How do the COO and CEO work together?
Nov 18,2022
The CEO (Chief Executive Officer) and the COO (Chief Operations Officer) are two of the highest-ranking people in any organization. The successful cooperation between these two people is essential for business success.
In every company, the way the CEO and COO interact will differ significantly. From our experience at YooCollab spanning through years, each partnership is different and has its unique qualities. However, for this partnership to flourish, several factors need to be present. In this article, we’ll take a deep look at them, and share our experience.
CEO vs. COO: Who’s who?
Let’s start at the beginning. The roles of CEO and COO must be understood in order to ensure the success of a company.
What does the CEO do?
CEO stands for Chief Executive Officer. It’s the top position in any company. The CEO is responsible for the success or failure of a company and oversees its policies, strategies, transformation, and finances.
What does the COO do?
The COO is the Chief Operating Officer of the company. The COO is the second in command of a company, responsible for implementing the ideas, strategies and vision of the CEO.
CEO-COO Cooperation Success Formula
CEO and COO work in extreme cooperation with each other, and, as mentioned in the beginning, there are several factors that can contribute to this cooperation being effective and successful.
As the two highest-ranking members of the organization, they will be responsible for different aspects of company development. This will help avoid confusion and operational errors in the future, as well as result in a more fruitful collaboration.
Trust and Respect Towards Each Other
Even if the two disagree on an issue or idea, having trust makes it easier to reach a common agreement as both parties share the same goal of leading the company’s success. In a cooperation based on respect and trust, it’s easier to achieve a mutual understanding, and present a united front.
Effective Communication And Patience
What is the secret of every relationship, professional and personal? Effective communication! The CEO needs updates from the COO about operational progress in order to understand if their strategy is working.
With this said, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Company change and growth is a series of smaller steps, based on a bold vision and operational excellence. The CEO needs to have confidence in the COO, even if the results take time to become visible. COO, on the other hand, needs to share even the smallest progress to show that work is being done.
How CEO and COO Work Together: The Case of YooCollab
While the points mentioned above are more or less common and accepted practices, as mentioned earlier, each organization is different. And so is the cooperation between the CEO and COO. YooCollab isn’t an exception in that sense.
Our CEO and COO have formed a close-knit work relationship over the years, which evolves to match the growing needs of the company. And during this time, this relationship has developed several unique qualities that worked well for us and we’d love to share them.
Involvement with the team – At YooCollab, both people are highly involved with the team and the daily operations. Our COO isn’t there to give orders: he has made a rapport with every team member and takes a close part in everything going on in the office. He is aware of every small detail and is heavily involved in keeping the team happy and the work effective. This he shares with our CEO Arsen, who has the same level of involvement with everything that’s going on within the company. While there is still a clear division of responsibilities in regard to work, it’s safe to say that at YooCollab, we’ve abandoned the top-down approach.
Communication – As everywhere, disagreements happen. At YooCollab, when David and Arsen have any disagreements, it remains behind closed doors. When the decision has been made about what’s best moving forward, and even if their perspectives are different, they present a united front and represent each other’s interest fully.
Wrapping up
The success of any company can be boiled down to doing things and doing them right. In this regard, the CEO-COO “marriage” is the most important tandem in any company, as it can make or break a business. In order for this partnership to flourish, both parties need to know their responsibilities, have respect and patience toward each other, communicate clearly, and be willing to put effort and time to form a bond that will work.
