Our head of sales is incredible at closing deals and knows our product inside out, but as we scale, they are micromanaging their team and causing high turnover. How do we address a leader who has the technical capability to scale but lacks the management capability?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a classic case of a leader reaching their ceiling of complexity. Being great at a technical skill, like sales or engineering, does not automatically make someone a great manager of people.

First, evaluate them using the Accountability Chart and the GWC tool. Does this person actually want to manage people, or do they just want the title and compensation that comes with a leadership seat? Often, technical superstars hate managing but feel forced into it to progress their careers.

If they do not GWC the management portion of their seat, you must restructure. You cannot allow a micromanager to destroy your culture and drive away top talent, especially when you are building a valuable, exit-ready business.

Consider splitting the seat. Create a high-level individual contributor role for their technical brilliance, and bring in a dedicated manager to run the team. This allows them to focus on what they do best without holding the company back.

If they refuse to relinquish the management role despite coaching, you must make a hard decision. Keeping a legacy leader who cannot scale will eventually cap the growth of your entire organization and lower your company valuation.