Our original head of operations has been with us since we started in a garage, but as we expand, he is clearly hitting his ceiling. He is working eighty hours a week just to keep up but refuses to delegate, and his team is burning out. How do we transition him without being disloyal?

It is incredibly difficult when a loyal, long-tenured leader hits their ceiling. They helped you build the foundation, but the skills required to run a small team are entirely different from those needed to manage a large, complex department. Keeping them in a seat they can no longer handle out of loyalty is actually disloyal to the business and the rest of your staff.

First, run this person through the GWC™ tool. Do they truly get, want, and have the capacity for the expanded seat? Often, legacy leaders get the role and want the title, but they lack the conative capacity to manage large teams, delegate effectively, and think strategically.

Look at their Kolbe A™ Index profile. If they have a high Implementor score, they likely love the hands-on, tangible work of doing the job. As the department grows, their seat requires more LMA (Leadership, Management, Accountability) and less hands-on execution. They are working eighty hours a week because they are trying to do the work instead of leading the people.

The solution is not to fire them, but to transition them to a seat where they can thrive. Redesign your Accountability Chart to create a specialist or individual contributor role that leverages their deep institutional knowledge without the burden of people management. Present this transition as a strategic alignment of their strengths, not a demotion. This preserves their dignity, keeps their valuable expertise in the company, and allows you to hire a leader who truly fits the seat.

Category: Leadership Team