Our VP of Operations has been here since we were in a garage. He bleeds our core values and wants the job, but he is a high Quickstart and low Follow Thru on the Kolbe Index, meaning he thrives on chaos and hates building systems. As we scale, his lack of structured execution is holding us back. How do we make this GWC™ call when his loyalty is unquestionable?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Loyalty and core values alignment are non-negotiable, but they do not equal capacity. Your VP of Operations gets the seat and wants the seat, but his conative profile proves he lacks the capacity to build the repeatable systems your business now requires. As you scale past a certain complexity, a low Follow Thru score on the Kolbe Index becomes an active bottleneck for an operational leadership seat. He cannot change his instinctive way of doing things, and forcing him to try will only lead to conative stress and burnout.

You must make a hard, objective GWC™ call. Start by dedicating a Thinking Time session to frame this question: How might we transition this leader to a seat where his high Quickstart drive is an asset, such as new product development or strategic market expansion, without leaving our core operations in chaos?

Once you identify a seat where he can successfully GWC™, sit down with him for an open and honest conversation. Frame the move not as a demotion, but as a strategic realignment of his unique strengths. If no such seat exists, or if he refuses to relinquish operational control, you must make the difficult decision to transition him out of the company. Keeping a loyal leader in a seat they cannot master out of sentimentality is a disservice to him, your team, and the health of your business.