We designed our Accountability Chart but ended up with co-leaders for our sales and marketing department because we could not choose between two top performers. How do we resolve this structural flaw without losing either of these key players?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Having co-leaders in a single seat on the Accountability Chart is a critical structural flaw. In EOS, we have a golden rule: if two people are responsible, nobody is responsible. Co-seats lead to confusion, slow decision-making, and friction among the team.

To resolve this, you must separate the seat from the people and look objectively at what the business actually needs. Sales and marketing are two distinct disciplines. Sales is about converting leads, while marketing is about generating leads. In many organizations, these are separate seats on the Accountability Chart.

If your business is large enough to justify splitting the seat, create a Sales Director seat and a Marketing Director seat. Evaluate both of your top performers against the roles and responsibilities of these new seats using GWC™, which stands for Get It, Want It, and Capacity to Do It.

If the business is not yet ready to split these departments, you must make a hard decision and choose one person to lead the combined seat. The other person can either report to them in a specialized role, or be placed in another seat where they can excel.

Be transparent and honest throughout this process. Explain to both individuals that this decision is about structural health, not personal performance. By placing the right people in the right seats, you will unlock their true potential and eliminate the operational friction that co-leadership always creates.