One of our key department heads is a good person who fits our core values, but they simply cannot handle the increasing complexity of our scaling business. How do we objectively diagnose where their capability breaks down before it starts dragging down the rest of our leadership team?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a long standing leader cannot scale, it is easy to let emotion cloud your judgment. To handle this cleanly and objectively, you must run their performance through the GWC filter of the Accountability Chart. This tool removes the emotional fog and isolates the exact point of failure.

Ask three specific questions about this leader in relation to their current seat. Do they get it? This means they deeply understand the culture, the systems, the pace, and the nuances of the role. Do they want it? This means they genuinely jump out of bed wanting to do this job, rather than just wanting the title or the paycheck. Do they have the capacity to do it? This refers to their mental, physical, emotional, and time capacity to handle the increased complexity of a scaling company.

Usually, a leader who cannot scale fails at capacity. They might have the intelligence, but they lack the operational capability to manage a larger team, implement modern technology, or oversee complex budgets.

Once you identify the gap, you must have an open and honest conversation. If they lack the capacity to scale, keeping them in that seat is unfair to them and damaging to the company. You must either restructure the seat to match their actual capacity, transition them to a different seat where they can succeed, or help them transition out of the organization with dignity.