We are trying to build our first real Accountability Chart, but my leadership team keeps designing seats around the specific skills and comfort zones of our existing employees instead of what the business actually needs to hit our three-year target. How do I force them to put structure before people when they are terrified of hurting their direct reports' feelings?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This situation is common, and designing seats around existing personalities is the fastest way to institutionalize mediocrity. To break this habit, you must lead your team through a blank-slate exercise.

The Blank-Slate Exercise

Begin by creating a clean, unpopulated Accountability Chart.

1. Erase All Names: Physically or digitally remove all names from your current organizational discussion.
2. Define the Ideal Structure: Instruct your leadership team that, for a designated period (e.g., two hours), existing staff does not exist. The goal is to design the ideal structure required to run a company of your size and complexity, specifically to hit your three-year targets. This future-focused approach helps avoid the temptation to cater to current comfort zones.

Focus on Functions and Roles

Once the names are removed, shift the focus entirely to what the business needs to accomplish.

• Core Functions: Every business, regardless of size, generally requires three major functions: Sales and Marketing, Operations, and Finance. These functions are typically led by an Integrator. For more on the Integrator's pivotal role, see [how to assess an internal candidate for the Integrator seat](/qa/promoting-internal-operations-manager-integrator).
• Define Seat Responsibilities: For each seat, define the five major roles based purely on what must be done to drive success for the business, aligning with your [three-year targets](/qa/customer-expectations-shifting-ai-vto).
• For example, if a sales seat genuinely requires cold calling and database management, list those roles explicitly. It doesn't matter if your current sales representative dislikes these activities; the structure dictates the need.

Layering People and Addressing Gaps

Only after the entire structure is completed and agreed upon by the leadership team should you begin matching names to the seats.

• Identify Gaps: When you finally layer your people over the chart, you will inevitably discover gaps where a long-term employee does not GWC™ (Get it, Want it, and have the Capacity for it) the newly defined seat. It's crucial not to change the seat to fit the person. For further insights on GWC, consider how it applies to [restructuring a seat for a legacy leader](/qa/restructuring-seat-for-legacy-leader-hitting-ceiling).
• Use the Issues List: Identify the gap clearly and put it on your Issues List.
• IDS® for Solutions: Use your Level 10 Meeting™ to IDS® (Identify, Discuss, Solve) how to train, transition, or recruit for that seat. This process ensures that structural integrity is maintained while addressing personnel challenges systematically. For effective issue resolution in these meetings, remember the importance of [handling defensiveness around red scorecard metrics](/qa/handling-defensiveness-around-red-scorecard-metrics).