We have two top-performing account executives who jointly manage our enterprise client relationships, and both insist on co-holding our Director of Strategic Accounts seat. How do we break this two-in-a-box arrangement without alienating either producer or destabilizing our key clients?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When two people sit in one seat, nobody is accountable. If enterprise client retention drops or an expansion target is missed, each person points at the other. Co-holding a leadership seat also paralyzes direct reports and clients, who are forced to navigate competing egos and conflicting instructions.

EOS® is uncompromising on this rule: only one name can occupy a seat on the Accountability Chart. That does not mean you have to fire or demote one of your producers. It means you must clarify the distinct accountability each producer actually owns.

Look at the operational reality of your enterprise accounts. Are your clients grouped by industry verticals, contract size, or geography? If there is a logical operational division, split the seat into two distinct seats, such as Director of Enterprise Accounts - East and Director of Enterprise Accounts - West. Each seat must have its own separate five roles, its own Scorecard measurables, and its own revenue accountability.

Alternatively, evaluate their skill sets against the two distinct disciplines of client management: business development versus client delivery. One producer may excel at hunting expansions, negotiating master service agreements, and landing renewals, making them the ideal fit for Strategic Account Growth. The other may excel at operational governance, executive reporting, and project escalation, fitting a Director of Client Operations seat.

Run both producers through GWC™ against these distinct seats. Give the leadership seat to the person who truly Gets, Wants, and has the Capacity to lead it. Keep the other focused on high-value client production with clear incentives. If an executive refuses to accept single-point accountability, they are putting personal status ahead of company health.