The Chief operating officer plays the vital role of acting as second in command to the CEO. They are dubbed a CEO’s secret weapon, as their role relies heavily on managing a CEO’s overflow of work. This alliance sets the tone for a company, considering a strong leadership bond may make or break the operational flow of a company. A COO may be tasked with stepping up if productivity begins to falter or if the business begins to impede the CEO’s personal life. While the COO always has the CEO’s back, who is looking out for them?
A highly strategic business move is to invest in the training of their COO. When a business doesn't take the initiative to coach their second in command, they may lose up to 20% - 30% of revenues. Operational inefficiencies are the primary reason for this revenue loss, as a COO with poor training is unable to allocate their time effectively. Only ⅓ of their time is spent strategically planning for the growth of a company while the majority is spent dealing with miniscule tasks.
Mediocre management may obstruct the organization's ability to progress, as internal and external challenges will no doubt arise. External challenges include supply chain disruptions, high employee turnover, and worker shortages. A chaotic work environment and lack of role clarity are internal challenges a second in command may face which ultimately leads to the loss of top performers. If a company wants to consistently operate at a high level, it must take the time to coach the people running the show. Empowering the COO with COO coaching has the ability to create large-scale growth opportunities and sustainable success.
Companies who have taken the time to invest in their second in command, have noticed four distinct areas of improvement. The first is faster goal achievement. Ensuring that alignment between partners is fluid and ongoing has led to a 95% increase in hitting goals. The second is improved decision-making by actively engaging diverse networks to reduce bias. Making sure that a company is covering every possible perspective is crucial when making strategic and informed decisions. The third area of improvement is continuous innovation through multiple perspectives. Similar to the last point, capturing multiple viewpoints about a topic sparks ideas and creativity, identifying new areas of company growth. The final point details how fostering continuous learning in all departments creates a culture of sustainable growth.
Training methods such as Catapult Ai have been specifically designed to bridge the learning gap between efficient and inefficient COOs. They are specifically designed to pinpoint leadership and company weaknesses and strengthen those areas. Companies that use such tools have noticed enhanced performance metrics across all areas of the business. The organization as a whole could see performance increases of 48%, with team performance increasing by 50%, and individual performance by 70%.
After such training resources have been successfully implemented, 3 attributes of a highly effective leader will have become more developed. These include acuity, organization, and structure. Enhanced acuity means the COO is able to quickly understand complex topics and juggle multiple tasks effectively. Organization means the COO will be able to accurately define the most important tasks and allocate the right amount of time, energy, and resources to accomplish those goals. The third attribute is structure, where the COO is able to reduce complexity in the process of systems and create accountability for specific elements of a task.
Providing coaching to the leadership of a company is imperative to the success and longevity of a company. The impact of the training tools reaches far beyond the COO, enhancing the performance of the entire company along the way. Accountability, clarity, and growth are some of the biggest advantages of training tools. Accelerates results such as business goals being reached within 12 quarters, and outpaced growth projections of up to 20% are another major benefit. The ability for a strong leadership team to keep the company aligned, focused, and moving forward is the real driver of success.
Ultimately, the investment in the coaching of the Chief Operating Officer is what creates a strong foundation for a company to build on. It is what puts one company ahead of its competitors and ensures the company consistently progresses in the right direction.
Source: Diane Integrates