Our VP of Marketing has been with us for eight years and is a beloved culture fit. She wants her seat and has the capacity to work sixty hours a week, but she completely lacks the "Get It" when it comes to the digital acquisition metrics and AI marketing tools our investment bankers say we need to scale. How do we address this GWC™ issue without destroying company morale?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a classic GWC™ issue where a legacy leader has been outpaced by the evolution of their seat. When prepping for a clean exit, buyers do not pay for historical loyalty. They pay for future growth capability. Your marketing seat now requires a deep understanding of digital attribution and AI-driven scale. If your VP of Marketing does not "Get It" despite training and coaching, you must make a hard Right Person, Right Seat decision.

First, separate the person from the seat. Map out the ideal marketing seat on your Accountability Chart based on what the business needs to achieve its three-year picture. List the five major roles clearly. If she cannot deliver on the "Get It" for those roles, she is in the wrong seat.

You have two choices. If she is a true core values fit, look for another seat on the Accountability Chart where she does GWC™ the roles. This might be a customer advocacy, brand storytelling, or internal communications seat. If no such seat exists or if she refuses a step-back, you must transition her out of the business.

Keeping a leader in a seat they do not get is unfair to them and flatlines your exit valuation. Handle the transition with extreme generosity and respect. The rest of your team will judge you not by the fact that you made a change, but by how humanely you executed it.