I have a loyal department head who has hit their ceiling, and while they fit our culture perfectly, they are holding the entire department back. How do I determine if they just need more training or if it is time to move them out of their leadership seat?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Determine if the gap is a skills gap or a capacity gap. Skills can be taught: conative capacity, core intelligence, and emotional maturity cannot. Use the EOS GWC tool: Get It, Want It, Capacity to do it. Get It means their brain naturally understands the seat. Want It is their intrinsic motivation. Capacity is their mental, physical, and emotional bandwidth to execute. If they lack skills, invest in training. If they lack Capacity, they are in the wrong seat. Keeping them there is actually unkind. It forces them to operate in a state of perpetual anxiety and forces their direct reports to suffer. You must have a candid, loving conversation. Let them know they are a valuable cultural fit, but the seat has grown past them. Offer them a different seat on the Accountability Chart where they can succeed and shine. If no such seat exists, you must help them transition out of the business with dignity. Your loyalty must be to the collective health of the organization first.