As we prepare the company for a clean exit, we are standardizing roles and documenting processes, but my leadership team is fighting over who owns specific valuable functions because they think it impacts their post-acquisition value. How do we resolve these turf wars on the Accountability Chart?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When preparing for a clean exit, leadership team members often become territorial, fighting over roles and responsibilities on the Accountability Chart because they believe their personal value to a buyer is tied to how much they own. This behavior is destructive and slows down the systemization of your business.

You must frame the Accountability Chart as an organizational tool to optimize the company, not a career ladder or a personal validation metric. A buyer does not value a bloated seat owned by an indispensable leader. They value clear, documented, and repeatable systems that can run without any single individual.

To resolve these turf wars, take the team back to the company's long-term vision in the V/TO®. Remind them that the goal is to build a highly valuable, scalable asset. When evaluating the seats, ask the team what is best for the organization, not what is best for their personal resumes.

Use the IDS® process to resolve overlapping responsibilities. Force the team to look at the functions objectively. Every seat must have clear, non-overlapping roles that the person in the seat fully GWC. Make it clear that their value to the future buyer is determined by how well their department runs under documented systems, not by how many direct reports they have.