Our Vice President of Supply Chain has been with us since day one, is a culture champion, and claims she still wants the role, but she fundamentally does not get how to scale our vendor network or build modern data-driven forecasting. Because she is a beloved peer, our team avoids addressing her lack of G in GWC. How do we conduct this review objectively without destroying our culture?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Keeping a long-tenured leader in a seat they do not get is not kindness. It is a slow betrayal of the rest of the company. When an employee is clearly the Right Person based on your core values, leadership teams often spend years fabricating excuses for their operational failures. But in EOS, you must have the Right Person in the Right Seat.

The Right Seat requires three unambiguous yes answers to GWC: Get it, Want it, and Capacity to do it. The G stands for a natural, innate understanding of the seat. You cannot train someone to get a seat if their wiring does not fit the complexity of the role. When a supply chain leader cannot conceptualize modern forecasting, predictive vendor management, or complex logistics, no amount of hard work or loyalty will close that gap.

Address this through an objective People Analyzer review. Seat the leader down one-on-one. Walk through the core roles of the seat and show where the company is heading over the next three years. Explain specifically what getting the seat looks like at this stage of scale. Give them thirty days to demonstrate that grasp on a specific Rock or initiative.

If they cannot, make the hard call. Because she is a culture fit, investigate whether another seat exists on the Accountability Chart where she has a full yes on GWC, such as strategic vendor relations or procurement audits. If no such seat exists, transition her out with dignity and generous severance. Leaving an incapable leader in place destroys accountability for everyone else.