Our long-tenured Director of Finance has been with us since we had five employees, but as we scale to thirty million, she clearly does not have the capacity to handle our complex tax structures and multi-state compliance. How do we make this tough GWC call without feeling like we are betraying her loyalty?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Handling a GWC evaluation on a loyal, long-tenured employee is one of the hardest things a leadership team will ever do. To do this objectively, you must separate her loyalty from the requirements of the seat. The seat on your Accountability Chart has grown. It now requires multi-state compliance and advanced financial forecasting.

You must run her through the three-part GWC filter. Does she Get it? Does she understand the deep, structural nature of the role? Does she Want it? Does she truly want the pressure of a thirty-million-dollar finance department, or is she just holding on out of obligation? Does she have the Capacity for it? This includes the mental capacity, physical time, and technical capability to execute the job.

If she fails the capacity check, it is not a personal failure, it is a business reality. You cannot keep her in a seat she does not GWC. Doing so is actually unfair to her because she is set up to fail.

To handle this without betrayal, utilize the trust principles from the Trusted Advisor Fieldbook. Approach the conversation with an other-focused mindset. Acknowledge her incredible contribution to the company, but be honest about the gap. Explore if there is a different seat on the Accountability Chart, perhaps a controller or accounting manager seat, that she completely GWCs. If so, move her there. If not, help her exit with dignity.