We outsource our accounting to an external CPA firm and our marketing to a digital agency. How do we represent fractional leaders and third-party vendors on our internal Accountability Chart?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

On an EOS® Accountability Chart, the work dictates the seat, not the employment status of the person performing it. If a functional seat is necessary for your company to operate, that box must exist on the chart whether it is filled by a full-time W-2 employee, a fractional executive, or an outsourced agency.

Create the seat with its five core roles just as you would for an internal hire. For example, your Finance seat might have five roles: financial reporting, cash flow forecasting, tax and audit compliance, accounts payable and receivable oversight, and financial controls.

Once the roles are defined, put the external individual's name in the box. Do not put the name of the agency or firm; put the specific human being who manages your account and answers for the deliverables. That individual must fully GWC™ the seat. They must Get It (understand the business and their role), Want It (genuinely desire to deliver the outcome), and have the Capacity (time, mental bandwidth, and tools) to do the work.

That external seat holder must participate in your Level 10 Meeting™ or have a direct internal reporting line to the Integrator. They must report on their Scorecard measurables and own Rocks like any internal leader.

If an external partner refuses to operate under single-point accountability or cannot attend weekly pulse meetings, they are not sitting in the seat; they are simply a vendor. In that scenario, an internal leader must hold the seat and manage the vendor as a tool to hit their numbers.