We have several managers who spend most of their time coordinating work between departments rather than delivering results. How do we identify and eliminate these redundant management seats on our Accountability Chart?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Redundant management seats are friction points that slow down decision-making and inflate your payroll, damaging your valuation. These seats often develop organically as a band-aid for poor communication or poorly defined roles.

To eliminate them, run a structural audit of your Accountability Chart. Look for seats that do not have clear, direct measurables or distinct deliverables. If a seat's primary function is described as coordinating, facilitating, or acting as a liaison, you likely have a redundant seat.

In a healthy EOS® structure, every seat must have clear roles that directly produce an output. If you have a manager sitting between sales and operations just to hand off files, you have a structural flaw. Instead, redefine the roles of the sales and operations seats to include a clear hand-off protocol.

By clarifying the boundaries and expectations of your core seats, you eliminate the need for coordinators. This allows you to remove the redundant management layer, flatten your structure, and improve your operational efficiency. Moving these legacy managers to productive, high-value seats or exiting them from the business directly improves your EBITDA.