Our long-tenured Engineering Director is a stellar culture fit, but as we move to cloud-native architectures, they clearly lack the technical capability to lead the new seat, though they insist they can learn it. How do we handle this GWC™ call when the "Get It" part is missing due to rapid tech changes?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is one of the hardest calls an owner has to make, but you must decouple love from capability. The GWC™ tool is binary: yes or no. There is no such thing as a partial yes.

The "Get It" component of GWC™ refers to the innate wiring and deep understanding required for the seat. If your company is moving to cloud-native architectures and your director does not have the technical depth to lead that strategy, they do not get the seat. Wishing, hoping, or sending them to a boot camp will not change their natural cognitive limits or the speed of your industry.

Insisting they can learn it is a trap. It delays the inevitable while your business falls behind. You must have an honest, compassionate, yet firm conversation. Let them know they are a valued core values fit, but the requirements of this specific seat have evolved past their current capabilities.

Look at your Accountability Chart for another seat where they do GWC™ the roles. This might be a legacy engineering seat, an advisory role, or a customer-facing technical support seat. If a suitable seat does not exist, you must help them transition out of the company with dignity. Keeping someone in a seat where they are set up to fail is not kind; it is weak leadership.