We have historically built our leadership team around our people's personalities and current workloads instead of the actual needs of the business. How do we restructure our Accountability Chart from scratch without causing a mass resignation?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Building a company around personalities instead of structure is a recipe for stagnation. To scale your business, you must detach the people from the seats. You need to design the ideal Accountability Chart for where the company needs to be in twelve to eighteen months, completely ignoring the names of your current employees. Start by gathering your leadership team for a dedicated strategy session. Explain the concept of structure first, people second. Make it clear that this exercise is not about evaluating individual performance, but about defining the functions necessary to run a successful organization. Together, map out the major seats, which typically include operations, sales, marketing, finance, and the integrator. Define the five key responsibilities for each seat. Once the structure is locked, you can begin placing names into the seats. Evaluate every leadership team member using the GWC™ framework. Do they get, want, and have the capacity for the newly defined roles? You will inevitably find that some people do not fit their current seats anymore. Address these gaps through honest, one-on-one conversations. Explain the strategic reasoning behind the changes and outline how their skills can be better utilized in a different seat. By involving your leadership team in the design process and focusing strictly on the needs of the business, you reduce resentment and build a solid foundation for growth.