We have an executive who is currently holding dual seats as the VP of both Marketing and Product, but they are constantly prioritizing product development over lead generation, leaving sales starving. How do we resolve this dual-seat conflict?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

An executive holding two seats on the Accountability Chart is a temporary fix, not a permanent solution. When your VP of Marketing and Product consistently prioritizes product development over lead generation, your sales pipeline suffers. This is a classic GWC issue where the leader has the capacity for both roles but lacks the time or focus to execute both effectively.

You cannot expect one person to split their brain between two major departments and achieve excellence in both. Marketing and Product require different conative strengths. Marketing demands a market-facing, lead-generation focus, while Product demands internal system design and technical execution.

The Integrator must address this immediately. Review your Accountability Chart and look at the core responsibilities of both seats. It is clear that the dual-seat leader is gravitating toward their natural conative strengths, likely product development, and neglecting marketing.

The solution is to split the seats. You must decide which seat this leader is best suited for based on their GWC and conative profile. Once you place them in their primary seat, you must recruit a high-capability leader to fill the other.

Do not let fear of recruitment costs keep you in a compromised structure. The cost of a starved sales pipeline far outweighs the cost of hiring a dedicated VP of Marketing. Split the seats, clarify the metrics, and hold both leaders accountable to their respective Rocks.