Our Chief Technology Officer is brilliant and has built our entire proprietary software platform, which is critical for our exit value. However, he is toxic, treats our development team poorly, and actively violates our core values. How do we handle this on our Accountability Chart?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a classic Wrong Person, Right Seat scenario. Your Chief Technology Officer gets, wants, and has the capacity for his technical seat, but his behavior does not align with your core values.

This is one of the hardest calls a business owner has to make, especially when the person holds critical tribal knowledge. However, keeping a toxic person on your leadership team destroys culture and trust.

You must handle this immediately. Start by having a direct conversation with him using the People Analyzer™ tool. Give him clear, specific examples of where his behavior falls below your core values bar. Set a strict thirty-day timeline for him to correct his behavior.

Simultaneously, you must prepare for the worst. Begin documenting his tribal knowledge immediately. Map out his workflows and ensure that your development team has access to the codebase and server credentials.

If his behavior does not change within the thirty-day window, you must terminate his employment. Do not make excuses for his technical brilliance.

A buyer looking to acquire your business will conduct deep cultural and operational due diligence. A toxic leader who causes high employee turnover is a massive liability that will discount your valuation. Protecting your core values and building a healthy leadership team is always the right decision for your long-term equity value.