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Second in Command: The Chief Behind the Chief with Cameron Herold

Ep. 349 – What Makes A Great COO

Second in Command: The Chief Behind the Chief with Cameron Herold

Second in Command with Cameron Herold

Business, Management, Careers, Entrepreneurship

4.9 • 224 Ratings

🗓️ 18 January 2024

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today's episode of the Second in Command podcast is a recast of a conversation between Cameron and Christopher Lochhead, the host of the Legends and Losers podcast. They discuss the distinct roles and personalities within corporate leadership, particularly focusing on the dynamic between CEOs and COOs. Cameron highlights the results of a personality profiling exercise conducted within the COO Alliance, revealing stark differences between the entrepreneurial, visionary nature of CEOs and the more operational, linear approach of COOs. He emphasizes the unique abilities of COOs to reverse-engineer the dreams of CEOs, underscoring their role in bringing structure and execution to the visionary ideas of their counterparts.

The discussion further explores the identity of COOs, emphasizing their role as facilitators rather than aspirants to the CEO position. Cameron and Christopher agree that a successful COO is one who genuinely aims to amplify the CEO's vision, rather than using the position as a stepping stone to the top role. This concept is expanded upon through real-world examples, including a nod to Sheryl Sandberg's role at Facebook, suggesting that the best COOs are those who understand and stay true to their specialized role, much like a player in a well-coordinated team.

They also reflect on the various types of executive roles and the challenges in filling these positions, particularly in the tech industry. Cameron introduces his COO Alliance as a solution to the lack of networking and learning opportunities for second-in-command executives. They share their personal experiences and observations, as well as the importance of complementary skill sets within leadership teams.

Enjoy!


In This Episode You'll Learn:

  • How CEOs tend to be entrepreneurial and visionary, while COOs are more operational and linear.
  • The concept that COOs are professionals in their own right, with a unique skill set, rather than merely waiting to become CEOs.
  • How successful leadership teams balance contrasting skills and personalities.
  • The importance of understanding one's role and staying true to it for effective teamwork.
  • The difficulties companies face in filling key executive roles, especially in the tech industry.
  • The often misunderstood and undertrained nature of the COO role.
  • And much more...


Resources:

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Transcript

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0:00.0

So one of things that I encountered, we did a lot of personality profiling on about

0:04.7

on the whole membership, the CEO Alliance, with their CEOs and the CEOs.

0:08.6

We did a personality profile using the COB profile. And their profiles were completely different.

0:15.0

The CEOs were very entrepreneurial quick-starts,

0:18.4

and the CEOs were very high fact finders

0:20.8

and follow-through.

0:21.4

So they would ask lots of questions and put lots of systems

0:23.7

in place and they just see the world from a very different lens.

0:27.5

You know I've always said I've never had a unique idea in my life but I can always reverse engineer

0:31.7

dreams. I've played the second in command so many times in different companies that when the entrepreneur tells me where they want to go, I'm like, oh, I get it, and go to the way, let me make this happen now.

0:40.0

Because they're so scattered with, you know, all the ideas and they need to be and

0:44.5

they're high visionary they're often very bipolar and very A D. C. O's tend to be

0:49.4

very operational and very linear and very much reverse engineering.

0:58.0

Welcome to the Second in Command Podcast,

1:01.0

produced by the COO Alliance and brought to you by its founder, Cameron Harold.

1:06.6

In the second in command podcast, we talked to top COOs who share the insights, strategies,

1:12.1

and tactics that made them the chief behind the chief.

1:15.8

And now here's your host, Cameron Herald.

1:18.9

I think first and foremost it's somebody who really wants to help make the CEO iconic.

1:26.6

They realize that they are the yin and yang to the CEO.

1:30.8

It's about the entrepreneur's vision, it's not their own.

1:33.5

So it's someone who truly wakes up in the morning wanting to make the CEO iconic and

...

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