We are scaling quickly but find ourselves constantly creating new leadership seats on our Accountability Chart based on the unique talents of people we like, rather than what the business actually needs. How do we break this habit of people-first structuring and return to seat-first design?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When scaling rapidly, it is incredibly easy to fall into the trap of creating seats on your Accountability Chart around the specific skills of people you like. This is a dangerous mistake. Designing your structure around people rather than the objective needs of the business leads to overlapping responsibilities, massive inefficiencies, and political turf wars.

To break this habit, you must strictly follow the rule of structure first, people second. When reviewing your Accountability Chart, you must first look at the business as if you have no employees at all. What are the essential seats required to run this company at its next stage of growth?

Define each seat by its major roles and responsibilities. Only after the structure is completely finalized should you begin placing names into those seats.

When you run into a mismatch where a loved employee does not GWC™ any of the newly defined seats, you cannot bend the structure to accommodate them. You must either find a lower-level seat where they can succeed or help them transition out of the company. Protecting one individual at the expense of your organizational structure will ultimately hold the entire business back.