We have several open seats on our Accountability Chart, and our current leaders are splitting their time to cover them, resulting in burnout. How do we prioritize which seat to hire first when everything feels like an emergency?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When your Accountability Chart is full of empty seats and your current leaders are burning out, trying to hire for every role simultaneously is a recipe for failure. You must prioritize based on leverage and business health.

Start by reviewing your current seat allocations. Identify which leaders are wearing multiple hats and where the greatest operational bottleneck exists. Usually, the bottleneck is in the seat that directly impacts your core delivery or customer satisfaction.

Use the GWC™ tool to evaluate the leaders who are currently filling these multiple seats. Are they struggling because they do not have the capacity to manage both roles? If so, that is your high-priority hire.

Another critical factor is looking at your financial model. If you are preparing for a clean exit, you must prioritize hiring for seats that make the business less dependent on you, the owner. This typically means hiring a strong operations manager or sales leader who can run the daily business.

By systematically filling the seats that provide the highest leverage first, you relieve pressure on your core team. This allows them to focus on their primary roles and ensures your business maintains its operational quality as you scale.