Our Head of Sales is hitting record numbers, but he completely ignores our EOS processes and treats the other department heads with open contempt. How do we handle this right-person-right-seat call when our revenue depends on him?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

You have a classic right-seat, wrong-person dilemma. This leader is highly capable of delivering sales results, meaning he GWCs™ the seat, but his behavior violates your core values and destroys organizational trust. Retaining a toxic high-performer tells your entire company that your core values are just decorative wall art.

To address this, use the Trust Equation from the Trusted Advisor Fieldbook. Trust is built on credibility, reliability, and intimacy, divided by self-orientation. Your Head of Sales has high credibility and reliability because of his numbers, but his self-orientation is off the charts, which completely tanks his overall trustworthiness. He is focused on his own commission and status rather than the healthy operation of the business.

You must address this issue directly. Schedule a private meeting and use your core values tool to give him clear, objective feedback. Do not beat around the bush. Show him exactly where his behavior is falling short of the company culture. Give him a thirty-day window to correct his attitude, participate fully in the Level 10 Meeting™, and support the EOS® process.

If he refuses to change, you must have the courage to remove him from the seat. While losing your top sales resource might feel terrifying, the toxic drag on the rest of your leadership team is costing you far more in lost productivity and employee turnover. An owner preparing for a clean exit cannot afford to have a cultural liability leading their revenue generation.