Our leadership team is deadlocked on where our Customer Success department belongs on the Accountability Chart. Sales argues it belongs under them for upselling, while Operations says it is a fulfillment function. How do we resolve this debate using EOS principles?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a classic structural debate that stalls many growing companies. To resolve it, you must take all personalities and current department battles out of the room and look strictly at the function of the seat through the lens of your business model.

Start by defining the core purpose of your Customer Success seat. Is the primary accountability of this seat to drive new revenue, contract renewals, and expansions? If so, the seat is fundamentally a sales function and should report to your Head of Sales.

On the other hand, if the primary accountability is onboarding, technical support, troubleshooting, and keeping clients happy so they do not churn, it is a delivery function. In that case, it belongs under your Head of Operations.

Do not try to split the seat or have it report to both departments. Dual reporting relationships break the Accountability Chart and create confusion for the team. Make a definitive choice based on what your business needs to achieve its long-term goals and prepare for a clean exit.

Once you decide, update the Accountability Chart to show a single, clear reporting line. This ensures that during your weekly Level 10 Meeting, there is no confusion about which leadership team member is accountable for Customer Success metrics.