We need to assign a seat on our Accountability Chart to own our tribal knowledge documentation and M&A data room preparation, but none of our leadership team members want this tedious administrative work. How do we assign this accountability without forcing it on someone who will drop the ball?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When preparing for a clean exit, building a comprehensive data room and documenting tribal knowledge are critical. However, because these tasks are highly administrative and detail-oriented, leadership team members often push them away.

You cannot solve this by simply forcing the responsibility onto a department head who does not GWC™ it. If someone lacks the desire or capacity for detail, they will drop the ball, and your due diligence process will suffer.

Start by treating tribal knowledge documentation and M&A preparation as a distinct seat on your Accountability Chart rather than a minor bullet point on an existing manager's seat. Clearly list the five major roles for this seat, such as managing standard operating procedures, organizing financial audits, and keeping the data room current.

Once the seat is defined, look at your resources. If no one on the current leadership team GWCs this seat, do not force it. You have two options. You can hire an internal resource, such as an executive assistant or an operations coordinator, to report directly to your Integrator and own this seat. Alternatively, you can use a fractional resource or an external consultant to own the roles, while keeping the ultimate accountability under the Integrator seat. This ensures the tedious work gets done by someone who actually wants to do it, leaving your leadership team free to run their primary departments.