Our longest-tenured customer operations manager is a perfect core values fit and wants her seat, but she does not get the new tech-heavy responsibilities of our restructured department. How do we make an objective GWC call without looking like we are discarding a loyal employee?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Evaluating a loyal, long-tenured employee who is failing to adapt is one of the hardest challenges for any business owner. You must separate the person from the seat on your Accountability Chart.

First, use the GWC tool objectively. To say an employee gets it, they must have a natural, innate feel for the roles of that specific seat. If the seat now requires managing complex software integrations and automated workflows, and her cognitive ability or natural wiring does not support this technical execution, she does not get the seat.

To understand her natural method of operating, administer a Kolbe A assessment. If her profile shows a high Fact Finder and low Follow Thru, she might excel at analyzing data but struggle to build and maintain the structured systems this new seat demands. This is not a personal failure. It is a mismatch of her natural striving instincts with the seat requirements.

You have a Right Person, Wrong Seat issue. Since she shares your core values, your goal is to find or design a seat where she has full GWC. Look at your three-year Accountability Chart to see if there is an analytical or relationship-focused seat that matches her skills.

If no such seat exists, you must have an honest, compassionate conversation. Keeping her in a seat where she cannot succeed causes chronic conative stress and ultimately hurts both the business and her well-being.