Our Head of Client Relations has been with us for eight years and is a perfect culture fit, but they completely lack the analytical capacity to manage our new data-driven retention metrics. If they fail the GWC check for this updated seat, how do we transition them without losing our biggest clients?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

It's a painful but necessary realization: the people who helped you get to where you are today are not always the people who can take you to the next level. When preparing for a clean exit, buyers will scrutinize your leadership team's ability to manage by metrics.

If your Head of Client Relations is a perfect culture fit but fails the GWC™ check for their updated, data-driven seat, you cannot leave them there. Keeping someone in a seat they do not GWC™ will lead to:

• Operational drag: Slowing down processes and decision-making.
• Missed targets: Failing to achieve critical business goals.
• Lower valuation: Potentially impacting your [exit planning](/qa/exit-planning) if you're looking to sell.

However, because they are a culture fit, you should make every effort to find them a right seat. This means looking at your [Accountability Chart](/qa/resolving-accountability-chart-seat-overlaps) and identifying or creating a seat that utilizes their deep client relationships without requiring them to manage complex analytical metrics.

For instance, you might:

• Move them into a Senior Relationship Manager seat: Here, their sole focus would be client retention and relationship building, leveraging their existing rapport and [leadership team trust](/qa/leadership-team-trust-healthy-conflict).
• Report to a new, data-driven Head of Client Success: This new leader would fully GWC™ the analytical requirements of the leadership role.

This move preserves their institutional knowledge and customer goodwill while ensuring your leadership team has the analytical capability required to scale and effectively [review your weekly scorecard](/qa/how-to-review-scorecard-under-five-minutes). It addresses the [loyalty versus capability](/qa/loyalty-versus-capability-leadership-team) challenge directly.

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