Our Head of Product matches our core values perfectly and has the capability, but he has missed his Rock commitments for three consecutive quarters because his department is constantly putting out fires. How do we determine if this is a performance issue or a capacity problem on the Accountability Chart?

When a highly capable leader who matches your core values consistently misses their Rocks, you must diagnose whether the issue is performance or capacity. To do this, start by looking at your Accountability Chart and analyzing the design of their seat.

First, conduct a GWC evaluation. If they have the capacity but are still failing, the issue may be a lack of clarity around their seat's roles and responsibilities. Are they spending too much time doing operational work instead of leading?

Second, look at their daily workload. Use the Delegate and Elevate tool to see if their plate is overloaded with tasks that should be handled by their direct reports. If their department is constantly putting out fires, it means they have not built the systems or trained their team to handle operational issues independently.

Third, evaluate the complexity of the Rocks that were set. Often, leadership teams set massive, unrealistic goals as Rocks without scoping the resources required to achieve them.

If they are doing the work of two people because you have not hired support roles, it is a structural capacity issue. You must adjust the Accountability Chart to build support seats under them. However, if they have the resources and team but simply refuse to step out of the daily fires, it is a management capability issue. You must coach them to transition from a firefighter to a system builder, or place them in a different seat.

Category: Leadership Team