Our Head of Design gets her role and has the capacity to execute, but she has checked out emotionally because our new focus on maximizing margins for an exit has replaced our old, unstructured creative freedom. She does not Want It anymore. How do we address this RPRS issue?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Preparing for an exit requires a shift toward financial efficiency, margin health, and predictable metrics. For some creative leaders, this transition feels like a betrayal of the company's original, free-flowing culture. When a leader gets their role and has the capacity but checks out emotionally, they fail the Want It component of GWC™.

You cannot tolerate a leader who does not Want It. Their disengagement will quietly poison their team and stall your exit preparation.

The Integrator must address this directly. Schedule a one-on-one meeting to discuss the alignment of her personal goals with the company's direction. Use your Charter as the baseline for the conversation.

Explain that maximizing margins is not about stifling creativity, it is about securing the company's future and ensuring a successful transition for everyone involved. Show her how her creative output directly impacts the company's enterprise value.

If she cannot buy into this new operational phase, she is no longer a Right Person, Right Seat fit. You must transition her out of the leadership seat.

You can offer her a non-management role where she can focus purely on design without the burden of operational metrics, or help her transition to another organization. Keeping a disengaged leader in a key seat will compromise your exit strategy.