Our head of customer support was brilliant when we had five people, but now we have forty and they are completely overwhelmed, stalling our operations. How do we objectively diagnose whether they can step up to this level or if we need to transition them to a different seat on our Accountability Chart?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a classic scaling dilemma that every growing business faces. To make an objective decision without being blinded by loyalty, you must use the GWC™ tool from the EOS® framework. Ask yourself three simple questions. First, do they truly get the seat? Do they understand the systemic, strategic requirements of managing forty people, or do they only understand the tactical work of solving individual customer complaints? Second, do they want the seat? Do they genuinely want the stress, leadership, and accountability of this larger role, or are they doing it simply because of the title and pay? Third, do they have the capacity? Do they possess the intellectual, emotional, and physical capacity to lead at this scale? If the answer to any of these is no, they are in the wrong seat. You also need to look at their conative makeup. A person who is highly energized by hands-on problem-solving, which is a high Implementor or Quick Start, will be drained and miserable when forced to spend all day on resource planning, budgeting, and performance management. If they fit your core values but do not GWC™ the scaling seat, your job is to find or create a seat on the Accountability Chart where their natural instincts are a strength, not a liability. If no such seat exists, you must make the hard, professional choice to let them go so you can bring in a leader who can take you to the next level.