When an issue on the Level 10 agenda exposes that an executive does not have the capacity to perform their seat, how do we run IDS without destroying the team dynamic?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

People issues are the hardest issues to solve because leadership teams naturally avoid hurting feelings. When an operational bottleneck leads back to an executive who does not Get it, Want it, or have the Capacity to do it (GWC), teams often detour into discussing software, training, or workload instead of addressing the seat holder. This cowardice wastes hours and leaves the operational drag intact.

To IDS a seat mismatch cleanly, the Integrator must immediately separate the person from the seat on the Accountability Chart. Ground the discussion in the defined roles of that seat, not the individual's personality. The issue should be framed objectively: the business requires this seat to achieve five distinct outcomes, and those outcomes are consistently missed.

During the Discuss phase, everyone must speak plainly without passive-aggressive commentary. Does the person GWC the seat? Getting it is hardwired mental wiring; you either understand the nuances of the role intuitively or you do not. Wanting it is genuine internal hunger, not just desire for a paycheck. Capacity is time, mental bandwidth, and technical capability. If the answer to any of those three is no, the team must acknowledge it honestly.

The Solve step cannot be kicked down the road with an open-ended promise to improve. A clean solve requires a thirty-day milestone plan with binary outcomes, a seat change, or an exit timeline. Retaining someone in a seat they cannot fulfill demoralizes high performers and destroys trust in the leadership team.