We just conducted a GWC™ evaluation on our leadership team and realized our COO gets and wants the seat but lacks the mental capacity to handle the sheer volume of our automated transactions. How do we handle a capacity issue when the leader is working eighty hours a week and still failing?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a leader is working eighty hours a week and still failing to keep up, it is a clear sign that they do not have the capacity for their seat. In EOS®, capacity is not just about time. It is about mental bandwidth, emotional intelligence, and the physical capability to handle the complexity of the role.

An eighty-hour work week is unsustainable and dangerous. It leads to severe burnout, dropped balls, and systemic operational risk that will damage your exit valuation. You must address this issue immediately.

Start by looking at the Accountability Chart, not the person. Is the COO seat structured correctly, or is it actually two or three seats disguised as one? If the transaction volume has exploded due to automation, you may need to split the seat or hire a middle-management layer to handle the daily operational details.

If the structure is correct but your COO still cannot keep pace, you have a Right Person, Wrong Seat issue. You must have an honest conversation. Share your observations calmly, focusing on the data and their well-being. Work together to transition them into a seat where they actually have the capacity to succeed, or help them transition out of the company with dignity. Keeping them in a seat they cannot handle is unfair to them and toxic for the business.