Our operations head has been with us since we were in a garage, but as we scale toward thirty million, they are clearly drowning. How do we transition a highly loyal, legacy employee out of a leadership seat they no longer GWC without destroying company morale or looking ungrateful?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is one of the hardest challenges an owner faces, but keeping someone in a seat they cannot handle is actually cruel to them and damaging to the business. You must separate loyalty from capability. If they do not GWC (Get It, Want It, Capacity to Do It) their current seat at your new scale, they must step down.

First, have a transparent, face-to-face conversation. Do not blindside them. Frame the transition around the reality of the business complexity, not personal failure. Explain that the seat has grown larger than any one person could have anticipated.

Second, look for a new seat on the Accountability Chart where they do GWC the role and where their loyalty is an asset. They might be an exceptional individual contributor, a mentor, or a specialist who no longer has to manage a massive team or hit scaling metrics.

Third, if no such seat exists, transition them out of the company with a generous, dignified severance package. Communicate clearly to the rest of the leadership team and the company. Explain that the decision was made jointly to set both the individual and the business up for long-term success. Your team will respect the honesty and the commitment to high standards. Do not compromise the health of the entire organization to avoid a difficult conversation.