We are preparing for an exit in eighteen months, and our prospective buyer wants to see a highly structured, scalable middle management layer. Currently, our middle managers are just glorified coordinators with no real authority. How do we restructure their seats on the Accountability Chart to give them true LMA accountability?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A prospective buyer will discount your business valuation if they see that all decision making flows through the founders. To build a scalable middle management layer, you must transition these seats from coordinators to true leaders on your Accountability Chart. This starts by adding LMA as the first and most important role for every middle management seat. LMA stands for Lead, Manage, and hold Accountable. If your current managers do not have this role on their seats, they are simply passing messages up and down the chain. Next, you must define the unique metrics on the weekly Scorecard that each manager is responsible for driving. They must own their team's numbers and have the authority to solve issues within their department using the IDS process before elevating them to the leadership team. You must also give them the authority to hire, fire, and manage their direct reports, within the guidelines of your core values and budget. If your current managers lack the capacity to lead and manage, you must evaluate them using GWC. Some may need to step back into individual contributor seats while you recruit managers who have true leadership capacity. By building a clear hierarchy where managers are accountable for their own seats and teams, you show buyers that the business can run and grow without you.