Our business has grown significantly, and I suspect some of my original leadership team members have hit their ceiling. How do we objectively measure whether a legacy manager has the capability to run a department at our new scale, rather than relying on gut feel or letting personal loyalty cloud my judgment?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To determine if a legacy manager has hit their ceiling, you must remove emotion and run them through the GWC tool. This means evaluating whether they truly Get it, Want it, and have the Capacity to do it. Start by defining their seat on the Accountability Chart based on what the business needs today, not what this person did five years ago. Detail the top five roles for that seat. Then, evaluate the leader against those roles. Getting it means their DNA matches the seat; they understand the natural pace and flow of the job. Wanting it means they genuinely desire the responsibility without needing constant prodding. Capacity is where most legacy leaders fall short as a company scales. Capacity is not about putting in more hours or having a loyal heart. It is about intellectual capacity, emotional intelligence, and skills required to manage a larger budget, handle advanced technology, or lead a bigger team. If they lack the capacity, you must face reality. Keeping someone in a seat they cannot master is not loyal, it is cruel to them and damaging to the business. You have two choices. You can either find a different seat on the Accountability Chart where they do GWC the roles, or you must lovingly transition them out of the organization. Your leadership team must consist entirely of people who GWC their seats if you want to scale or prepare for a clean exit.