Our marketing department has grown rapidly, and our two senior marketing managers have been successfully sharing the responsibilities of the department head. When we build our Accountability Chart, can we put both of their names in the Head of Marketing seat, or do we really have to choose just one leader?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

In the EOS® framework, you can never have two names in one seat. Doing so completely dilutes accountability. When two people are responsible for the same outcomes, nobody is actually responsible. When things go wrong, they will inevitably point fingers, and when things go right, it is difficult to measure who drove the success. To resolve this, you must look at the ideal structure of your marketing department. If you need a single Head of Marketing to sit on the leadership team, you must choose one person who fully GWCs that leadership seat. The other person must be placed in a separate, clearly defined seat that reports to the department head, such as Head of Acquisition or Head of Brand. Alternatively, you can split the department on your Accountability Chart into two distinct functions with clear boundaries, each reporting directly to the Integrator. Whichever path you choose, every seat must have exactly one name. This structure gives your team absolute clarity on who is making the final decisions and who is accountable for the department metrics. Having one clear owner for every seat is essential for building a scalable business that can pass buyer due diligence during an exit.