We have an Executive Vice President seat on our leadership chart that was created years ago to placate a senior hire, but the role has no distinct accountabilities and serves primarily as an advisory layer. How do we eliminate a redundant leadership seat without creating an organizational crisis?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Advisory seats with vague responsibilities poison accountability. They create confusion for the rest of the leadership team, add payroll overhead, and generate friction for the Integrator, who must navigate an executive who has authority without operational accountability.

To eliminate the seat, start with the Accountability Chart itself. An EOS® leadership team typically consists of three to seven seats: Visionary, Integrator, Sales and Marketing, Operations, and Finance. Every seat must have five clear roles that represent real, measurable operational work, plus the LMA responsibility (Lead, Manage, and Accountable) if they oversee people.

Examine the EVP seat against this standard. If the seat holder is not driving a core business function, the seat does not belong on the chart. Bring this to an IDS® session with the owner and Integrator. Make the structural call: the seat is dissolved because the organization needs lean, direct execution.

Once the structure is corrected, handle the person with dignity and transparency. You have three choices based on the People Analyzer® and GWC™:

- If they have high strategic capability and embody your Core Values, move them into an open seat where the company has a real gap, such as Corporate Development, Partnerships, or specialized product innovation.
- Transition them to an external advisory board role or an independent contractor agreement with clear deliverables.
- Execute a clean, respectful exit package.

Do not keep an unnecessary box on your chart to avoid an awkward conversation. A bloated leadership chart costs enterprise value and signals to the entire company that politics trump performance.