John Knotts | President and Owner of Crosscutter Enterprises — Your Success Incubator.
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Once you reach the position of chief operating officer (COO), where do you go from there? As an experienced COO, it is essential to continually invest in your professional growth. Sometimes, the next step is to become an owner, CEO or president, but many times the COO enjoys the integrator role and wants to stay with that—so the path is usually upward or to venture-backed startups.
The majority of all COOs are middle-aged, so they have been around the block a few times. Aside from obtaining experience as an accomplished COO, here are the five top things for an enterprising, growth-focused COO to further develop.
1. Business Acumen
Experienced COOs should strive to develop a broad business acumen beyond their operational expertise. To better break through business silos and drive strategic change, they need a deeper understanding of other functional areas, such as marketing, sales, finance, human resources and technology.
Most COOs grow up through operational experience and do not have a broad understanding of how a company runs on all cylinders. To break out of the operational mindset, they need to broaden their understanding of all aspects of business.
If they have not already earned a master’s in business administration (MBA), then this is my first recommendation. This can provide theoretical and practical training for business and investment management.
2. Key Skill Development
There are four business transferable skills that are crucial for the experienced COO. They are leadership, communication, analytical thinking and strategy.
Leadership is a no-brainer. To be a good COO, leadership and management are the staples of the job. However, to be great, the COO needs to impart these virtues to everyone in the organization. This means they must become a master in the subject!
Communication is one of the most prevalent challenges in business. We often find that the biggest challenge with communication is our belief that it has occurred. This involves our ability to speak and write professionally. I have found several leaders who speak a lot but are not very good at it.
A well-oiled business runs on data-driven decisions, and a great COO has a strong grasp of business analytics, also known as business intelligence.
The COO is the driver of strategic planning and strategic execution. While the CEO, as the visionary, is setting the path forward, the COO brings it to life at all levels of the company.
3. Business Expertise
While a COO will have grown up running operations, there are four areas of expertise that are essential to growth. The aspiring COO should seek out training and possibly certification in program management, project management (including agile), process improvement (e.g., lean six sigma) and change management.
Additionally, a COO's secret sauce is a solid understanding and application of succession planning. Without this, they will never groom replacements that allow them to move on to future opportunities.
4. Lifelong Learning
Many people say they are lifelong learners, but rarely are they. To foster professional growth, experienced COOs should prioritize continuous learning and skill development in the aforementioned three areas. This is what I refer to as “structured lifelong learning,” as it is aligned with a COO’s growth trajectory. The COO should plan out their learning every year, quarter and month in an ongoing manner focused on continuous growth.
5. Networking
Building a strong professional network and seeking knowledge from mentors and peers can significantly contribute to a COO’s growth. Within networking, there are four key areas that a COO should focus on:
1. Build a strong professional network of senior company executives by leveraging LinkedIn. As a business and employment-focused social media platform, LinkedIn works well for building these connections.
2. Within the COO’s industry, engage in professional organizations, particularly at a leadership level. If, as a COO, there is interest in growing within a specific industry, it is important to deepen engagement in that industry.
3. Like CEOs, the COO role can be very lonely, since you have very few people you can truly confide in. It is helpful to a COO’s growth to connect with other COOs and form peer-to-peer networking groups. Some professional organizations exist to assist with this, but it is easy to build one locally or virtually or hire a coach specifically to facilitate it.
4. With growth in mind, the COO should consider connecting with executive search firms and let them know their interest. Forbes provided a list of "America’s Best Executive Recruiting Firms" in May 2023. Using lists like these, connect with members of at least the top five and nurture those connections.
For an experienced COO, professional growth is an ongoing journey. By expanding business acumen, developing key skills, embracing continuous learning and seeking mentors and professional networks, one can enhance their effectiveness as a COO and contribute to personal and professional growth. A COO should remember to regularly reflect on their progress, set goals and adapt to the evolving demands of their role to ensure continuous professional development.
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