My Integrator wants to eliminate a legacy client services seat to streamline our structure for an upcoming exit, but as the Visionary, I want to keep it because the person in it is part of our original culture. We are deadlocked. Who has the final call on this structural change?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a classic point of friction, and resolving it requires looking at your Accountability Chart rules. The Integrator is accountable for running the day-to-day business and managing the leadership team. This means the Integrator owns the ultimate execution of the Accountability Chart structure.

However, the Visionary has final cut on big picture strategy and protecting core values. If eliminating this seat harms the core values of the company, that is a legitimate Visionary concern. But if you are keeping a seat purely out of sentimentality, you are violating the principle of building the right structure first.

You must separate the seat from the person. First, look at the structure. Does the business actually need this seat to scale and achieve its exit goals? If the answer is no, the seat must go. Your Integrator is correct.

Once you agree on the structure, look at the person. If they are a right person, meaning they match your core values, but their seat is being eliminated, you have a Right Person, Wrong Seat situation.

As a leadership team, you should IDS® this. See if there is another open seat on your future Accountability Chart where this individual passes the GWC™ check. If not, keeping a hollow seat for sentimental reasons will destroy your margins and confuse your reporting lines. Let your Integrator build the structure the business needs to scale.