We have defined our seats clearly, but our Head of Sales and Head of Operations are constantly blaming each other's seats for missed quarterly Rocks, claiming their roles are too interdependent to be held individually accountable. How do we fix this finger-pointing?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When your Head of Sales and Head of Operations are constantly pointing fingers at each other for missed Rocks, it is a clear sign that your Accountability Chart is not driving true ownership.

They are hiding behind the excuse of interdependence, which paralyzes your execution.

To fix this, you must run an IDS session to clarify the boundaries of each seat. Every Rock must have one, and only one, owner who is ultimately accountable for its completion.

If a Rock requires collaboration between sales and operations, the seat owner is still responsible for managing that collaboration, identifying bottlenecks early, and bringing issues to the Level 10 Meeting.

You must also review the five roles defined for each seat. Ensure there is no overlap in accountability. For example, if the sales seat is accountable for bringing in qualified leads and the operations seat is accountable for onboarding those leads, make sure the hand-off process is clearly documented.

By establishing clear boundaries and holding individual seat owners accountable for their results, you eliminate the excuses and foster a culture of true ownership. This level of clarity is exactly what makes your operations run smoothly and increases your business's value to potential buyers.