Your Org Chart Isn’t the Problem. Your Seats Might Be.

Every leadership team I work with eventually builds an Accountability Chart. Boxes, names, clear lines of who owns what. It feels like progress, and it is.

But here’s what gets missed: building the chart isn’t the finish line. The real work is going back to it and asking an uncomfortable question. Is the right person actually in this seat?

Not “is this person good.” Not “is this person loyal.” Just, are they right for this seat, specifically.

Signals to Watch For

You don’t need a formal review to know when a seat isn’t working. The signs usually show up long before anyone says it out loud.

One seat’s responsibilities keep sliding onto whoever is willing, not whoever owns it
Someone is clearly capable but you can tell their heart isn’t in the role anymore
A person “gets it” and “wants it,” but the workload has outgrown their capacity
The same name shows up in two or three seats on the chart, because nobody’s addressed it

What GWC Is Telling You

If a seat feels off, run it through GWC before you do anything else.

Get it.

Do they understand the role, the way it works, the results it needs to produce
Want it. Do they genuinely want this seat, not just want a paycheck or want to please you Capacity.

Do they have the time, skill, and mental bandwidth to do it well, right now
All three have to be a real yes. Two out of three isn’t a passing grade, even when it feels close..

When the Seats Are Right

When an Accountability Chart is actually being used the way it’s meant to, it feels different day to day.

Every seat has one owner, and there’s no confusion about who that is
People are doing the parts of the job they’re actually good at and want to be doing
When something drops, it’s obvious whose seat it lives in
The chart gets revisited as the business grows, instead of getting dusty in a folder

An Accountability Chart isn’t a document you build once.

It’s a tool you keep coming back to, especially as the business changes shape under you.

If you haven’t looked at your chart in the last quarter, that’s your sign to look now.