Many of the world’s leading companies have undergone changes in recent years. Unfortunately, this has left around 60% of them without a COO. In their stead, the companies’ second-in-command (2IC) employees are forced to fulfill that role without the COO title. But, without a proper COO filling the role, companies lose the many benefits a COO brings.
The most important job of a COO is to help a CEO operate more efficiently. In the absence of a proper COO, CEO’s report feeling overwhelmed, not getting enough done, and working on energy-draining areas of the business. This translates financially as well. By creating these inefficiencies, companies lose as much as 30% of their revenue every single year.
However, a COO must be effective in their role. There are many modern challenges, both externally and within the role itself. For instance, worker shortages and employee turnover, supply chain disruptions, and a chaotic work environment are all tall hurdles for an incoming COO. However, skilled COO’s can overcome these challenges with 3 key attributes: acuity, organization, and process/structure.
Acuity refers to the ability of a COO to quickly grasp concepts and multitasking. Organization relates to a COO’s ability to properly define priorities and allocate an appropriate number of resources to them. Finally, process and structure relate to the ability to simplify process, chunk big picture goals, and to create clarity while maintaining consistency. By intertwining all 3 attributes together, they are able to reduce friction for daily operations, as well as enhancing the aim of employees to maximize efficiency as an organization.
To ensure that your COO is the proper fit for your organization, companies like Diane Integrates help to pick your COO and give them COO coaching. Not only will the coaching give dividends on the individual level, but the benefits transfer to team and organizational levels as well. So, if you want to maximize your business’s performance, picking the proper COO is the first step to success.
