We just hired our first real outside VP of Sales to take over revenue from me, but during the first thirty days, they keep asking for my permission on minor sales tactics instead of taking ownership. How do we break this dependence and force them to own their seat?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When an outside executive asks for permission on tactical decisions, they are usually testing your boundaries or hedging against failure. If you supply the answers, you teach them that you remain the real seat holder while they are merely an expensive assistant.

Break this cycle immediately during your next Same Page meeting or one-on-one. Walk through their five major roles on the Accountability Chart. Explicitly define what decisions they fully own versus the rare strategic issues that require collaboration with the Integrator. Tell them clearly: I hired you because you Get, Want, and have the Capacity to run this function. If you ask me for permission on tactical execution, I am doing your job.

Establish a strict framing rule. When they come to you with a problem, do not allow open-ended questions like 'What should we do?' Require them to bring a proposed solution: 'Here is the issue, here are the two options I evaluated, and here is the decision I am executing unless you object.'

Next, inspect their Rocks and weekly Scorecard measurables in your Level 10 Meeting. Judge them purely on outcomes, not their daily process. If you give them complete operational freedom and they still hesitate to pull the trigger after ninety days, you do not have a boundary issue. You have a GWC failure in the Capacity seat, and you need to replace them.