We are trying to define the roles for our key seats, but our department heads are turning their seats into exhaustive, ten-page job descriptions that list every minor task. How do we boil a seat down to its five core responsibilities on the Accountability Chart?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

An Accountability Chart is not an HR directory or a detailed job description manual. If you allow your department heads to write ten-page documents for their seats, you will completely destroy the clarity that EOS® is designed to create.

The purpose of a seat is to define high-level accountability, not to list every single daily task. A seat should have exactly five core responsibilities. If you have more than five, you are drifting into task management rather than true leadership accountability.

To boil a seat down to its five core roles, ask this question: If this person does nothing else but excel at these five things, will this department succeed?

Keep the language direct and action-oriented. For example, a Head of Sales seat should have roles like:
- Lead, manage, and hold the sales team accountable
- Achieve revenue targets
- Maintain pipeline accuracy
- Manage key customer relationships
- Oversee sales training

This level of simplicity makes it incredibly easy to evaluate if a person passes the GWC™ test. It also gives the seat holder the freedom to own their outcomes without being micromanaged.

When preparing for an exit, buyers want to see a clean, simple chart that they can understand in less than five minutes. Keep your seats high-level, clear, and focused on the results that move the needle.