Why You Need to Connect With Other COOs

Everyone focuses on CEOs, who’s helping COOs? As a COO you’re a true partner to your CEO. That puts you in a different and, sometimes, unusual place than any other C-level executive at your company.

Being a vital partner to your CEO means you have to be at your best. To do that, it’s important to connect with other COOs, but why? What can that do for you? This blog is here to answer that question for you.

To Share

You probably feel like you’re operating in a vacuum. Meeting other COOs is so beneficial to you because they’re truly the best people to bounce ideas off of—and you won’t be boring them or confusing them! They’re the people that are going to actually want to hear your ideas, and you’ll benefit when they share theirs.

“When we listen, we’re forced to think about our own ideas and fine tune those. If we listen, we’re better equipped for the discussion with others to develop better ideas together.” – Technkl

To Learn

The best people to learn from are your peers. If you’re facing a challenge, it’s very likely that another COO has faced and gotten through the exact same situation, or at least a similar one. By connecting with other COOs you’ll be able to learn and develop as a leader.

“In terms of anything that anyone would do, it’s always having that insatiable desire to keep learning and growing personally with an organization. That was definitely instilled. We’re always trying to solve meaningful problems. That’s what we do every day.” – COO Terri Mock on Second in Command Podcast

If you aren’t connected with that many COOs right now, but you still want to learn, blogs such as this one and podcasts like Second in Command are useful resources to start.

To Feel Empowered

As a COO, at times you might feel like you have too much information to process, too many tasks, and too many projects. Maybe you feel like you’re in over your head. You’re not the only one. Other COOs feel like that all the time. By connecting with them, you’ll realize this feeling is normal and that it doesn’t mean you’re not a good COO.

“To empower yourself, collaborate don’t compete. Success is never a one man job. One of the smartest ways to move your mission forward is to network. Gather a team of people who have strengths to fill in where you have weaknesses.” – Entrepreneur

When work gets tough it can be easy to feel isolated and as if you aren’t suited for the job. Well, you wouldn’t have gotten it if you didn’t come qualified. Other COOs are going through or have gone through the same feelings. Once you realize that, you’ll realize that work being difficult doesn’t mean you’re not good at it.

Other COOs can help you move past challenges and face your fears, as long as you make those connections. Find people that you connect with and that understand you. You’ll never regret it.

If you have questions or would like more information, I’d be happy to help. Please send an email, and my team will get in touch with you!

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in October 2016 and had been edited for accuracy and comprehensiveness.