My brother-in-law is a great culture fit and has been with us since day one, but he is currently in our Head of Logistics seat and clearly does not GWC it as we scale. Since we are planning an exit in eighteen months, how do we move him out of this seat without causing a family crisis or disrupting operations?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Managing family members on the Accountability Chart is one of the hardest parts of running a business, but preparing for an exit leaves no room for sentimentality. A buyer will instantly spot an underperforming department head, and a failing logistics seat will directly damage your valuation. You must handle this with absolute clarity and compassion. Because he is a great culture fit, he is a Right Person, but he is simply in the Wrong Seat. Schedule a private meeting outside of your regular operational rhythm. Use the GWC™ tool to show him where the gaps are. Frame the conversation around the growth of the business and the changing needs of the logistics seat as you prepare for an exit. Explain that the complexity of the seat has outgrown his current capacity. Instead of letting him fail, work together to find a seat on the Accountability Chart that he actually gets, wants, and has the capacity to do. This might be a specialized individual contributor role, such as key account logistics or vendor relations. If a suitable seat does not exist, you must help him transition out of the company gracefully before the sale process begins. Keeping him in a leadership seat he cannot handle hurts the business, your family dynamic, and your exit readiness.