We have a high-performing VP who has burnt out in Operations. Because we want to retain him for our exit, we created a vague Special Projects seat on our Accountability Chart. Now, he has no clear measurables, and other departments are dumping their random tasks on him. How do we clean up this structural mess?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Creating a vague Special Projects seat to retain a burnt-out executive is a classic structure-after-people mistake. It creates a dumping ground for unresolved issues, confuses reporting lines, and actively degrades your organizational accountability. If a seat does not have clear, measurable outcomes, it does not belong on your Accountability Chart.

To clean this up, you must eliminate the generic Special Projects seat entirely. Every single seat on your Accountability Chart must have five distinct, non-overlapping roles and at least one leading metric on the weekly Scorecard.

Start by discussing this openly with the executive. Acknowledge that the current arrangement is not working and is likely contributing to his frustration. Look at your V/TO to identify your actual strategic needs for the next twelve months. Do you have a genuine, defined business need, such as an AI integration project, a physical expansion, or M&A due diligence, that requires a dedicated seat?

If a clear, high-value project seat is needed, structure it with specific roles, timelines, and measurable Rocks. Run a GWC evaluation to ensure he genuinely gets, wants, and has the capacity for this specific project work. If you do not have a defined, high-value seat that fits his capabilities, you must face the reality that he may no longer have a seat in the company. Retaining him in a useless role just to keep him around is a disservice to him and a financial drain on the business.