We have two extremely talented co-directors of marketing who work brilliantly as a team, and we want to list both of their names in the Head of Marketing seat to keep them happy and collaborative. If they work well together, why can we not have two names in this single seat?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Placing two names in a single seat is a structural trap that kills execution. In the EOS® framework, a core rule is that only one person can be accountable for a seat. When two people are accountable, no one is accountable.

If a metric on the weekly Scorecard is missed or a major marketing Rock is not achieved, they will naturally point fingers at each other, or the rest of the leadership team will not know whom to hold responsible. This structure creates confusion for the Integrator, who must manage the department, and for the marketing team, who now has two bosses giving potentially conflicting directions.

You must make a decision. If they are both highly capable, you need to split the seat or choose one leader. Look at the core functions of marketing. One option is to split the department into two separate seats on the Accountability Chart, such as Head of Demand Generation and Head of Brand Strategy, each with unique roles and measurables reporting to the Integrator.

Another option is to promote one to the Head of Marketing seat and have the other report directly to them. This ensures clear lines of communication. You must use the GWC™ tool to decide who is the right fit to lead. Keeping them as co-leaders is just avoiding a hard decision to prevent hurting someone's feelings. That compromise will stall your marketing results and lower your business valuation.