Our top billing specialist wants to step into the newly created Finance Director seat on our Accountability Chart, and they certainly get and want it, but we are highly skeptical they have the financial analysis capacity to run it. How do we objectively evaluate their GWC without destroying their motivation?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a high-performing employee wants to step up into a new leadership seat, it is tempting to reward their loyalty by giving them the promotion. However, if they lack the capacity to do the job at the required level, you are setting them up for failure and putting your business at risk. You must evaluate this transition objectively using the GWC framework.

A billing specialist operates in a highly transactional, structured environment. A Finance Director seat, however, requires strategic forecasting, cash flow modeling, and high-level decision-making. To test their GWC, break down the capacity component into conative, cognitive, and experiential factors.

Start by assigning them a short-term project or Rock that mimics a core role of the Finance Director seat, such as building a three-month cash flow forecast. Observe how they handle the task. Do they require constant hand-holding, or do they approach it with analytical independence?

Additionally, look at their conative profiles. A great Finance Director often needs to be a strong Fact Finder to analyze financial complexities. If their natural striving instincts are geared purely toward quick execution without detail, they lack the conative capacity for the seat.

Be honest with them about the requirements. If they do not meet the GWC criteria, explain the gap clearly. It is far better to keep a stellar billing specialist in their current seat than to lose them entirely by promoting them into a seat where they will drown.