Our Director of Operations is burned out because their seat encompasses both daily field service fulfillment and long-term supply chain procurement. How do we know when it is time to split Operations into two separate seats on the Accountability Chart?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

You split a seat when its scope requires fundamentally contradictory mental skill sets, or when the operational volume prevents the leader from executing all five roles effectively. In this scenario, running field service fulfillment requires rapid, real-time crisis resolution and frontline labor coordination. Managing strategic procurement requires patient vendor negotiation, long-term inventory forecasting, and financial modeling. When one person attempts both, the immediate emergency always crowds out the strategic priority.

Start by designing the structure-first model without thinking about your current leader. Ask what the organization needs over the next twelve months to execute the V/TO. If separating Service Delivery from Supply Chain creates clearer accountability and eliminates operational bottlenecks, draw two distinct boxes.

Next, evaluate your current leader against GWC for both seats. Do they Get, Want, and have the Capacity to run Field Operations, or are they better suited for Supply Chain and Procurement? Place them in the seat where their unique ability lives. Then, staff the open seat through an internal promotion or external search. Trying to stretch one leader across two conflicting disciplines saves payroll in the short term, but costs millions in operational waste and turnover.