Successful COOs find a balance between running the operation and delivering strategic outcomes. But that doesn’t happen by accident. COOs need to be deliberate in establishing their personal operating model, clearly defining the role they will—and won’t—play in operations leadership. This allows them to be structured and intentional in how they spend their time and energy to ensure a focus on “COO-only” and strategic topics.
Previous posts in this series have outlined the importance of crafting a COO agenda, considerations, and the core elements of success—listed below. The focus of this post is in italics.
- Vision—clear articulation of the overall aspiration of the operation, consistent and supporting the overall business strategy, and the COO’s role in delivering it
- Plan and execution—specific plan with clear actions and milestones to achieve the vision, anchored by a robust operating model to drive excellence in delivery
- Stakeholder engagement—deliberate approach to effectively align and engage with a broader set of internal and external stakeholders
- Organization and talent—proactively unlocking the capacity of the organization by engaging and activating the skills and talents of the entire workforce, and addressing future-oriented succession planning
- Personal operating model—managing personal effectiveness, including time, energy, and leadership style
COO personal operating model
Being COO is different from other operations roles. Stakeholders are not looking to the COO to be a “super site manager” or a version of the COO’s previous role with just a larger scope. COOs are expected to hand off and delegate running the operation and focus on COO-only and strategic topics, many of which were not part of their previous role.
Using a basketball analogy, one COO describes it as the need to “lean into your left hand,” meaning to improve shooting with your nondominant hand. For the COO role, this means becoming stronger in areas outside your core expertise.
For example, in business case analysis, the COO is often the owner of pitching to the CEO or CFO for major operations investments. Reviewing, explaining, and often asking hard questions of their own staff become important skills. Another COO reflects that in his previous role, he was a great operator and site leader. However, his new COO role includes collaborating on core ERP systems and advanced manufacturing technology, requiring him to quickly learn much more about technology.
Be clear about the role you will play
For many COOs, this means shifting working methods to expand capacity for COO-only topics. COOs should be clear around their priorities and personal leadership focus, and limit their involvement in tasks that can be dealt with by others. Where a COO should engage will vary based on scope, situation, and mandate.
COOs should know their strengths but be honest around their limitations, and strategically align talent to bridge any gaps toward delivering the vision. This can increase personal efficiency and effectiveness, and also creates succession planning and development opportunities. Familiarity with other functional areas will serve the COO well as they look to improve collaboration.
Create an actionable plan, and stick to it
COOs should have a clear view of areas that will require more of their focus, and ensure the right mechanisms are in place to make it happen. For those COO-only topics, this means identifying and outlining the cadence for critical interactions. They should be clear on what data and reports they need to see, at what level, and how frequently.
In thinking through delegation, they should consider their level of involvement in delivering operational excellence and determine where direct leadership is required. For example, COOs can achieve high ROI from their time strategically conducting site visits, both in terms of their personal learning as well as providing visible leadership, mentoring, and role-modeling at the front lines.
Lead to inspire talent and shape the culture
COOs should move beyond a vertical hierarchy, and instead see themselves as a catalyst and connector to drive empowerment and collaboration. The result is high-performing teams, operating in a culture of trust and human connection that extends past formal structures.
Proactively manage your time and energy
COOs tell us that effective time management is a frequent challenge. Some say it is perhaps the biggest challenge of all—being able to focus on the right topics at the level of depth required. As a general rule of thumb, several COOs offer that no more than a third of their time should be spent on running the operation. The rest of their time should be on COO-only topics such as strategy, governance, transformation, people/talent, and organizational health.
Day-to-day firefighting can feel like a constant demand pull for COOs. A COO who is reactive, however, risks focusing only on the near term and making decisions based on experience, heuristics, and gut feel. Stepping back instead and making data-based decisions with a strategic, versus reactive, view will help the COO stay ahead.
To maximize time spent on critical areas, COOs need to embed a steady rhythm—for example, how they manage their year/month/week, workflow, and travel schedule. This can be codified and communicated with the operations team and reinforced through the COO’s assistant. Meeting archetypes should be predefined, as should how meetings are run, including preparation expectations. Free capacity should be actively built in to protect time for long-term needs, including critical priorities and energy maximizers.
Schedule activities to prevent “energy troughs,” and make time for recovery activities such as time with family and friends, and exercise. COOs should be comfortable and confident in setting boundaries. This ensures they set a pace they can sustain for a marathon-length effort, rather than burn out from repeated sprints.
Today’s most effective COOs are inspirational leaders and role models who are also methodical in building a team to which they can delegate day-to-day operations. This allows them to focus on COO-only topics and determine where and how to best spend their time.