Our operations department is constantly missing its targets, and I cannot tell if the issue is that our Accountability Chart structure is poorly designed or if our VP of Operations is simply the wrong person in the seat. How do we diagnose this objectively?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To solve this issue, you must separate structure from people. This is the perfect opportunity to use Keith Cunningham's concept of Thinking Time to gain absolute clarity before making any rash moves.

Schedule a quiet, uninterrupted thirty minute session. Ask yourself a high value question such as: How would I design our operations department from scratch if I had no existing employees? Write down exactly what seats are needed to deliver our product or service efficiently, and define the top five roles for each seat.

Once you have designed the ideal structure on paper, compare it to your current Accountability Chart. If your ideal structure is significantly different, you have a structural problem. You may need to split a seat, merge functions, or create a new seat to handle the current volume of business.

However, if your ideal structure matches your current chart, you have a people problem. Now, run your VP of Operations through the core values assessment and the GWC™ framework. Do they truly share your core values? Do they get, want, and have the capacity to manage the roles defined for that seat?

By separating the structural design from the individual, you remove the emotional bias. This process will show you whether you need to redesign the department or make a difficult right person right seat call to keep your business moving forward.