Our co-founder has been our Head of Operations for fifteen years, but they are consistently failing the Want It part of GWC for their seat because they are completely burned out on daily firefighting. They refuse to step down because of their equity and history. How do we handle this?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is one of the hardest calls a leadership team has to make, but you must separate ownership from seat accountability. Owning equity in the company does not automatically entitle someone to a seat on the Accountability Chart. Every seat must be occupied by someone who gets it, wants it, and has the capacity to do it today, not fifteen years ago.

Failing the Want It component of GWC means they no longer have the passion, drive, or desire to perform the daily roles of that seat. Burnout is a clear indicator that their wiring is misaligned with the current demands of the operations seat. Keeping a burned out leader in a critical seat out of loyalty or fear of conflict is holding the entire company hostage and stalling your growth.

You need to have an open, honest, and loving conversation based on trust. Sit down with your co-founder and use the Trusted Advisor framework. Approach the conversation from a place of helping them find their true path, rather than accusing them of failure. Acknowledge their immense contribution to the business and state clearly that their current state is not sustainable for them or the company.

Work together to design a transition. They can remain an active owner and board member while stepping out of the daily operations seat. You can explore moving them to a different seat on the Accountability Chart that aligns better with their current energy, or help them transition out of daily operations entirely so you can hire a true operational leader who GWCs the seat.