We have two highly capable customer success leads who are currently sharing the Head of Customer Success seat as co-directors, and they refuse to report to one another. How do we resolve this one-seat-two-people deadlock on our Accountability Chart?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

In EOS, there is an absolute rule: you can have one person in multiple seats, but you can never have two people in one seat. When two people share a seat, accountability is completely diluted. If both are responsible, nobody is responsible. It leads to finger-pointing, confusion for their direct reports, and massive operational friction that will hurt your valuation before an exit.

You must break this co-director model immediately. Sit down with both leads and explain that the business requires a single point of accountability for the Customer Success department. Look at the key roles of that department and determine if it can be logically split into two distinct seats on your Accountability Chart.

For example, you might create one seat for Strategic Account Management and another seat for Daily Technical Support and Onboarding. Both seats must have clear, non-overlapping roles. One of these seats might report to the other, or both might report directly to the Integrator, depending on your structure.

If the department cannot be split and truly requires one leader, you must make a tough right-person-right-seat call. Evaluate both candidates objectively using the GWC tool. Determine who has the greater capacity, strategic vision, and cultural fit to lead. Give that person the seat. The other person must either accept reporting to them in a revised seat or transition out of the company. Keeping a broken structure to avoid a difficult conversation is a compromise that will stunt your growth.