I have been running the business as both Visionary and Integrator for ten years, but I am ready to step back and bring in an Integrator so I can focus on big-picture strategy. How do I structure this transition on the Accountability Chart so the rest of the leadership team actually respects the new Integrator and stops coming to me?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Bringing in your first Integrator is a major structural shift. To make it stick, you must first design the new Accountability Chart showing you in the Visionary seat and the new person in the Integrator seat, with all other leadership seats reporting directly to the Integrator, not to you. Once the structure is clear, you must change your behavior. When a team member comes to you with an operational problem, a question, or a request for approval, your only response must be to ask if they have run it by the Integrator yet. If they have not, direct them there immediately. If you answer their question or solve their problem, you destroy the Integrator's authority and teach your team that the new structure is just for show. You must completely let go of the daily running of the business. Focus your energy on your true Visionary roles, such as big relationships, R and D, and culture, and let the Integrator own the LMA, which is leading, managing, and accountability, for the leadership team. It will be uncomfortable, but it is the only way to build a scalable organization that can run without you.