We are ready to scale our operations and want to bring in our first outside Integrator to run the business. However, my legacy leadership team has been with me for ten years, and they are highly protective of their direct reporting lines to me. How do we introduce this new seat on the Accountability Chart without causing a mass exodus of my key people?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Introducing an outside Integrator is one of the most delicate structural changes you will ever make, and resistance from your legacy team is entirely normal. They view the new Integrator as a barrier between themselves and you, rather than as an asset designed to help them succeed.

To navigate this transition, you must first get your leadership team to buy into the concept of the Accountability Chart, not the individual who will fill it. Before you even post a job description, dedicate a leadership team session to reviewing your current organizational structure.

Ask your team members to evaluate their own capacity. Most of them are likely overwhelmed, working in multiple seats, and struggling to hit their quarterly Rocks. Help them see that adding a dedicated Integrator seat is designed to remove the operational obstacles, clear the bottlenecks, and give them the support they need to succeed in their own seats.

When you hire the Integrator, make it clear that their primary role is to serve and support the leadership team, not to micromanage them. The Integrator is there to run the operating system, facilitate the Level 10 Meetings™, and clear roadblocks. Once your legacy leaders experience having a true Integrator who helps them hit their numbers, their resistance will transform into relief.