Our Head of Finance has been with us since day one and is a core values match, but as we scale, she clearly does not have the capacity or capability to manage our complex treasury needs. How do we perform an objective GWC evaluation on a legacy employee without destroying morale?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is one of the hardest calls a business owner has to make. You have a loyal, long-tenured leader who has helped you build the company, but the business has grown past her current capabilities. To handle this objectively and compassionately, you must use the GWC tool.

Evaluate her against the three columns: Get It, Want It, and Capacity. She likely gets the job and wants the job, but she lacks the capacity. Capacity is not just about time. It is about mental capacity, skills, knowledge, and experience. As your business scales toward a clean exit, your financial needs shift from basic bookkeeping to strategic capital allocation and forecasting. If she does not possess these skills, she does not GWC the seat.

You must separate the person from the seat. She is a Right Person because she shares your core values. However, she is in the Wrong Seat. Keeping her in a seat she cannot succeed in is unfair to her and dangerous for the business. It breeds quiet resentment across the leadership team.

Sit down with her for an honest, transparent conversation. Explain that the company's growth has changed the requirements of the Finance seat. Show her the updated Accountability Chart. Your goal should be to find a seat in the company where she does GWC and can thrive, such as an accounting manager seat under a new CFO. This preserves her dignity, protects your culture, and ensures your financial operations are handled with the necessary expertise.