Accountability Chart Template: Seats, Roles and the One Number
Print your org chart and ask one question of every box: who owns the number? Most founders find their own name in three or four boxes. Some boxes have two names. Some have none.
An accountability chart fixes that by drawing seats before people. This template is our own design. Each row is one seat: the function it sits in, the seat, five roles written as outcomes, one name and one number. It comes filled in for a 15, a 50 and a 150 person company, so you can start from the size closest to yours and overwrite every cell.
I drew ours wrong in two places at Arcules. Two Visionaries in one leadership team, and an Integrator seat I handed over in responsibility but not in authority. Both cost us. That is why the blank Seat Card at the end has a line for the decisions a seat can make alone.
Accountability chart template
Who owns what in our company, seat by seat, with one name and one number each?
What you get
- Editable charts for a 15, 50 and 150 person company
- Five roles per seat, written as outcomes
- One name and one number on every seat
- A blank Seat Card with a decisions line, plus print and CSV
Open the full template
Enter your first name and work email and the template opens on this page at once. What you type into the template stays in your browser and is never sent.
Done. The template is open below.
The template is open. You gave us your email on an earlier Leaders ADAPT tool, so there is nothing to fill in.
Four rules before you fill anything in
- Draw the company you need in 12 months, not the payroll you have.
- Write five roles per seat as outcomes, not tasks. "Send the board report" is a task. "The board has full visibility of our performance" is an outcome.
- One name per seat, never two. Co-ownership is non-ownership, as the 5 Minute Leader material puts it.
- Give every seat one number, and make sure that number is on the weekly scorecard.
A 15 person company
At this size one founder often holds both the Visionary and Integrator seats. Write your name in both, then mark which one you hand over first.
| Function | Seat | Five roles (outcomes, not tasks) | One name | One number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership | Visionary | 1. The three year picture is written and current 2. Key customer, partner and investor relationships are held 3. New ideas reach the issues list before they reach the team 4. The culture is named and modelled in public 5. The Integrator's calls are backed in the open | Revenue | |
| Leadership | Integrator | 1. The weekly leadership meeting runs every week 2. Quarterly priorities are set, owned and tracked 3. Conflicts between functions are settled 4. The scorecard is current before every meeting 5. The plan and the budget match | Priorities on track | |
| Sales and marketing | Sales and marketing lead | 1. The pipeline covers next quarter's target 2. Every lead gets a reply within one working day 3. Prices stay inside the agreed band 4. What is sold matches what delivery can deliver 5. Won deals are handed to delivery in writing | New pipeline | |
| Delivery | Delivery lead | 1. Customers get what was sold, on the date promised 2. Onboarding runs from the checklist 3. Escalations close inside the agreed window 4. Capacity is planned a quarter ahead 5. Quality problems reach the issues list the week they appear | On time delivery | |
| Finance and admin | Finance and admin lead | 1. Cash position is known every week 2. Invoices go out on time and get collected 3. Fixed and variable cost are reported separately 4. The month closes within the agreed days 5. Contracts and compliance are current | Cash position |
A 50 person company
Here the chart starts to fight tenure. Draw the seat first, then ask who fits it.
| Function | Seat | Five roles (outcomes, not tasks) | One name | One number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership | Visionary | 1. The three year picture is written and current 2. Key customer, partner and investor relationships are held 3. New ideas reach the issues list before they reach the team 4. The culture is named and modelled in public 5. The Integrator's calls are backed in the open | Revenue | |
| Leadership | Integrator | 1. The weekly leadership meeting runs every week 2. Quarterly priorities are set, owned and tracked 3. Conflicts between functions are settled 4. The scorecard is current before every meeting 5. The plan and the budget match | Priorities on track | |
| Sales | Head of sales | 1. The pipeline covers next quarter's target 2. Every salesperson sells the same way, from the checklist 3. Prices stay inside the agreed band 4. Forecasts are within the agreed margin of error 5. Won deals are handed over in writing | Win rate | |
| Marketing | Head of marketing | 1. Qualified leads arrive every week 2. The message matches what the company delivers 3. Spend is tracked against pipeline 4. The website and content are current 5. Sales and marketing agree what qualified means | Qualified leads | |
| Operations | Head of operations | 1. Customers get what was sold, on time 2. Core processes are documented and followed 3. Capacity is planned a quarter ahead 4. Suppliers deliver on terms 5. Margin is protected on every job | Gross margin | |
| Customer success | Head of customer success | 1. Customers are onboarded from the checklist 2. Escalations close inside the agreed window 3. At risk accounts are flagged early 4. Renewals are worked 90 days ahead 5. Customer feedback reaches the issues list | Retention | |
| Finance | Head of finance | 1. Cash position and a 13 week forecast are current 2. The month closes within the agreed days 3. Fixed and variable cost are reported separately 4. Invoices are collected on terms 5. The budget and the plan match | Cash position | |
| People | Head of people | 1. Open seats are filled with the right people 2. New hires follow a written onboarding 3. 1:1s happen on schedule 4. Seat changes and exits are handled with dignity 5. Values show up in hiring and reviews | Time to hire |
A 150 person company
Function seats split into sub seats with their own numbers, and those numbers roll up into one leadership scorecard.
