We have a loyal, tenured executive who was our third hire twelve years ago, but as we scaled past thirty million dollars, it has become obvious he does not Get It for his seat. How do we run an objective GWC evaluation on a veteran when loyalty makes us want to look the other way?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is one of the most painful calls an owner ever makes. A veteran employee who has been with you for over a decade embodies your Core Values, works grueling hours, and has earned the absolute loyalty of the team. But loyalty cannot compensate for an inability to execute in an expanded seat.

When a company grows from five million to thirty million dollars, the seats evolve dramatically. The operational seat required to run a small shop is entirely different from the seat required to run a multi-site enterprise.

Use the People Analyzer to separate Core Values from GWC (Gets It, Wants It, Capacity to do It). If they embody your Core Values, they are the Right Person. Now evaluate GWC objectively.

Gets It means their brain naturally understands the complexities, systems, and rhythms of the seat at your current and future scale. You cannot train someone to Get It. It is innate. If you have spent two years explaining how to build automated reporting, manage middle managers, or lead cross-functional initiatives, and they still do not understand the underlying concepts, they do not Get It.

Do not let your gratitude cloud reality. Keeping someone in a seat they do not Get is unfair to them, unfair to their team, and dangerous for the company.

Have an open, candid conversation. Acknowledge their massive contributions to the organization. Then, explore whether there is a true seat on the Accountability Chart where their natural skills match the five core roles, perhaps as an individual technical contributor. If no such seat exists, help them exit with dignity, genuine gratitude, and a clean separation package.