We are consolidating our separate Sales and Marketing seats into a single Revenue seat to stop the finger-pointing, but we want to retain our current Marketing Director who does not GWC the new combined seat. How do we restructure without letting them go?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Consolidating Sales and Marketing into a single Revenue seat is a smart way to streamline your Accountability Chart. However, this often leaves a highly valued marketing leader without a clear role. If your current Marketing Director fits your core values but does not GWC™ (Get it, Want it, Capacity to do it) the new, broader Revenue seat, you must find a way to restructure without creating an artificial seat just to keep them happy.

Here's a strategic approach:

1. Map Out the New Structure: The new Revenue seat will hold the ultimate accountability for both departments. Underneath that seat, you can create a dedicated Marketing Manager seat that reports directly to the new Revenue head. This allows your Marketing Director to step into a role focused purely on their strength of marketing execution, while the new leader handles the strategic alignment of sales and marketing. For insights on structuring specialized roles, consider [restructuring a seat for a legacy leader hitting their ceiling](/qa/restructuring-seat-for-legacy-leader-hitting-ceiling).

2. Transparent Conversation: Before making this move, have an open and honest conversation with your Marketing Director.
• Explain that the business has scaled, requiring a unified strategic seat that they are not currently wired to fill.
• Show them how the Marketing Manager seat fits into the new structure.
• Explain how they can still make a massive impact in this revised role, focusing on what they GWC. This conversation is crucial for managing [leadership team trust and healthy conflict](/qa/leadership-team-trust-healthy-conflict).

3. Outcome:
• If they accept this new seat, you retain their talent without compromising the integrity of your Accountability Chart structure.
• If they reject reporting to a new head of revenue, you must help them transition out with dignity. This situation is similar to when a [leader cannot scale but you want to transition them](/qa/leader-cannot-scale-transition) without losing them entirely.