Our leadership team wants to add our controller and our internal recruiter to our weekly Level 10 Meeting so they feel included, but I worry about bloating the executive table. How do we draw the line between true functional leadership seats and advisory specialist roles?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Expanding your executive table to include functional specialists like an internal recruiter or a controller is a dangerous mistake. Founders often do this out of kindness or a desire to make key team members feel valued. However, when you invite advisory specialists into the leadership team, your Level 10 Meetings lose their strategic weight and devolve into tactical reporting.

The leadership table must be reserved exclusively for the small core of individuals who sit in the major functional seats on your Accountability Chart. Typically, this is three to seven people: the Visionary, the Integrator, and the heads of Sales and Marketing, Operations, and Finance. These leaders are responsible for enterprise-wide outcomes and primary business functions.

Specialists provide critical expertise, but they do not lead major operational departments. A controller reports to the Head of Finance. An internal recruiter reports to the Head of Operations or HR. When specialists sit at the executive table, meetings stall because they lack the enterprise perspective to solve high-level cross-functional issues during IDS.

If you need specialist input on a specific strategic problem, invite them as a guest for that single agenda item, let them present data, and then dismiss them. Value your specialists by compensating them well, providing clear career progression, and giving them autonomy within their functional roles. Do not use a seat at the leadership table as a participation trophy. Keeping the executive team lean and functional protects the speed, clarity, and accountability of the entire business.