One of the biggest mistakes leadership teams make is assuming a people issue is always a performance issue.
Sometimes it is. But often, the real problem is simpler and more structural:
You have a good person in the wrong seat.
That’s where GWC® becomes one of the most useful tools in EOS®.
GWC® stands for Get it, Want it, Capacity to do it. It’s a simple filter for determining whether someone truly fits a role. Not whether they’re a good person. Not whether they work hard. Not whether they’ve been loyal. Whether they are the right person for that specific seat.
And when you use it honestly, it brings clarity fast.
Get it
When someone “gets it,” they understand the role at a deep level.
They understand what success looks like. They understand the pace, the pressure, the priorities and the type of thinking the seat requires. They don’t need every detail explained three times. They can see around corners. They connect the dots.
You can usually tell when someone gets it because the role feels natural to them. They may still need training, coaching and support, but the core function of the seat makes sense to them.
When someone doesn’t get it, everything feels harder. You explain the same expectations repeatedly. You find yourself over-managing. You start building workarounds around them instead of trusting them to own the seat.
That’s not sustainable.
Want it
This is the one leadership teams often avoid because it can feel personal.
Wanting it means the person genuinely desires the role. Not the title. Not the paycheck. Not the status. The actual work.
A person may be capable of doing a job and still not want it. They may have outgrown it. They may be burned out. They may have said yes because they wanted to help, not because they truly wanted the seat.
When someone wants it, they bring energy to the work. They lean in. They take ownership. They’re not constantly dragging their feet or waiting to be pushed.
When someone doesn’t want it, motivation becomes a management burden. And over time, that burden becomes expensive.
Capacity to do it
Capacity means the person has the ability, skill, time, emotional maturity and bandwidth to succeed in the role.
This doesn’t mean they need to be perfect. It means they can reasonably perform the job at the level the organization needs now.
Sometimes capacity is about technical skill. Sometimes it’s about leadership ability. Sometimes it’s about time. Sometimes it’s about emotional resilience. A person may get the role and want the role, but still not have the capacity to do it well.
That’s an important distinction.
Capacity gaps can sometimes be solved with training, tools, coaching or a clearer structure. But not always. Leaders need to be honest about whether the gap is temporary and coachable or whether the seat has outgrown the person.
Why GWC® matters
GWC® removes a lot of noise from people conversations.
Instead of vague statements like “I’m not sure they’re working out” or “They just don’t seem to be stepping up,” you can have a more objective conversation:
Do they get it?
Do they want it?
Do they have the capacity to do it?
If the answer is no to any of those, you have clarity. Not necessarily an immediate termination decision, but clarity about the real issue.
That clarity helps you lead better.
It helps you coach with more precision. It helps you avoid keeping people in seats where they can’t win. It helps you protect the team from confusion, frustration and resentment. And it helps the business move forward without pretending a people issue will magically fix itself.
The hard truth
A person can be a great human being and still not be right for the seat.
That’s one of the hardest leadership lessons to accept.
EOS® asks leaders to separate the person from the seat. This is not about judging someone’s worth. It’s about determining fit.
When leaders avoid that distinction, they often keep people in roles too long. They tolerate underperformance. They create ambiguity. They ask the rest of the team to compensate. And eventually, the culture pays the price.
Using GWC® with honesty is not harsh. It’s kind.
It gives people clarity. It gives leaders a framework. It gives the organization a way to make people decisions based on fit, not emotion.
A simple leadership exercise
Look at each key seat in your organization and ask:
Does this person get it?
Do they want it?
Do they have the capacity to do it?
Then be honest about the answers.
If you have three yeses, you likely have the right person in the right seat.
If you have one or more noes, you have work to do.
That work might be coaching. It might be restructuring. It might be moving someone to a better seat. It might be making a hard people decision.
But whatever the next step is, GWC® gives you the clarity to take it.
And in leadership, clarity is a gift.
____
Enjoy this? Subscribe HERE to The Greenhouse Growth Ecosystem™ weekly newsletter to get more of the exact tools we use with business owners to start growing your business to the next stage.
Follow Patrick Metzger on LinkedIn.