We are creating a new AI Operations seat to oversee our automated workflows. Both our Head of Operations and our IT Manager have the skills, and they want to co-lead this function together. I know EOS rules state one name per seat, but since this is a highly technical and cross-functional role, can we make an exception and put both of their names in this seat?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

No. Putting two names in a single seat is a recipe for operational chaos and skipped accountability. When two people are responsible, nobody is responsible. You cannot make an exception, even for a highly technical or cross-functional role like AI Operations.

If you put both names in the seat, you will create a bottleneck. Decision-making will stall, the team will get conflicting direction, and both leaders will point fingers at each other when automated systems fail.

To solve this, you must define the seat on your Accountability Chart with absolute clarity. Define the five major roles of this seat. Once the roles are defined, you must choose one person to own the seat. They must be the single throat to choke for the success or failure of that function.

The person who does not get the seat can still contribute and do the technical work, but they must report to the person who owns the seat for those specific outcomes. If the IT Manager owns the seat, the Head of Operations must respect their decision-making authority in that domain. If neither has the capacity to fully own the seat alongside their current responsibilities, you must keep the seat vacant on your chart and hire a dedicated leader, or find a way to split the technical and operational tasks into two distinct, non-overlapping seats.