I am ready to hire my first true executive leader, but I do not know whether I should design the Accountability Chart around their unique strengths or force them to fit into a pre-defined seat. How do we approach our first major external leadership hire without breaking our existing operating structure?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When bringing in your first true executive, the temptation is to build the role around the candidate. This is a critical mistake. You must design the Accountability Chart first, based on what the business needs to reach the next level, and then find the person who has the GWC™ for that specific seat. Designing a seat around a person always backfires. Cracks at the leadership level appear as massive canyons to the rest of the organization. If you bend your structure for a new hire, you create confusion about who owns what and invite political maneuvering from day one. Start by defining the five major responsibilities of the seat. Then, evaluate candidates strictly against those metrics. Finally, ensure your existing team is aligned on why this seat is being created. A successful integration requires that the leadership team is united and working toward common goals. If your existing team does not understand the structural need for this new leader, they will protect their territory and freeze the new hire out, rendering the investment useless.