The Role Of The COO Is Bigger, Bolder, And More Transformative Than Ever

Supply chain disruptions. Continued digitization of operations. A tight talent market amid labor shortages. These are just several of the fundamentally complex challenges facing chief operating officers (COOs) in their efforts to drive profitable growth and operational resilience during a time of unprecedented change.

Currently, many COOs are struggling with allocating time appropriately: only a third of their time goes to long-term strategic planning, with the remainder split between overseeing employees and dealing with current operational priorities. Other challenges include managing the unique needs of the workforce, an expanding number of stakeholders, a rapid increase in automation across sectors, and workplace real-estate issues in the wake of the pandemic. Because of these challenges, the next wave of COOs need not only address all of the above—they also need to possess additional talents.

Until recently, COOs have focused primarily on fine-tuning the value chain for speed to market, efficiency, and profitability. As my colleague and managing partner Darryl Piasecki recently penned, businesses face extraordinary disruptions and COOs have become a strategic asset to boost resilience and create value. By spotlighting this everchanging role, it can finally be seen for what it is: one of the most complex and demanding functions in terms of responding to sometimes conflicting priorities and ambitions, and managing progress to achieve the strongest outcome. Those who possess the “X factor” for the job must change the sails when encountering uncertain waters, collaborate at a high-level to minimize silos, engage effectively with boards of directors, and drive consistent operational excellence all while managing the talent at their fingertips.

Forecast Change

As global and domestic upheaval is now the norm, companies need to be prepared for any disruptive event, no matter how seemingly far-fetched. As many leaders working in operations have come to expect, every month ushers in some level of surprise, and the COO must have a finger on the pulse of the marketplace to know what could be coming next.

While COOs may be brought on for a multitude of reasons (executors, change agents, mentors, or even successors), they do have one task in common: implement key plans and priorities for the future of the company. Smart CEOs will know their limits, and a dynamic COO can offer new ideas to push the boundaries of what other members of the board thought possible.

Bridge the Gaps

Operations leaders must have a thorough knowledge of their value proposition and what it will take to deliver on it. Close collaboration between divisions can help deliver a better outcome while maintaining operations.

In one instance, a CMO can control the social-media strategy when a brand launches a new social channel while the COO owns the service channel, maintaining contact across the marketing division with the goal of saving money by diverting traffic from the organization’s call centers. By working in lockstep, this allows the company to integrate two sectors and boost coordination across the teams’ efforts seamlessly.

Drive Excellence

The days of predictable operating environments are in our rearview. With market shocks and stresses appearing more frequently in a fast-paced post-pandemic world, companies that wish to thrive recognize the need for a strong COO to future-proof their operations, successfully guiding them to adapt and lead.

In this vein, an effective COO proactively manages inertia in organizations, all while engaging important stakeholders. How they do so will vary between industries and geographies, as well as company needs and aspirations. Whether it be a complete transformation, or incorporating a new system or technology, COOs are the change agents transforming operations through new adoption.

Prioritize Talent

COOs must engage, inspire, and, most importantly, retain strong team members to create career development paths that encourage top talent to grow within. Just as companies take steps to ensure supply chain continuity, it is critical that an organization focus on workforce continuity by creating development opportunities for their teams. Knowing that the difference between talent retention and exodus can trace back to a lack of connection, these executives must also be authentic, empathetic culture caretakers who will speak for their CEOs.

This presents a unique opportunity for COOs to keep their eyes and ears open to benchmark the common sentiment across divisions. Through regular site visits and walking the shop or office floor frequently to paint a full picture of how things are working, COOs can effectively engage with people at all levels and backgrounds. Most importantly, great COOs understand that their team is their lifeline, and building credibility and trust ensures that the right teams are matched with the right scope of work.

A New Era

Much like their chief executive, today’s COOs embody authority, strategic vision, trust, and rapport both inside and outside their set framework. With the rising prominence of influential current and former COOs including Sheryl Sandberg, Ben Legg, and Tim Cook, these leaders attribute much of their success to their time within the COO role, acknowledging the unique skillset developed from organizational successes achieved at crucial junctures.

In our increasingly connected world, COOs must be the confident and charismatic leaders who will champion the change needed to move the needle. Going beyond overseeing operations and becoming a cross-functional networker, today’s COOs have the power to support a culture of growth, agility, and resilience, thus gaining greater innovation, better collaboration, more engaged employees, and stronger financial performance.