We have a co-founder on our leadership team whose department has completely outgrown their capability, and they are starting to drop balls. Since we cannot fire them, how do we restructure their seat on the Accountability Chart without causing a major internal blowup?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is one of the most painful challenges an owner faces, but ignoring it will destroy your company. Cracks at the leadership level always appear as canyons to the rest of the organization. If you allow a co-founder to remain in a seat they cannot fulfill, you damage team morale and lose the respect of your high performers.

You must separate the person from the seat. Your co-founder may be a Right Person for the business, meaning they share your core values, but they are in the Wrong Seat because they no longer GWC the role. They do not get it, want it, or have the capacity to do it at this scale.

To resolve this, have a direct, open, and honest conversation. Frame the discussion around the future needs of the business and the health of the organization. Use the Accountability Chart as your objective guide. Show them how the seat has expanded and ask them if they realistically have the capacity to manage it.

Find a new seat where they can add maximum value without managing a department they cannot scale. This might be a specialist role, an advisory position, or a creative seat. By restructuring the role with respect and clarity, you preserve the relationship while protecting the company's operational health.