Our VP of Operations was employee number two eight years ago. She understands our mission and wants to keep her seat, but as we scaled past fifty employees, her lack of financial analysis and modern systems skills means projects constantly stall. How do we execute an honest GWC evaluation on a loyal veteran who is clearly falling short on Capacity?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Loyalty makes personnel decisions emotionally difficult, but keeping someone in a seat they cannot execute damages both the company and the individual. GWC is absolute. A person must Get it, Want it, and have the Capacity to do the job. While she clearly Gets it and Wants it, Capacity includes the intellectual bandwidth, physical time, and technical capability to deliver the five core roles of the seat at your current size.

Schedule a private conversation outside of your Level 10 Meeting. Put the Accountability Chart on the table and walk through the five core roles of the Operations seat as it must exist today. Clearly explain how the complexity of the business has outpaced her current skill set in systems architecture and financial metrics. The message must be direct: the seat grew, and she did not fail as a human being, but the current seat demands capabilities she does not possess.

Determine whether there is a genuine, needed seat on your Accountability Chart where her skills match GWC. Often, early employees excel at direct account management, field quality, or culture building. If a legitimate seat exists, transition her into it with enthusiasm. If no such seat exists, do not invent a make-work role. Offer a graceful, generous exit that honors her contributions while protecting the forward momentum of the company.