One of our key leadership team members has the intellectual capacity and skill to run our redesigned department, but they openly admit they do not want to work within a highly standardized, documented system required for our exit transition. How do we handle a Right Person, Right Seat call when someone has the capacity but lacks the want it?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is one of the toughest decisions an owner faces, especially when preparing for an exit. You have a long-term leader who is a great culture fit and has the intelligence and skills to do the job. However, they are resisting the standardized processes, clear metrics, and disciplined meeting pulses required to scale the business for a clean exit. They lack the Want It component of GWC™.

You cannot compromise on GWC™. If a leader does not genuinely want to work within your new, structured operating model, they are in the wrong seat. Their passive resistance will infect their entire department and prevent your business from becoming self-sustaining.

Your first step is to have an honest, direct conversation. Share your observations and explain why their lack of buy-in is a blocker for the company. Ask them if they truly want to own this new version of the seat, or if they are simply holding onto it out of legacy pride or fear of change.

If they admit they do not want the seat as it is now defined, you must move them out of it. You can explore if there is another seat in the organization where they fit and can thrive, or you must transition them out of the company. Keeping someone in a leadership seat who does not want to follow your operational model will cap your growth and damage your exit value.