Ready to lead with purpose and resilience? Explore how leadership, strategy, and innovation transform challenges into opportunities. Whether you're navigating compliance or leveraging PR, discover insights that align talent, culture, and operations for unstoppable growth.

How to be a Chief Operating Officer: 16 Disciplines for Success

Becoming a successful Chief Operating Officer (COO) is a journey that requires self-awareness, strategic thinking, and an ability to embrace change. As a COO, you must understand the organization's needs, balance your strengths and weaknesses, and set a solid foundation for your role. The importance of culture, strategy, and change cannot be overstated, as these are the pillars upon which effective operations are built.

Before diving into your new role, preparation is key. Consider the character traits needed for a COO: resilience in the face of challenges, execution focus to drive initiatives, humanity to connect with your team, and adaptability to navigate shifting priorities. Take time to establish goals, reflect on your legacy, and develop habits that keep you grounded. A morning routine inspired by "The Miracle Morning" can set a positive tone for the day, while strategic planning with "Your First 100 Days" ensures impactful beginnings.

Understanding the organization's culture is critical. Culture is the invisible force that shapes employee behavior and motivation. Whether transitioning from a financial services firm to a values-driven NGO, or navigating through a mixed cultural environment, the COO must tailor approaches to strengthen or leverage existing cultural dynamics. Ask questions, observe, and engage with the organization's history and values to determine your cultural strategy.

Strategy is the backbone of any organization. Define the mission, identify challenges, and set implementable actions. Use frameworks like Max McKeown's "The Strategy Book" and Richard Rumelt's "Good Strategy Bad Strategy" to ensure clarity and focus. Strategy should be distinct, competitive, and aligned with the organization's strengths, while being flexible enough to adapt to changes.

Change management is the alchemy that transforms strategy into reality. Whether leading a digital transformation or addressing compliance requirements, change requires patience, motivation, and the right frameworks. John P. Kotter's eight-stage process is a valuable guide for managing change, from creating urgency to anchoring new practices. Embrace the Target Operating Model to align people, processes, and technology with strategic goals.

Effective change management involves engaging stakeholders, setting realistic goals, and celebrating successes. Avoid overwhelming your organization with too many projects and focus on delivering quality results. As a COO, discipline is crucial—prioritize initiatives, manage change fatigue, and ensure projects align with strategic objectives.

In essence, the COO's role is a blend of strategic oversight, cultural stewardship, and change leadership. It's about knowing when to intervene, how to inspire, and how to drive your organization towards success. With the right preparation, mindset, and tools, you can lead transformative change and leave a lasting impact.

Is Your Journey to Becoming a Transformative COO Fueled by Strategy, Culture, and Change?

Stepping into your role, you're armed with knowledge about the organization’s culture and strategy. To transform plans into reality, you'll launch a change program, focusing first on assessing each department's strengths and development areas. This diagnostic approach is essential in setting priorities for the year and understanding team dynamics. 

Remember, as COO, expertise in every field isn't necessary. Embrace your strengths and weaknesses, and build a team that complements them. Avoid the pitfall of focusing too much on areas you're comfortable with or neglecting those you aren't. Balance is key.

Taking charge of technical areas like IT, you'll find it's often at the forefront of change. IT professionals face fast-paced demands, balancing old and new technologies while explaining their value to skeptical management. As a COO, you must champion IT, ensuring strategies align with organizational goals. Watch for signs like obsolete technology or frequent outages, which may indicate underlying issues. Support your CIO in fostering strong internal and external relationships, pushing the boundaries of innovation, and setting the strategic agenda for digital transformation.

Finance is another critical domain. Your CFO will be your ally in managing liquidity, decision support, control environments, and investment appraisal. They should always be looking ahead, anticipating trends that could impact the financial model. A good CFO provides invaluable insights, helping you navigate financial landscapes with foresight. Listen closely to their concerns, as they foresee potential financial difficulties and guide strategic decisions.

To excel, build a solid relationship with your CFO. Their understanding of strategy, numbers, and operational forecasts is crucial. Together, you can optimize processes and strengthen governance, contributing to the organization's success. Keep an eye on emerging trends and technologies, ensuring your team is equipped to harness opportunities and mitigate risks.

In both IT and Finance, the transition from good to great involves leveraging technology for innovation and value delivery, not just support. Encourage agile methodologies, where rapid testing and adaptation foster creativity and efficiency. Stay abreast of hot topics like blockchain, cybersecurity, and the Internet of Things, all of which are reshaping industries.

