As we build our Accountability Chart, we realize a loyal legacy employee who helped us build the company does not GWC their new, scaled-up seat. How do we handle this transition without destroying morale?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is one of the hardest challenges an owner faces. However, keeping a loyal employee in a seat they cannot GWC (Get it, Want it, Capacity to do it) is actually a form of disloyalty. It causes them immense conative stress and ultimately holds the business back.

To handle this transition with respect and integrity, consider the following steps:

Separate Person from Seat

It is crucial to separate the individual from the role. The fact that an employee helped build the company speaks to their loyalty and historical value, but the demands of a scaled-up seat might be different.

• Use the People Analyzer to evaluate them. This tool helps determine if they are a core values fit for your organization. If they share your core values, they belong in your company, even if not in that specific seat. This distinction is vital for maintaining morale, as your team will observe how you treat valued colleagues. [One of our top-performing salespeople has been with us for eight years, but they consistently violate our Core Values. Do we keep them for the revenue or fire them to protect the culture?](/qa/handling-top-performers-who-violate-core-values)

Candid Conversation

Sit down with the employee for a caring, candid conversation.

• Explain that as the company has scaled, the demands of the seat have outgrown their natural strengths.
• Emphasize that keeping them in a role where they can't thrive is setting them up to fail, which isn't fair to them or the business.
• Focus on the evolution of the role and the company's needs, rather than solely on their personal shortcomings.
• Be open about how their current role is causing them conative stress, as indicated by the fact they don't GWC the seat. [One of our top performers was promoted to a managerial seat but is now burning out. How do we check if they have conative stress?](/qa/promoted-employee-burnout-conative-stress)

Explore Alternatives

Look at your existing [Accountability Chart](/qa/resolving-accountability-chart-seat-overlaps) to see if there is another seat where they GWC and can thrive.

• Consider creating a specialist seat that leverages their unique experience and strengths without placing them in a position that has outgrown their capabilities. This allows you to retain their institutional knowledge and loyalty. [How do we design a specialist seat on our Accountability Chart for a legacy leader who has hit their management ceiling, so we retain their expertise without stalling our growth?](/qa/restructuring-seat-for-legacy-leader-hitting-ceiling)
• Evaluate if their skills align with a different department or a project-based role where they can contribute significantly.

Dignified Transition

If a suitable seat does not exist within the organization, you must help them make a clean, dignified transition out of the business.

• Treat them generously with a strong severance package.
• Provide transition support, such as outplacement services or career coaching.
• Morale is preserved when your team sees you treat people with absolute respect, even in difficult situations. It is destroyed when you allow underperformance to linger out of fear or misplaced loyalty, which can lead to resentment and lower productivity across the board. [Our head of operations is working seventy hours a week and is completely buried in tactical fires, which is stalling our scaling plans. They are a great culture fit and have high GWC for the old business, but they cannot seem to elevate to a strategic leadership role. How do we transition them out of the executive seat without losing them?](/qa/leader-cannot-scale-transition)

Related questions

• [One of our top performers was promoted to a managerial seat but is now burning out. How do we check if they have conative stress?](/qa/promoted-employee-burnout-conative-stress)
• [How do we design a specialist seat on our Accountability Chart for a legacy leader who has hit their management ceiling, so we retain their expertise without stalling our growth?](/qa/restructuring-seat-for-legacy-leader-hitting-ceiling)
• [One of our top-performing salespeople has been with us for eight years, but they consistently violate our Core Values. Do we keep them for the revenue or fire them to protect the culture?](/qa/handling-top-performers-who-violate-core-values)
• [Our head of operations is working seventy hours a week and is completely buried in tactical fires, which is stalling our scaling plans. They are a great culture fit and have high GWC for the old business, but they cannot seem to elevate to a strategic leadership role. How do we transition them out of the executive seat without losing them?](/qa/leader-cannot-scale-transition)
• [How does AI assist in identifying and mitigating risks for businesses undergoing exit planning?](/qa/how-does-ai-assist-in-identifying-and-mitigating-risks-for-businesses-undergoing-exit-planning)