who want to share the Director of Marketing seat as co-leaders because they claim their skills are perfectly complementary and they can divide the roles. How do we handle this on our Accountability Chart without violating the core EOS® rules?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Having two names in one seat on your Accountability Chart is a recipe for operational failure. The fundamental rule of the Accountability Chart is that only one person can own a seat. When two people share a seat, accountability is completely diluted. If both are responsible, nobody is responsible. When marketing metrics slip or a major campaign fails, they will naturally point fingers at each other, or your leadership team will have to spend hours trying to figure out who was actually driving the project.

You must split the seat. Start by looking at the work itself, not the people. What does your marketing department actually need to achieve? Typically, marketing can be broken down into distinct functions, such as lead generation and brand management, or digital marketing and traditional marketing. Create two distinct seats on your Accountability Chart, each with its own clear, measurable five roles.

Once the seats are structurally separate, evaluate each person against their new seat using the GWC™ framework (Get It, Want It, Capacity to Do It). One person will occupy the digital marketing seat, and the other will occupy the brand seat. Each will have direct accountability for their respective measurables and Rocks. They can still collaborate, but when a decision needs to be made, there is a single point of accountability. This structure keeps your lines of communication clean and ensures your Level 10 Meetings™ do not devolve into finger-pointing sessions.