Finally, as COO, your role is about asking the right questions, listening, and fostering collaboration across departments. From IT to Finance, the challenge is to integrate technical expertise with strategic vision, ensuring the organization thrives in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Mastering the COO Game: Embrace Strategy, Tech, and Finance for Organizational Success

Human Resources (HR) is the heartbeat of an organization, responsible for aligning talent with strategic goals. A robust HR department fosters a dynamic culture and drives high performance, while poor management leads to a toxic environment and operational challenges. 

CEOs vary in their understanding of people management; some are natural leaders, while others need a COO to bridge gaps, especially when the CEO's style doesn’t align with effective HR practices. A symbiotic relationship between the COO and HR Director can elevate both roles, ensuring coherent communication and strategic alignment across the organization.

HR professionals possess unique skills, absorbing daily issues with resilience and expertise in employee law, crucial for processes like redundancy and pay reviews. Netflix is an example of a clear, empowering HR policy that isn’t necessarily “nice” but effective. HR shouldn’t just be a bureaucratic entity; it must add value beyond mere administration.

HR is multifaceted, addressing recruitment, performance management, talent development, employee benefits, and exits. They advise on legal matters and handle grievances, all while maintaining staff engagement. Their strategic role includes understanding the organization’s needs and aligning talent accordingly.

Organizational design is a critical collaboration between HR and leadership. Successful designs avoid past mistakes and focus on present and future needs, leveraging informal structures and flexibility. Healthy organizational design promotes accountability and builds on strengths, minimizing attrition and grievances.

HR’s influence is seen in culture and engagement, integrated talent planning, and analytics. Progressive HR teams use data to enhance people management, providing strategic insight alongside traditional metrics. Abandoning rigid appraisal processes in favor of continuous coaching reflects modern HR evolution.

Current HR trends include SMART working, employee wellbeing, and diversity, focusing on flexible roles and a new norm. Millennials’ engagement and mental health conversations are becoming central to HR strategies. Understanding competencies over traditional skills, and developing a strong Employee Value Proposition (EVP), are essential for attracting top talent.

Operations, on the other hand, focuses on transforming inputs into outputs, ensuring product/service quality aligns with customer needs. It involves product design, location strategy, forecasting, and quality management. Operations must navigate relationships with supply chain, sales, and marketing, ensuring seamless product delivery.

Operations requires engagement with staff and suppliers, involving them in design processes to improve products. Using checklists can significantly reduce errors, a lesson learned from healthcare’s ICU practices, and applied to banking operations to enhance reliability.

Efficiency and innovation are key operations goals. Leveraging big data, predictive modeling, and AI can optimize processes, while cost control remains a priority. Sustainability and agile methodologies are increasingly important, driving operations towards environmentally responsible and customer-centric models.

Ultimately, both HR and Operations are integral to an organization’s success, requiring strategic alignment, innovation, and an unwavering focus on quality and culture.

Can Netflix's HR Approach Transform Your Company's Culture and Performance?

In the world of risk management, the stakes are high—failure can lead to catastrophic events like the collapse of Barings Bank or the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Risk department exists to help organizations identify, analyze, and manage the uncertainties that threaten their objectives. It aids management in understanding potential risks and devising strategies to mitigate them. 

Consider the case of Save the Children during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. As the virus spread, the organization faced enormous risks but chose to intervene. Staff volunteered for the potentially perilous mission, supported by rigorous protocols and counseling. Their efforts saved lives and helped declare Sierra Leone Ebola-free in 2015, showcasing the power of good risk management and preparation.

Risk management is a collaborative effort across all levels, where management acts as the first line of defense by setting objectives and tolerances, known as "risk appetite." Meanwhile, the Risk team supports by creating frameworks and challenging assessments. The Audit function serves as the third line, providing independent verification.

Effective risk management involves understanding both frequent, low-impact risks and rare, high-impact risks, which require bold decisions. The NHS's initiative to encourage reporting of near-misses exemplifies proactive risk management, helping prevent significant future issues.

Ultimately, risk management is about embedding a culture where every employee owns their part in identifying and managing risks. It's about more than just paperwork; it's about understanding what truly matters and taking action to protect the organization. With robust frameworks and a proactive approach, organizations can transform potential threats into opportunities for growth and resilience.

Turning Threats into Triumphs: Lessons from Barings Bank to Save the Children

Imagine the Legal department as the powerhouse of strategic decision-making within an organization. It's led by the General Counsel, who often navigates the varied dynamics of being either a trusted advisor or a transactional consultant. 

