Our current Head of Marketing is asking for a promotion to Chief Marketing Officer. He wants us to update the Accountability Chart to reflect this new title, but we do not think the business actually needs a CMO seat yet. How do we explain the difference between personal career progression and structural necessity?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a valued team member demands a loftier title like Chief Marketing Officer, owners often tempt themselves to change the Accountability Chart to keep them happy. This is a dangerous trap. The Accountability Chart is designed to reflect the structural needs of the business, not to serve as a tool for personal ego management or career progression.

To resolve this, you must explain the difference between structural seats and personal titles to your team. In the EOS® framework, we look at the business as a self-sustaining machine. We only elevate a seat to a higher executive level when the complexity of the business absolutely requires it. If your current revenue and strategy only require a standard marketing seat to manage lead generation, adding a CMO seat is unnecessary overhead.

Explain to your employee that adding an executive seat prematurely distorts the reporting lines and raises expectations that the business is not ready to support. If they want to grow, focus on helping them master the current roles of their seat and hitting their Rocks. When the business scales to the point where a true executive seat is required, they will have the opportunity to prove they GWC that elevated seat. Keep the chart focused purely on structure.