The Roles and Realities of Being a Chief Operating Officer: Part 1 of 2
As a Chief Operating Officer, your success is assuredly tied to other executive roles in the business. A COO is coordinating and collaborating with CEOs, CFOs, CTOs, and basically every other C-suite position you can name.
Now what exactly does a Chief Operating Officer do?
Does a COO provide and support executive functions? Yep.
How about the systems and processes of a business? We work to better those, too.
And what about developing teams and defining the vision for the company? Yes and yes.
The truth is you’re never going to find one definition of a COO. But that doesn’t mean you can’t break down the role.
In part one of this two-part blog series, I want to hold a magnifying glass up to the COO role. From how I overcame my own perfectionism to what I believe makes a great COO, let’s dive deep into the position that can truly change the game for any company.
I’m a Reformed…Perfectionist?
Here’s the thing: If you are so caught up in making sure that every little thing is perfect, you will never make any progress.
I know from experience. You might not know this about me, but I’m actually a reformed perfectionist.
My work style was once synonymous with perfection. Or at least the illusion thereof. Of course, as I well know- and you likely do, too- perfection is impossible. You cannot know all the seen and unforeseen details of a project, all the ways it might grow and change and evolve. And to try is simply a waste of your energy.
Perfectionism can sometimes come into play without you even knowing it. For example, the project management style known as the waterfall approach involves hammering out all the details possible before taking action on your project. This linear progression begins with the requirements and details, then trickles down into the implementation and maintenance of the plan (hence, the “waterfall” name).
In my opinion, the waterfall method has too many steps- too much time spent in the planning stage and not enough energy spent on taking action. The waterfall approach forces business planners to get bogged down in the details. That’s why I shifted to the agile project management approach.
Nowadays, agile is the adjective you want tied to you, not perfect. Agile says that you are quick and productive, able to shift and pivot depending on what the project goals are. Agility is how you stay effective in a crisis.
With an agile approach, COOs can deliver results faster, while avoiding overwhelm in the process.
Becoming a ‘reformed perfectionist’ requires a big mental shift. Here it is: there IS such a thing as good enough. Good enough is OK. Good enough is REAL.
Good enough is acceptable as long as you leverage- and have systems for- continuous improvement. It doesn’t mean that you’re lowering the bar or not putting in all your effort. It simply means that perfection isn’t realistic. In order to show progress in your business, you don’t need to go from nothing to perfection. Setting small, incremental goals that progressively add up to long-term goals is how you create progress.
And that is how you go from unattainable perfection to realistic agility.
How a COO Can Change the Game
As a COO, your success comes when you help others succeed. A fractional COO isn’t going into a business to seek glory and success for himself, but to support and guide the existing business leaders to achieve their potential. This is known as servant-style leadership, and it’s a mentality that really behooves a successful COO.
Nothing feels better than knowing that your unique skill set has been put to proper use.
As fractional COOs, we don’t only focus on improving executive leadership functions in a business - we tend to consider ourselves to be professional problem solvers. For example, when we encounter a persistent problem - in any area within a business - the priority then becomes assisting teams in developing effective and efficient solutions that will make their jobs easier.
Businesses, especially those in a phase of development or change, often lack structural alignment or a corporate “vision.” A fractional COO can change the game by helping businesses hammer out what their corporate structure should be and remove any ambiguity that may be impacting their direction.
A fractional COO is doing her job right when she’s making everyone else’s job easier.
And don’t forget: use your resources. Fractional COOs are not in this game alone. Quite the contrary - a COO will be operating at optimal efficiency when they are taking in and using as much data and resources as possible. Keep track of those KPIs - key performance indicators. Ask for employee feedback and compile this information into a program that will best benefit the business you are working in.
With an outside perspective, a fractional COO can sometimes see, and solve, problems that others in the company simply cannot.
What Makes a Great COO?
While COOs will often wear many different hats, there are some innate traits that benefit those in the position across the board. So much of being an effective COO is simply rooted in personality - the kind of person that you are. The way that you go about your own business and interact with others speaks volumes about how you will function as a Chief Operating Officer.
So what do all great COOs have in common? Let’s break it down:
Attention to detail. This is where the perfectionist can take over if you let it. Details matter, but don’t let them rule you. Instead, use your intense attention to detail to keep businesses on track and moving in the right direction.
Systems-thinking mind. A great COO will have a brain that watches teams and companies function and automatically thinks of ways to streamline the business and improve productivity.
Collaboration. Going hand-in-hand with servant style leadership, a COO is above all else a collaborator, one who is there to work with the existing team and leadership to solve problems, not to function as a temporary dictator.
Focus. As with everything in business, focus is key. For a COO, it’s two-fold: keeping focus for themselves in their own work, as well as setting the tone for the whole business. Through their behavior, COOs establish the pace and work ethic that everyone else will follow.
A COO’s greatest strengths will come from their own ability to look inwards and give their tools to others.
A COO might never have the same immediate familiarity that comes with a CEO or CFO, but a flex position like a Chief Operating Officer can often be exactly what a business needs to thrive. Highly effective COOs are constantly learning, always improving, forever connecting and collaborating.
Let’s work to support others in the fractional position and bring success to businesses, together.