CEOs have differing views on the role of legal teams; some see them as essential partners in every decision, while others engage them only for specific issues like contracts or litigation. According to a CEB survey, General Counsels aspire to be strategic partners rather than mere service providers.

In smaller organizations, lawyers juggle multiple responsibilities, from advising CEOs on litigation to negotiating contracts with external law firms. Larger firms offer specialization, akin to asking a brain surgeon about heart problems when outside their expertise. The size and specialization of a legal team depend on the organization's industry, regulatory environment, and litigation tendencies.

Legal roles span drafting incorporation documents to advising on taxation law. They work closely with various departments, like Supply Chain for contract negotiations and Public Relations for intellectual property issues. The relationship between the CEO and the legal team is telling of how the department is perceived, impacting interactions with Sales and Marketing.

A balance between in-house and outsourced legal work is vital. In-house teams offer deep organizational knowledge and cost-effectiveness, while external firms provide specialized expertise. Project management principles can streamline legal work, ensuring efficient progression and transparent costing. Warning signs of a struggling legal department include excessive reliance on external counsel and lack of internal systems.

World-class legal teams harness technology, like blockchain for secure contracts and automation for routine tasks. Staying informed on hot topics like GDPR and Brexit is crucial. Legal departments must be well-versed in current legislation, such as the UK Companies Act or the US Securities Act, ensuring compliance and strategic alignment.

Similarly, Compliance departments ensure adherence to regulations, evolving rapidly post-2008. They manage risks, design controls, and maintain regulatory relations. Strong compliance regimes are marked by commitment from top leadership, robust frameworks, and continuous improvement cycles. Compliance teams must navigate overlaps with Legal and Risk, influencing culture and relationships within the organization.

Effective compliance involves setting clear standards, training employees, and monitoring adherence. Warning signs include acrimonious regulator relationships and complacency within the team. Cultivating a compliance-focused culture, where employees identify with customer interests and view compliance as a partner, is key.

Current hot topics in compliance include governance, whistleblowing, and data protection. Organizations must establish comprehensive policies, like anti-bribery and data protection, to safeguard integrity and reputation. Compliance teams should regularly assess regulations, audit practices, and engage with regulators to foster trust and transparency.

In essence, both Legal and Compliance departments are integral to an organization's strategic and operational success, adapting to changing landscapes and ensuring robust frameworks that protect and drive growth.

Are General Counsels the Unsung Heroes Behind Strategic Organizational Success?

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the backbone of any organization, handling everything from procurement to logistics, ensuring goods and services are available at the right time and place. In industries like pharmaceuticals and aerospace, SCM must be sophisticated, ensuring item-level traceability for quality and recall issues. 

Humanitarian organizations face unique SCM challenges, needing to secure their supply chains to prevent theft by terrorist organizations. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation urges the private sector to support humanitarian SCM through shared value partnerships, highlighting both altruistic and commercial benefits.

SCM's roles include setting strategies aligned with corporate goals, forecasting demand, managing supplier relationships, negotiating contracts, and overseeing inventory. Failures in these areas can lead to wastage, fraud, and legal consequences. Successful SCM involves a centralized approach, strong executive support, and advanced tools like AI predictive modeling. Organizations must navigate current challenges like retrenchment from globalization, modern slavery risks, and emerging market instability.

Facilities Management (FM) goes beyond managing buildings, integrating support infrastructure to enhance organizational performance. FM's strategic role involves optimizing space, ensuring safety, and aligning facilities with corporate goals. A case study highlights the importance of managing the human impact of facilities changes, emphasizing the need for strategy-led approaches to prevent disruptions. FM must collaborate with other departments like IT and HR to ensure seamless operations and employee satisfaction.

FM's success lies in its strategic alignment with organizational goals, understanding demographic needs, and fostering relationships across departments. Industry frameworks guide FM practices, while current trends like Building Information Modeling and flexible workspaces offer opportunities for innovation. Despite challenges, FM can elevate its role by embracing strategic partnerships and leveraging insights from employee feedback to enhance productivity and satisfaction.

In both SCM and FM, the key is to balance cost efficiency with strategic foresight, ensuring that operations are not only effective but also contribute to the broader organizational mission. By harnessing the power of collaboration and innovation, these departments can transform from operational necessities into strategic partners driving organizational success.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Champions Strategic Supply Chain Partnerships

In the fast-paced digital age, internal communications and public relations have become pivotal in shaping an organization's image and engaging employees. Gone are the days of rigid, command-and-control environments; today's workforce demands empowerment, engagement, and purpose. Effective internal communication can transform employees into passionate ambassadors, while poor engagement can tarnish your brand. The key is fostering transparent, two-way dialogue.

