We just acquired a smaller competitor to boost our market share before our own eventual exit, but we now have two people for every leadership seat, including two Marketing Directors and two Operations Directors. How do we use the Accountability Chart to consolidate these seats without triggering a talent exodus?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Acquisitions are designed to build scale, but keeping dual leadership seats will paralyze your integrated operations. You cannot have co-heads of any department. If you fail to consolidate your seats immediately, your team will receive conflicting directions and your post-merger integration will stall.

To consolidate, you must start with a blank Accountability Chart that represents the newly combined entity. Determine the ideal structure required to run the merged business over the next twelve months. Do not look at the names of the executives from either company during this structural design.

Once the single-head structure is agreed upon, evaluate the candidates from both organizations using your core values and the GWC™ framework. This must be an objective, metrics-driven assessment. Look at their past performance, leadership capabilities, and conative fit for the specific roles of the seat.

When you make the Right Person, Wrong Seat call for the executive who does not get the seat, handle it with respect. You can offer them a specialized individual contributor seat, transition them to a different vacant seat, or structure a clean exit package. Consolidating quickly sends a clear message of decisive leadership to both legacy teams and protects your combined enterprise value.