We have a customer success manager who works sixty hours a week, is incredibly loyal, and has a great attitude. Yet, her accounts are constantly complaining, and her team is always in chaos. Our leadership team says she has the Capacity because she works so hard. Are they confusing effort with capacity?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Yes, your leadership team is absolutely confusing effort with capacity.

In the EOS framework, Capacity is not measured by the number of hours someone sits at their desk or how hard they try. Capacity is about whether they have the mental, physical, emotional, and conative capability to perform the roles of their seat at a high level.

Working sixty hours a week to keep up with a standard workload is actually a red flag. It indicates that the individual lacks the natural capability, skills, or efficiency required for the seat. They are redlining just to stay afloat, which leads to errors, team chaos, and client complaints.

When you run this manager through the GWC tool, you must look at the results, not the effort. If her accounts are in chaos and clients are complaining, she does not have the capacity for this seat at your current scale.

Keeping her in this seat because she is nice and works hard is a form of passive management that hurts your clients and your business. It is also unfair to her, as she is likely highly stressed and heading toward burnout.

You must address this right-person, wrong-seat issue. Have a candid conversation. Explain that the seat requires outcomes, not just hours. See if there is a different seat in the organization where her loyalty and work ethic can lead to actual success, or help her transition to a role elsewhere that matches her true capacity.