We have a recurring issue where customer renewal rates are dropping, but our VP of Sales claims it is an operations delivery issue, while our VP of Operations says it is a sales onboarding issue. How do we use the Accountability Chart to fix this blame-shifting and assign absolute ownership?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Blame-shifting happens when seats and roles are poorly defined, creating gray areas where accountability falls through the cracks. To fix this, you must audit the roles of your VP of Sales and VP of Operations seats on your Accountability Chart.

On a healthy Accountability Chart, there must be single-point accountability. You cannot have two seats sharing ownership of customer renewals. Review the five major roles defined for both seats. If customer retention is not explicitly written as a core role under one specific seat, you have a structural gap.

Decide which seat is best positioned to own the number. If renewals are driven by relationship management, upselling, and contract negotiations, the responsibility should live under the Sales seat. If renewals are purely a function of successful product implementation and ongoing service delivery, it should sit under the Operations seat.

Once you assign the renewal metric to one seat, that leader is fully accountable for the outcome. If the VP of Operations owns it, they must work with Sales to fix any onboarding issues, but they can no longer point fingers because they own the final result. Clarifying this single-point accountability on your chart eliminates the gray areas, streamlines your Level 10 Meetings, and ensures your operations are tight and ready for a professional exit.