Our long-tenured Head of Finance has been with me since we operated out of my garage, but as we scale toward a clean exit, the seat now requires sophisticated financial modeling and forecasting that she simply does not Get, Want, or have the Capacity to do. How do we make this tough GWC call on a loyal employee without destroying our company culture?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a long-tenured leader who is a perfect culture fit no longer fits their seat due to the scaling needs of the business, it is one of the hardest decisions an owner has to make. However, you must separate the person from the seat. To prepare for a clean exit, you need a high-performing business, and that requires having the right people in the right seats.

First, use the GWC™ tool to evaluate her objectively. Does she truly get, want, and have the physical, mental, and emotional capacity for this new, sophisticated finance seat? Getting it means she understands the role innately. Wanting it means she genuinely desires to do this specific work every day. Capacity means she has the skills, time, and knowledge to execute it at the required level.

If she lacks the capacity to run sophisticated modeling and forecasting, you have a GWC™ issue. You cannot lower the standards of the seat to accommodate her, as that compromises your business valuation and exit readiness. Instead, you must look for a different seat on your Accountability Chart where she is a Right Person in a Right Seat.

Perhaps she can transition to a controller or compliance seat that aligns with her strengths, while you hire a CFO who fully GWCs™ the advanced strategic seat. If no such seat exists, you must make the hard choice to let her go. Keeping a wrong seat holder out of loyalty ultimately hurts both the business and the employee.