How do we restructure our Accountability Chart specifically to show a buyer that we have a highly functioning, self-directed middle management layer that does not require the owners to solve daily issues?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Sophisticated buyers look closely at your Accountability Chart to evaluate your management bench strength. If they see that all major decisions and operations route back to the owner, they see a business with high key-person risk. To prove your company is self-directed, you must structure your chart with clear, decentralized authority.

Begin by ensuring that the Integrator and all major department heads have clear, distinct seats on the Accountability Chart, and that you are not occupying any of those seats. Your role as the owner or Visionary should be clearly elevated and isolated from daily operations.

Next, push problem-solving down to the middle management layer. Ensure that every seat on the chart has clearly defined roles and responsibilities that give managers the authority to make decisions within their domains. They must possess the GWC to run their departments independently.

In your weekly Level 10 Meetings, force your managers to identify, discuss, and solve their own issues. If an issue escalates to the leadership team, it should only be because it requires cross-departmental alignment, not because a manager was afraid to make a call.

When a buyer audits your management structure, they should see a highly capable leadership team that runs the business using the EOS tools. This decentralized Accountability Chart proves to the buyer that your company is a self-sustaining asset that will continue to thrive long after you exit.