We are five years away from a target exit date and want to ensure our current leadership team is actually capable of running this company without us when the time comes. How do we use the Accountability Chart and the People Analyzer to objectively assess our team's GWC so we can make the hard personnel decisions now rather than in year four?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Five years is the ideal runway to systematically build a self-sustaining leadership team. You must begin by looking at your current Accountability Chart, not through the lens of the people you like, but through the objective needs of the business. Every seat must have clearly defined roles. Once the structure is right, use the People Analyzer to evaluate if your current leaders fit your core values and have the GWC to succeed in their seats. Do they get it, do they want it, and do they have the capacity to do it?

If a key leader lacks the capacity, you have a five-year window to coach them up or replace them. Many owners wait until year four to make these changes, which signals instability to buyers. A buyer wants to see a leadership team that has successfully operated the business for at least three consecutive years.

Use your weekly Level 10 Meetings to observe who actually solves problems during the IDS portion of the meeting. If you are still the one driving the solutions, your team does not yet have the capacity to operate independently. Use this runway to step back, let them fail in a controlled environment, and build the operational muscle that private equity and strategic buyers will actually pay a premium for.