We have a customer service manager who is a perfect core values fit and beloved by everyone, but she simply does not GWC the newly elevated data-heavy customer service director seat. How do we handle this right-person-wrong-seat call without destroying team morale or losing a great culture fit?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is one of the toughest decisions an owner has to make, but keeping a right person in the wrong seat will slowly destroy your business and eventually demoralize the person in question. She knows she is struggling, and the rest of the team can see it, which hurts morale more than addressing the issue head-on ever would.

Because she is a perfect core values fit, you want to do everything you can to keep her in the company. Start by having an open and honest conversation. Walk her through the new customer service director seat and explain why the seat now requires deep data tracking and system scaling. Use the GWC™ tool to show where the gap lies, focusing on capacity.

Ask her if she genuinely wants the pressure of this new role, or if she would prefer to focus on what she does best, which is direct customer interaction. Often, she will feel a sense of relief when you give her permission to step back. Look at your Accountability Chart for another open seat where her amazing customer skills and core values alignment are a perfect fit, such as a senior account executive or customer success specialist seat.

If such a seat exists and she GWCs it, move her there. If no such seat exists, you must make the hard call to part ways with love and respect. Keeping her in a seat she cannot succeed in is unfair to her and a disservice to the business.