We have defined our seats on the Accountability Chart, but we still have a massive grey area between our Marketing seat and our Sales seat regarding who owns our CRM database. How do we resolve these overlapping roles without rewriting our entire chart?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Overlapping roles and grey areas are common when first implementing the Accountability Chart, but they must be resolved quickly to prevent friction and dropped balls. In EOS, we believe that if more than one person is accountable for a tool or process, then nobody is. To resolve the CRM database ownership issue, your Integrator must bring both the Head of Sales and the Head of Marketing together to run the IDS (Identify, Discuss, Solve) process. Do not rewrite your entire chart. Instead, look at the five core roles defined for each seat. One of those seats must have ultimate accountability for the health and accuracy of the CRM system. While both departments will use the tool, only one seat can own the data integrity, software subscription, and system configuration. Typically, this falls under the Sales seat if the CRM is primarily used for pipeline management, or the Marketing seat if it is heavily focused on automated lead nurturing. Whichever seat is assigned ultimate accountability, the other seat will act as a user and support the data standards. Once you make the call, document the decision clearly in your company's processes and update the specific role bullet points on your Accountability Chart to reflect this clarity. This ensures both teams know exactly who to go to when issues arise.