| Function | Seat | Five roles (outcomes, not tasks) | One name | One number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership | Visionary | 1. The three year picture is written and current 2. Key customer, partner and investor relationships are held 3. New ideas reach the issues list before they reach the team 4. The culture is named and modelled in public 5. The Integrator's calls are backed in the open | Revenue | |
| Leadership | Integrator | 1. The weekly leadership meeting runs every week 2. Quarterly priorities are set, owned and tracked 3. Conflicts between functions are settled 4. The scorecard is current before every meeting 5. The plan and the budget match | Priorities on track | |
| Sales | Head of sales | 1. Revenue plan is met 2. Sales managers run one sales process 3. Each team's pipeline covers its target 4. Key accounts have a named owner 5. Forecasts are reliable | Bookings against plan | |
| Sales | Sub seat: sales manager, region or segment | 1. Team pipeline covers its target 2. Weekly pipeline review runs 3. New salespeople ramp on plan 4. Deal handovers are complete 5. Prices stay inside the band | Team bookings | |
| Marketing | Head of marketing | 1. Qualified pipeline arrives on plan 2. Brand and message are consistent 3. Spend is tied to pipeline 4. Launches support the plan 5. Market insight reaches the leadership team | Qualified pipeline | |
| Operations | Head of operations | 1. Delivery is on time across all teams 2. Core processes are followed 3. Capacity is planned two quarters ahead 4. Suppliers perform 5. Margin is protected | Gross margin | |
| Operations | Sub seat: delivery or production manager | 1. Work leaves on the promised date 2. Quality checks run before handover 3. Staffing matches the plan 4. Process gaps reach the issues list 5. Safety and compliance are current | On time delivery | |
| Customer success | Head of customer success | 1. Retention plan is met 2. Onboarding runs from the checklist 3. Escalations close in the window 4. Renewals are worked early 5. Feedback shapes the product | Net retention | |
| Product or technology | Head of product or technology | 1. The roadmap serves the plan 2. Releases ship as promised 3. Systems are secure and available 4. Data is accurate and reachable 5. AI tools follow the written rules | Roadmap delivered | |
| Finance | Head of finance | 1. Cash and forecast are current 2. Board and lender reporting is on time 3. Fixed and variable cost are separated 4. Controls are in place 5. Budget holders stay inside budget | Cash position | |
| People | Head of people | 1. Seats are filled on plan 2. Onboarding and 1:1s run as designed 3. Reviews happen on schedule 4. Seat changes and exits are handled well 5. Leadership development runs | Time to fill a seat |
A blank Seat Card
One card per seat. The decisions line is the one most charts leave out.
| Seat | Function | Five roles | One number | Decisions this seat makes alone | One name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The examples are illustrative and our own design. They are not drawn from any client or from Arcules.
Independence
Leaders ADAPT is independent: not affiliated with, certified by or endorsed by EOS Worldwide or any other framework owner. Accountability Chart and Traction are named only to describe them. This is our own template, and no proprietary worksheet or form is reproduced.
Where this fits
This template belongs to the leadership team development guide, written for companies that already run an operating system.
- Leadership team developmentThe hub. The people problems every system surfaces and none of them solves.
- The accountability chart guideThe five step build and the seat mistakes CEOs make most.
- The People Analyzer, and what to do after a wrong seat resultFor the person in the seat.
- People Fit WorksheetOur own evidence based check, with the 30 day rule.
Common questions
What goes in an accountability chart template?
Each row is one seat. It names the function the seat sits in, the seat itself, five roles written as outcomes rather than tasks, one name and one number the seat answers for. Seats are drawn first, for the company you need in 12 months, and names are added last.
How is an accountability chart different from an org chart?
An org chart shows who reports to whom among the people you already have. An accountability chart shows the seats the company needs, what each seat owns and the one person accountable for each. It exposes empty seats, shared seats and founders sitting in several seats at once.
Can one person sit in two seats?
At 15 people it is normal, especially a founder holding both the Visionary and Integrator seats. The chart still helps, because it shows which seat you hand over first and by which quarter. Two people in one seat is the pattern to avoid. Co-ownership is non-ownership.
Is this the EOS Accountability Chart?
No. The Accountability Chart is an EOS Worldwide tool, described in the book Traction. This template is our own design built on the same idea of seats before people, with our own columns: five roles as outcomes, one name, one number, and a decisions line on each Seat Card.
The chart is drawn. Now make the seats behave like it.
What it is: The 5 Minute Leader, short protocols for the how that EOS leaves out: delegation, accountability, 1:1s, feedback and rhythm. Who it is for: CEOs whose accountability chart is drawn and whose seats still do not behave like it.