We created a dedicated Head of Revenue seat on our Accountability Chart, and our top-performing account executive expects the promotion, but we are unsure if she can lead people. How do we evaluate whether to promote internally or hire externally for an executive seat without losing our top producer?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Promoting a top sales producer into a leadership seat simply to avoid disappointing them is one of the fastest ways to damage a company. Producing revenue and leading people require entirely different skill sets. Top producers thrive on individual autonomy, hunting deals, and personal quota achievement. A Head of Revenue must excel at LMA: recruiting talent, enforcing sales playbooks, coaching underperformers, and forecasting pipeline metrics.

Evaluate the account executive using GWC before you discuss the promotion.
- Does she Get it? Does she understand how to build systems that make others successful, rather than relying on her personal charisma to close deals?
- Does she Want it? Does she genuinely desire to spend her days handling administrative reporting, mediating internal conflicts, and conducting performance reviews, or does she just want the title and compensation bump?
- Does she have the Capacity? Does she possess the emotional patience, management discipline, and strategic thinking required to guide an executive department?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, do not promote her to the seat.

Instead, restructure your career architecture. Build an elite individual contributor seat on the Accountability Chart, such as Strategic Accounts Director or Principal Enterprise Closer. Pair that seat with substantial compensation, executive perks, and recognition. Show her that career progression does not require taking on management headaches. Once that seat is accepted, run an external search to hire an experienced sales leader who possesses proven GWC for executive sales management.