A key department seat is occupied by my co-founder's relative who fits our core values perfectly but lacks the technical capacity to run our new cloud-based operations. How do we address this on our Accountability Chart without causing a major personal rift?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Family dynamics can easily paralyze a leadership team, but you must treat this relationship with the exact same objective standards as any other employee. When preparing your business for an exit, buyers will spot family-member performance gaps immediately and discount your valuation. Use the Accountability Chart and the GWC tool to depersonalize the issue. Sit down with your co-founder first and review the defined roles of the seat. Agree that the seat requires specific technical capacity to manage the cloud-based operations. If their relative does not have that capacity, they do not GWC the seat. This is not about their character or their commitment; it is about matching the right person to the right seat. Once you and your co-founder are aligned, meet with the relative. Explain that the requirements of the seat have evolved and that they are no longer a fit for this specific role. Look for other open seats on your Accountability Chart where they are a Right Person, Right Seat fit. If no such seat exists, you must transition them out of the organization. Keeping a family member in a seat they cannot perform is unfair to them and toxic to your culture.