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What is the Career Path for a COO or Chief Operating Officer?

A COO or a chief operating officer is usually positioned alongside the CEO and is second-in-command within the company.

Career Path for a COO or Chief Operating Officer

While the specifics of a COO’s job depends on the company as well as the needs of the CEO, they usually examine the ongoing business operations of their firm, as the title suggests. Since there is no specific characterization of the COO’s tasks or the vision and expectations from the role, it is challenging to set a standard way of becoming a COO in a firm. But in order to understand the career path for a COO or chief operating officer or the ways in which a professional might be able to grow into that position, it is important to first understand what and who a COO is before learning how to become one.

Who is a COO?

A COO or a Chief Operating Officer is the corporate executive in charge of the company’s continuous business operations. They work alongside the company’s CEO in order to ensure that the business runs at its maximum potential. Since a COO works closely with the CEO, they are required to report to the CEO and are considered second-in-command in the company. They are often also called director of operations.

Roles and responsibilities of a COO

Since the role of a COO varies from company to company, there are few definite roles to define a COO. Having said that, there are some common responsibilities across COOs from different companies and industries. These are important to the career path for a COO or chief operating officer regardless of which path you choose.

  • Designing business strategies and executing them effectively.
  • Ensuring the company’s policies promote the company’s vision and culture.
  • Helping to implement the CEO’s vision.
  • Supporting the CEO in their role.
  • Being the CEO’s understudy to eventually take their place.

Read: CEO vs COO vs CFO – Salaries

Skills to become a COO

  • Interpersonal, communication and leadership skills
  • Financial management skills
  • Marketing and sales skills
  • Strategic planning skills
  • Business development and data analysis skills
  • Problem-solving skills

Career path for a COO or chief operating officer

Among the many ways you can become a COO, there are two that are most common. A management degree, like an MBA or a PGDM is a great option to start with. The Global Master of Business Administration (Global MBA) from the Richard DeVos Graduate School of Management is a fully accredited program that will help you lay the foundation to become a COO in the future of your career. Especially helpful to kickstart your career in the US, the program will empower you with a new set of skills that will allow you to help Fortune 500 companies as well as startups and put you on the career path for a COO or chief operating officer.

Summary

Another way to become a COO is by organically gaining the appropriate work experience. In the same journey, you may work at multiple organizations or stick to a single firm and speak with the management about your aspirations so that they can help you work towards it.

Whichever way you choose it is important to pay attention and work towards developing the right skills for the position. It is important for a COO to gain skills in different functional areas through their career in order to grow into a capable COO. As a senior executive, considering an executive education program is vital. Programs such as the Berkeley Executive Program in Management (Berkeley EPM) and the Chicago Booth Accelerated Development Program (Chicago Booth ADP) are primed for leaders to take on more responsibility.

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