We identified an essential Supply Chain Director seat on our chart, but we cannot afford to hire for it yet. How do we hold an empty seat without burning out our existing leaders?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Leaving a seat open without clear ownership on your Accountability Chart guarantees that critical responsibilities fall through the cracks. In EOS, an empty box cannot exist without a name attached to it. The work does not pause just because payroll cannot support a new executive.

The proper approach is to assign an existing leadership team member to hold the seat as a temporary second hat. This is not about dumping tasks onto someone's desk; it is about establishing clear accountability. The person assigned to that box owns its five major roles, reports its measurables on the Scorecard, and answers for its performance during the weekly Level 10 Meeting.

To prevent burnout, the leader holding the dual seat must prioritize ruthlessly. They cannot do everything an experienced, full-time hire would do. They must identify the bare-minimum critical accountabilities required to keep operations running smoothly, document the processes, and use their Level 10 Meeting to delegate frontline tasks to direct reports.

Set a clear timeline for the interim assignment. Treat the vacancy as an Issue on your V/TO Issue List. Define the specific revenue or gross margin trigger that will unlock the budget to hire a dedicated full-time leader. This keeps the team aligned and ensures the temporary arrangement does not become a permanent bottleneck.