Being a Chief Operating Officer (COO) means you are the person that helps lead and motivates the company. So, how do you become an effective COO for the company? Below you will learn 10 steps in how you can improve in your role.
As reported by Indeed on August 15, 2022.
How To Be a Good Chief Operating Officer (COO) in 10 Steps
What Does a Good COO Look Like?
Good COOs use a variety of traits and skills to succeed in their role. A successful COO may possess the following traits:
Integrity: Integrity means being honest and having strong morals in the workplace. Good COOs use integrity to build successful teams, foster professional relationships and improve overall efficiency.
Detail-oriented: COOs use data to improve efficiency. They create systems, track progress and measure success. They need to be detail-oriented to succeed.
Adaptable: Business structures and strategies can change. For example, as a business grows, the COO might need to adapt the organization’s systems and business strategies. Effective COOs accept and plan for business changes.
Organized: To keep track of data and progress, COOs need to keep information organized. They may also use organization skills, such as budgeting or scheduling, during their daily tasks.
Growth-focused: Good COOs have a growth mindset. This means they see challenges as learning opportunities. They also focus on the future when planning goals.
How to be an Effective COO
Consider following the steps to help you become a good COO:
1. Develop your strategic planning skills
Strategic planning is an essential part of being a COO. To succeed in this role, consider strengthening your strategic planning skills. You may develop these skills in your education or work experience, but you can also take additional courses to improve them. You can practice these skills by focusing on the future. When making business plans, try to make long-term strategies.
2. Focus on communication
Great COOs use strong communication skills to collaborate with professionals in their organizations. Consider developing your verbal, nonverbal and written communication skills to become a better leader. You can take a public speaking course or practice speaking out loud to help strengthen your verbal communication skills. When presenting, focus on your body language to help improve your nonverbal skills. For writing skills, you can take additional courses or practice and ask for feedback.
3. Set specific goals
To effectively lead an organization, a COO should have strong goal-setting skills. When creating goals, you can create goals for yourself and your company. Consider setting specific, actionable goals with deadlines. By making goals specific and timely, you can help your company track and measure its progress. For example, you might set a goal to reduce production costs by 20% in the next period. This has a clear deadline and is something you can track and measure.
4. Use data and design systems
To succeed, a COO must use data to create and refine business strategies. Consider your company and goals to determine which data you should track. For example, if your goal is to improve customer satisfaction, you may establish a data system to measure and track this. You could create a customer survey or track the number of customers who return to your business.
COOs often use systems within their organization to improve efficiency. This can vary depending on your industry, but a system might include a company routine or an organizational process. For example, in a production company, a COO might create a production timeline and system. They can work to review and improve this system over time to increase efficiency.
5. Learn to delegate effectively
An important part of being a COO is delegating or dividing tasks to your team members. Depending on the size of your organization, you may delegate to branches, departments or individuals. When delegating, you can take large projects or responsibilities and divide them into smaller sections. Try to communicate the tasks clearly with each team or person. When team members know what they are responsible for, it can help improve productivity.
6. Build powerful teams
As a COO, you may be able to help recruit professionals to build a strong team, depending on your company. If you are part of the recruiting process, consider the traits you want for the position. For example, if you are hiring a senior manager to join the executive team, think about the leadership experience and skills you want to look for. By planning your desired traits, you can help find talented professionals.
7. Develop leadership skills
Great COOs use strong leadership skills to inspire their teams to succeed. Consider developing these skills through coaching opportunities or mentoring programs. Learning how to be an effective leader could help you improve your company’s performance and improve your workplace culture.
8. Review your organizational structure
As companies grow and change, they may need to revise their organizational structure. For example, if your company grows significantly, you might open new branches or locations. Each branch may need a leader or manager. You might need to hire for new roles or promote individuals within the company. Consider taking time to review your organization’s schedule regularly.
9. Recognize and share successes
Effective leaders celebrate their team’s successes. As a COO, consider celebrating certain milestones within the company. You can share the company’s goals and organizational performance indicators. For example, if you are aiming to reduce costs within the company, and one location meets this goal, you can celebrate and share that location’s success. This can improve team morale and can lead to higher productivity.
10. Consistently review and improve
Successful COOs review their systems, data, and structures to find areas for improvement. By focusing on improvements constantly, you can help your company continue to grow. Consider making time in your schedule to review your business systems regularly. This can help you identify areas of improvement.
The Chief Operating Officer is an important role in a company, therefore, being able to improve in this role will not only benefit you but also the company.
Additional COO Best Practices Resources
4 Priorities Every COO Needs to Know
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