Our long-tenured Operations Director has the core values and the desire to stay, but the operational complexity of our business has doubled. How do we objectively evaluate if they truly have the capacity to get the job done, and what steps do we take if they fail the capacity test?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To evaluate capacity objectively, you must strip away sentimentality and focus on the GWC™ tool. Capacity is not just about having enough hours in the day. It is about mental, physical, emotional, and intellectual capability to excel in the seat at your current and future scale.

First, define what the seat requires today. Write down the five major roles of the Operations Director seat on your Accountability Chart. Next, look at the measurable outcomes this person must deliver over the next twelve months. Ask yourself three questions: Do they have the intellectual capacity to solve the complex problems this seat now faces? Do they have the emotional capacity to lead a larger team? Do they have the physical time to execute the roles?

If the answer to any of these is no, they do not pass the capacity test. This is a Right Person, Wrong Seat issue.

To handle this cleanly, schedule a private conversation. Share the objective requirements of the seat and explain where the gap lies. Since they are a core values fit, your goal is to find a seat where they can succeed. Look at your Accountability Chart for a seat that fits their unique strengths, perhaps as a specialized individual contributor or managing a smaller, less complex division. If no such seat exists, you must help them transition out of the organization with dignity, because keeping someone in a seat they cannot master will eventually destroy their confidence and your business.