We have a co-leadership setup in our customer success department where two long-time managers share the Head of Customer Success seat. Since we cannot have two names in one seat, how do we divide this shared seat without creating a political civil war or hurting their morale?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Having two people share a single seat means nobody is actually accountable. When a critical metric drops or a process breaks, the co-leaders will inevitably point fingers or assume the other person is handling it. To fix this without destroying team morale, you must analyze the work actually being done in that department and split the seat into two distinct, separate seats on your Accountability Chart.

Look at the core functions of customer success. You can split the department structurally in a few logical ways. You might split it by client segments, such as Enterprise Accounts versus Small Business Accounts. Alternatively, you can split it by function, creating one seat for Onboarding and Implementation and another seat for Ongoing Relationship Management and Retention.

Each new seat must have its own unique set of five roles and responsibilities. Once the two separate seats are designed, evaluate both managers objectively using GWC™ to see which seat fits each person. Sit down with them together and explain that as you prepare the business for scale and an eventual exit, clear accountability is non-negotiable. Frame the split as a positive step that gives both leaders complete ownership and autonomy over their respective areas, eliminating the friction of shared decisions.