Our long-tenured VP of Engineering has been with us for eight years and gets our core values, but he refuses to use the new AI-powered code generators we implemented, causing his team to miss delivery deadlines. How do we handle this GWC issue without losing a key legacy leader?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a classic Right Person, Wrong Seat scenario, specifically a failure of the Capacity component of GWC. Your legacy engineer has the historical knowledge and aligns with your core values, but capacity is not just about mental bandwidth. It includes the willingness and ability to adapt to the modern tools required to keep your business competitive. If he refuses to adopt AI-powered tools, he is holding back the entire department. You must address this immediately. Start by having a direct conversation outside of your weekly Level 10 Meeting. Use the GWC framework to evaluate him objectively. Be clear that using the new technology is not optional; it is a critical role of his seat. Ask him why he is resisting. If his conative style is high in Fact Finder or Follow Thru, he might feel that the AI tools compromise code quality or bypass his established systems. Help him see that his role is to govern the output of these tools, not to fight their adoption. Set a clear, measurable timeline, perhaps over the next thirty days, to see if he can get on board. If he still refuses, you have a hard decision to make. You cannot afford to keep a leader in a vital seat who limits your operational efficiency. You may need to transition him to an individual contributor seat that matches his technical strengths, or help him make a clean exit from the company.