Character Traits of the Perfect Chief Operating Officer

Before you can define the best character traits and skills that make up a good Chief Operating Officer, it’s first necessary to define the job description. Because there is so much variation in job duties from one organization to another, there is also a large variation in the characteristics that make up the “perfect COO”. However, there are some key traits that are necessary for most COO positions, no matter what responsibilities ultimately end up on the job description.

Intelligence: A COO needs to be able to think clearly and quickly in a variety of situations. The COO will likely be leading the creation and implementation of new systems and procedures to enable an organization to operate more effectively. This takes a great deal of analytical thinking and creativity.

Interpersonal Skills: Very often the COO is responsible for supervising and leading staff. He or she may also work directly with upper management and executives as a peer. An effective COO is able to function smoothly with both diverse groups. This requires a high level of emotional intelligence and the ability to easily read people.

Teamwork: A good COO must be a team player, someone who can work in collaboration with a wide range of personality types. Leading change is often part of the COO job responsibilities. This requires the ability to see the overall big picture and the ability to pull the team together to work through change efficiently and effectively.

Trust: All the team-building in the world will not be effective if there is a lack of trust between a COO and staff. The COO must work to earn the trust of his or her employees and peers. Trust can be established through honesty, open communication, fairness, predictability, and the ability to admit mistakes and to correct them.

These common traits are necessary for any COO to ultimately be successful and effective, no matter what types of projects are initiated.

What Does a Chief Operating Officer Do?

The position of chief operating officer is one seen in many companies. But what that position entails depends on a variety of factors. The job description of a COO in one company may be entirely different from the duties performed by a COO in another similar company.

In general, a chief operating officer often handles a company’s short-term and routine management, the day-to-day activities that make a company run smoothly. A COO may handle production schedules, marketing plans, quality control, personnel issues, and many other areas of operations.

To give you an idea of how the positions may vary, a COO at a large company may perform more administrative-focused tasks. They may not work directly with managers, but instead may work on creating organizational processes that allow the company to operate more efficiently.

In a smaller company, a COO is likely performing most internal administrative functions, freeing the CEO to spend more time on strategies that grow the business. These program-focused officers work closely with managers and the day-to-day operations.

Companies that are involved in mergers and acquisitions often find they need a COO to take on the operations of the newly acquired companies.

To use myself as an example, along my career path, I have worked extensively in vision and mission re-engineering as well as setting goals and objectives for human resources.  I’ve worked to ensure that each business recruits, maintains, develops and rewards a high-quality workforce in order to successfully manage change.

Whether a COO works for a small company or larger corporation, they often come to the position with an advanced degree in addition to several years of experience in other managerial positions.

Are you a COO? What areas are part of your job description?

My Juggling Act – Keeping Employees in Different Companies Happy

I manage five companies and every day is a juggling act because I need to keep all those employees happy and content and ready to do their jobs to the best of their ability.  How do I do it?  I love what I do and because I love what I do I’m always ready to work.  I stay focused, I have a plan, and I organize my time.

That doesn’t mean it is easy.  I try to keep everyone happy and be fair to all so that they are all ready to do their best.  It is like having a successful career or a happy life though – it takes work. It means planning ahead and thinking about others all the time.

When it comes right down to it though, the only way to really do this job and handle managing five companies full of employees is to care.  And I do.  I realize that every employee is different and I need to take care of their needs.  Everyone has family and personal needs that need attention.  Employees also have work issues like finding the best way to work with their boss, communicating with subordinates, and, of course, salary.  The thing that I need to remember is that everyone’s issues are different.

Anyone that manages employees needs to remember one critical thing.  Do you know what that is?  They need to remember that employees are the greatest asset in any organization.  They need to feel that they are heard, that their needs and wants are being addressed, and that they will have the tools they need to do their jobs successfully.  The only way to make sure that all this is taken care of successfully is to be there for them.

Sometimes that means working late and sometimes that means going out of my way to make sure that an employee or a supervisor is going to have the tools they need to do their job.  But in the long run, what it really means is that I care about the people that work for the companies I manage.  I couldn’t do it any other way.

Using Creative Hiring Strategies to Find the Best Person for the Job

As our workforce expands it becomes more complicated for companies to find the right employees for the job.  People who are looking for jobs know how to make a resume (and if they don’t they hire someone who does).  The workforce is has become familiar with typical interview questions and they are prepared to answer them the way they think we want them to.  While the resume and the interview will always be a part of the hiring process, it is time to look to other means to find the best suited person for the job.

The resume and the interview are rarely effective at evaluating a person’s work ethic and personal attributes.  Values and behaviors are less measurable so we need to turn to less quantitative means of evaluation potential staff and find more qualitative measures.  How can we do that?  How can we determine a potential employee’s work ethic?  How can we tell if they have heart?

One way we can get more insight into values and ethics is to expose them to more people.  When employers, managers, and other staff have the opportunity to meet them they are able to give valuable input.  Take interviewees on a tour of the building that they would be working in.  Introduce them to staff members.  Observe how people respond to them and how well they interact with other people.  Watch for signs of enthusiasm (smiling, asking questions) and knowledge.   Do they look confused when you show them the equipment the will be working with?  Do they look comfortable in the environment they would be working in?  These things can give you more insight regarding how well they would fit into the company culture.

More frequently, human resources departments are using social media as a means of learning about potential employees.  Sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook can reveal a lot about a person’s true personality.  They can tell you how that person lives their life and what is important to them.  Social media sites can also tell you what others think about a person.  You can get informal references that can be more valuable than the formal references you get from calling people they have worked for.  Many people have a web presence through their interactions online that they don’t even know they have.

