Our COO is a founding team member who perfectly embodies our core values, but as we scale toward our exit target, it is clear he does not GWC the strategic operational leadership required for a larger company. How do we handle this Right Person, Wrong Seat situation?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is one of the most painful decisions an owner has to make. You have a Right Person, Wrong Seat situation. Your COO has high core values alignment, but he lacks the capacity, desire, or skills to run the seat as the business scales.

To resolve this, you must refer back to your Accountability Chart. Remember, you must preserve the integrity of the seat for the sake of the business. You cannot downgrade the roles of the COO seat just to accommodate his limitations, as this will lead to operational failure and hurt your valuation.

Instead, you need to have a direct, loving, and honest conversation. Use the GWC framework as your objective guide. Walk through the five roles of the seat and explain where the gaps are. Because he is a Right Person, your goal should be to find a different seat on the Accountability Chart where he actually GWC's the roles and can add immense value. This might mean moving him to a specialized operational role, a key account management seat, or a technical advisory position.

If no such seat exists, or if he is unwilling to step down from the leadership team, you must help him transition out of the company. Keeping him in a seat he cannot master out of loyalty is unfair to him, damaging to the team, and a massive red flag for any potential buyer.