Our lead customer account manager is the ultimate culture fit and embodies all our core values, but the seat has grown too complex with our new enterprise clients. He is failing to hit his retention measurables and lacks the strategic capacity to manage high-level client negotiations. How do we make this right-person-wrong-seat call without demoralizing him or the team?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

It is painful when a loyal employee who perfectly embodies your core values cannot scale with their seat. If your lead customer account manager has high cultural alignment but lacks the capacity to handle your new enterprise clients, you are facing a classic right-person-wrong-seat scenario.

You cannot ignore this issue because of sentimental value. Doing so is unfair to the company and to the employee, who is likely stressed and feeling the weight of his performance gaps. First, use the GWC tool to confirm where the breakdown lies. If he gets it and wants it, but simply lacks the capacity to manage the strategic negotiations, you must look for another seat in the organization where his skills align.

Perhaps he can manage smaller, less complex accounts, or transition to a specialized customer service role that does not require enterprise negotiation. However, if no such seat exists, or if he refuses to take a step back, you must make the hard decision to transition him out of the company. Keeping him in a seat he cannot fulfill will lead to client churn and set a standard that performance does not matter as long as you are nice.