By using hiring strategies outside the norm we can often learn things about the people we are considering hiring that we may not have seen otherwise.  No one is going to tell you that they don’t fit into a culturally diverse environment very well, but when you see them in that situation you can see for yourself.  No one is going to tell you that their work ethic is questionable but when you examine their online world the truth can be revealed.  We should continue to use resumes and interviews in our hiring processes but to separate those who can afford a good resume from those who will be a true fit for our company we need to think outside typical hiring strategies.

Unlock the Creative Capacity of Your Staff

If you want your company to grow, you need to encourage creativity in your employees but that can be easier said than done.  Creativity is not something that is encouraged in many businesses so when people have had their creativity locked up for many years it can be hard for them to find it.  It can be even harder for businesses to bring it out again.

Encouraging the creative capacity of your employees is essential for innovation and change though. What worked in the past will only give you the same results that you have had in the past so companies need to think in new ways.  Change is the new norm in companies and a company that does not encourage change will be surpassed by other businesses.  Remember that you can often get more out of people than they think they can give but they need to have reason to do so.  If creativeness is not encourage people will just keep doing the same things they have always done so they need to have incentives to change the way that they think.

One of the main things that companies need to do to unlock creative capacity is to listen to their employees.  Employees are often filled with ideas but once they share their ideas once or twice and are shot down they stop sharing them.  They keep them to themselves.  On the other hand, when employees feel that their voices are heard, that their thoughts are appreciated, and that they will be recognized, they are more likely to allow ideas to develop and then share them.

When employees do think creatively they need to be recognized.  If there are positive results and they are not credited for them they will see no benefit in creating new ideas or ways of doing things.  Even if employees do not have the intended results they should be recognized for their efforts.  If they are encouraged even for the ideas that didn’t turn out as expected they will continue to allow themselves to think creatively and come up with new solutions to problems.

Finally, employers must ask for suggestions if they want staff to share their ideas.  If employees do not know that managers and leaders of the company are willing to listen to them, they will not take the incentive to share with them.  Leaders of the company should take the incentive to talk to employees, ask them if they think there are better ways of doing things, or ask them what they would do in a situation.  Staff members that feel that their opinions are wanted will share their thoughts and ideas.

Ultimately though, creativity means nothing unless there is a plan to implement ideas.  If ideas are created and someone listens and there is no action to follow it, eventually people will stop thinking outside the box.  They will return to the normal way of doing things and creativity will be snuffed out.  Have a plan to implement the creative ideas that employees come up with and businesses will find themselves rising to the top.

Motivate Staff to be Better than “Good Enough”

When you think about motivating staff, don’t just thinking about how you are going to get them to do their job.  Consider how you will motivate them to be better than “good enough” – motivate them to be excellent.  When staff members are encouraged to reach beyond the scope of just getting the job done they will not only be bigger assets to the company but they will feel better about their position in the company.

Maslow identified a hierarchy of 5 needs.

1. Psychological  – the basic expectations of a job like money and acceptable hours
2. Safety – they want to feel that their job is secure
3. Social – they want to feel like they belong
4. Esteem – they want to be recognized
5. Self-actualization – they want to be challenged and work to their full potential

When the first two needs are fulfilled – they have a decent pay and hours they like and they feel secure in their job – the job gets done.  But if you want employees to reach beyond that and discover excellence you need to satisfy their social needs, their need to be recognized, and their desire to be challenged.  Only then will they stop focusing on being “good enough” and reach for something more.

One of the ways you can motivate staff towards excellence is by giving them autonomy.  When employees have the opportunity to decide what they want to do and how they want to do it they work harder.  They will challenge themselves when they find the opportunity to do so.  This may not be logical to give them all the time but staff that has the ability to choose projects or to choose who they will work with they often will give more effort and the results can be outstanding.

You can also motivate staff to go above and beyond their jobs by giving them the chance to become experts in their field.  When they have the chance to learn something they enjoy and to work on it on a regular basis they become masters at their craft or their skill and people will come to them for help.  This builds on self-esteem.

Finally, let them have a purpose.  When there is a purpose to their work, when they can see how they fit into the company, and when they are motivated from within they will challenge themselves on a daily basis.  When staff do not feel that they have purpose in the company get their jobs done – but that is about it.

Motivate your staff with purpose, the ability to become experts, and some ability to be in charge of their own choice and you will find that the last three needs are fulfilled.  They will feel like they are truly a part of the company, they will feel that the work they do is putting their skills to use in the most efficient way, and they will feel that what they do is recognized.  Only then can excellence be obtained, as individuals and as a company.

Is the Recession Really Over? Your Employees Don’t Think So!

On the news they have been telling us that the recession is over since the end of last year but do our employees believe that?  Should we care if they think it is over?

No, I don’t believe that our employees think the recession is over and yes, we should care.  People are worried about the economy and their jobs.  They are not seeing the differences in their own companies most of the time because the companies are still struggling to recover.  There may even still be some lay-offs in some companies so employees are feeling insecure and stressed.  Some are even suffering from depression because of the lack of security that they feel about their jobs.

This is something that employers need to care about because when employees are feeling insecure they are not able to do their jobs as well.  Stress and depression may lead to employees requesting time off.  Employees get distracted when they worry and their jobs are not at the forefront of their minds except to worry about whether or not they will have jobs next week.  We need to put their minds at ease.

The only way to put their minds at ease is by sharing information with them that will show them that the company is not closing its doors.  We need to share our plans for growing the company and let them know how they can be a part of getting the company to the next level.  By diversifying and showing our employees where are new areas of growth can take the company we can make them feel like there is a future with our business.  Raises are good, too, but most companies do not have that within their means since the economy is only at the beginning phase of starting to improve.

In my opinion, it is going to take at least another one to two years before our employees start to feel like they are safe from the repercussions of the recession.  If we work as a team though, our employees can feel more secure in working towards the common goal of bringing our business to the next level.