My co-founder and I run a professional services firm. We both insist on sitting in the Head of Client Strategy seat because our major clients demand to work with us directly. This is creating confusion for our account managers who get conflicting directions from us. How do we solve this seat-sharing problem?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Having two people share a single seat violates the fundamental rule of the Accountability Chart, which is that only one person can be accountable for a seat. When two names are in one seat, nobody is truly accountable, and your team is left trying to serve two masters.

To solve this, you must separate your client-facing work from your leadership responsibilities. You can both continue to consult with clients, but you cannot both run the department.

To split this seat cleanly, use this approach:
- Create a clear distinction between the operational leadership of the client strategy department and the individual contributor role of consulting.
- Assign one co-founder to the Head of Client Strategy seat, giving them sole accountability for managing the team, setting processes, and hitting scorecards.
- Place the other co-founder in a senior advisor or lead consultant seat, where they can focus entirely on high-value client work without management responsibilities.

This structure gives your team a single point of leadership while allowing both founders to utilize their unique talents where they deliver the most value.