Our head of technology has been with us for twelve years and has immaculate core values, but he completely lacks the capacity to architect our new AI-driven service delivery model. How do we make the Right Person Right Seat call on someone who built our original platform?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a long-tenured leader has excellent core values but lacks the capacity to handle scaling demands like AI integration, you must separate the person from the seat. Loyalty is a value, but keeping someone in a seat they cannot fulfill is damaging to both the business and the employee.

Conduct an objective GWC™ evaluation. Ask three questions. Does he get it? Does he want it? Does he have the capacity to do it?

In this scenario, he likely gets the historical code and wants to help the company succeed, but he lacks the technical capacity to architect modern AI workflows. Capacity is not just about time. It is about mental bandwidth, modern skill sets, and emotional capability.

If the answer to capacity is no, you must remove him from that seat. To handle this with respect, look at the Accountability Chart to see if there is another seat where his skills and core values are a perfect fit. Perhaps he transitions to a senior individual contributor seat focused on legacy system maintenance or client technical onboarding.

If no such seat exists, you must assist him in transitioning out of the company. Retaining a leader who does not GWC their seat will bottleneck your operation and prevent a clean exit.