Our senior developer passes GWC for our technical architecture seat and has the capability to be our VP of Engineering, but they only genuinely Want the architecture seat. Should we push them into the leadership seat because our company desperately needs it?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Never push an employee into a seat where they lack the Want component of GWC. Just because a brilliant contributor has the intellectual horsepower and capacity to manage a department does not mean they should. Forcing someone into management when their heart is in technical craft leads to executive burnout, poor team morale, and the eventual loss of a top talent.

In GWC, each element is binary:
- Get It: Do they intuitively grasp the rhythm, mechanics, and demands of the seat?
- Want It: Do they wake up excited to do the work, hold the meetings, and manage the friction?
- Capacity to Do It: Do they have the time, emotional stability, skills, and intellect required?

If the developer does not genuinely Want to run people, manage Scorecards, resolve inter-departmental conflicts, and attend weekly Level 10 Meetings, they will fail as VP of Engineering. They will hide in code reviews and ignore operational execution.

Architect your Accountability Chart with two distinct tracks. Keep the senior developer in an individual contributor seat, such as Principal Architect, where they provide technical strategy and system design. Then, open a search for a true VP of Engineering who genuinely Wants the managerial seat, loves holding people accountable, and understands how to orchestrate team delivery.