Similarly, public relations must adapt to a world where news spreads instantly. The PR team crafts strategies to resonate with stakeholders, from customers to regulators, ensuring the organization's image is both proactive and reactive. With executives often uneasy about media interactions, external media training can be invaluable.

A fascinating anecdote is the story of the NASA janitor who saw his role as contributing to moon missions, highlighting the power of aligning employees with an organization's vision. Internal communications should amplify this sense of purpose through clear, consistent messaging that transcends departmental silos.

Great PR goes beyond generating buzz; it's about positioning the organization as a thought leader. Consider Blendtec's "Will it Blend?" viral videos—an ingenious way to showcase their product's power. Engaging millennials on platforms they frequent and embracing innovative content delivery methods are crucial for staying relevant.

In sustainability, organizations are challenged to integrate social and environmental responsibility into their core operations. Leaders like Unilever's Paul Polman have redefined success by prioritizing sustainability, inspiring others to innovate for social good. The transformation from mere risk mitigation to creating new markets is exemplified by companies like Nike and Patagonia.

Safeguarding vulnerable populations is another critical responsibility. Awareness is the strongest protection, as demonstrated by the tragic story of Olive Cooke, whose inundation by charity mailings led to her suicide. This highlighted the importance of ethical communication and proactive safeguarding measures.

Ultimately, successful organizations are those that engage authentically with both their internal and external audiences, fostering a culture of innovation and responsibility that resonates across all channels.

Can NASA's Janitor Teach Us a Lesson in Vision and Purpose?

Successfully stepping into the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) involves embracing a journey of self-awareness, strategic thinking, and adaptability to change. It's crucial to understand the organization's needs and culture, setting a solid foundation by balancing personal strengths and weaknesses. 

Effective operations hinge on culture, strategy, and change management, requiring COOs to be resilient, focused, humane, and adaptable. Preparation involves setting goals, reflecting on one's legacy, and establishing grounding routines.

Understanding the organization's culture is essential; it's the unseen force driving employee behavior. A COO must tailor approaches to strengthen cultural dynamics and define strategic missions with clarity and flexibility. Strategy is the backbone, requiring clear, competitive, and adaptable plans aligned with organizational strengths. Change management is the alchemy that turns strategy into reality, demanding engagement, patience, and structured processes.

A COO's role is a blend of strategic oversight, cultural stewardship, and change leadership, focusing on intervention, inspiration, and driving success. Building strong relationships, particularly with the CFO, is key in optimizing processes and governance. Embracing technology and innovation, particularly in IT and finance, is crucial for transitioning from good to great.

Human Resources play a pivotal role in aligning talent with strategic goals, fostering a dynamic culture. A symbiotic relationship between the COO and HR Director can enhance strategic alignment. HR must add value beyond administration, focusing on recruitment, performance management, and talent development.

Operations focus on transforming inputs into outputs, ensuring product/service quality aligns with customer needs. Efficiency and innovation are central, with an emphasis on big data and AI for optimization. Sustainability and agile methodologies are increasingly important.

Risk management involves identifying, analyzing, and managing uncertainties, requiring a proactive, collaborative culture. Legal and Compliance departments must ensure adherence to regulations, driving strategic and operational success. Balancing in-house expertise with external counsel is crucial, while leveraging technology and staying informed on legislation ensures compliance and strategic alignment.

Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Facilities Management (FM) are strategic partners, balancing cost efficiency with foresight to drive organizational success. Internal communications and public relations shape an organization's image, demanding transparent, two-way dialogue and strategic adaptability. Sustainability integrates social and environmental responsibility, transforming risk mitigation into new market opportunities.

Ultimately, successful organizations engage authentically with internal and external audiences, fostering a culture of innovation and responsibility that resonates across all channels.

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How to be a Chief Operating Officer: 16 Disciplines for Success

Jennifer Geary

8 Key ideas

23 MINS

Ready to lead with purpose and resilience?
Explore how leadership, strategy, and innovation transform challenges into opportunities. Whether you're navigating compliance or leveraging PR, discover insights that align talent, culture, and operations for unstoppable growth.

Ready to lead with purpose and resilience?

Explore how leadership, strategy, and innovation transform challenges into opportunities. Whether you're navigating compliance or leveraging PR, discover insights that align talent, culture, and operations for unstoppable growth.

Ready to lead with purpose and resilience?

Explore how leadership, strategy, and innovation transform challenges into opportunities. Whether you're navigating compliance or leveraging PR, discover insights that align talent, culture, and operations for unstoppable growth.

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