A Fractional COO will have a significant impact on your business, from operating model to culture. It’s important to select the right one. But what to look for in a Fractional COO?
Below is my (biased) recommendation on what’s important when selecting a Fractional COO.
Experience over degrees
A Fractional COO firstly is someone to take operational load of your plate. Therefore, it’s critical that you find someone who can execute. The best indicator for their ability to drive operations is that they’ve have done it before.
That matters more than a degree. When you find a candidate that has relevant experience AND great degrees, pick them. But if you have to decide between a fresh MBA and 10 years of successful work in the trenches, go for the experience.
Read more about the sourcing process for a Fractional COO here.
This selection also depends on the size of your organization: If you need the Fractional COO to be very hands-on, experience is the only thing to watch for. If, on the other hand, you have an experienced management team, a more strategic Fractional COO with some theoretical models in their tool kit can be an option.
Don’t get blinded by big names in the CV
Many CEOs get blinded by big names in the resume of a candidate. They ignore the fact that the experience gained in these companies is hardly relevant for what they’re looking for.
Example:
- A SaaS startup looking for a Head of Product Management hires a product manager from Microsoft. They might have an idea how world-class product organizations operate at scale. But they don’t have experience in building product teams from the ground up with limited resources.
- Myself, when I started my first agency. Coming out of Mercedes-Benz headquarters, I thought I knew how business works. Turns out I did know how corporate works. I had no idea how to build a business.
The key here is relevant experience. When looking for a Fractional COO, look for someone who has experience in the industry, scale and business model you’re trying to build.
Toolset, approach and cultural fit
In your conversations with potential candidates, discuss specific problems you want to work on. Listen to their approach. Do they have a clear idea on how to solve the operational issue?
And then, decide if you like the approaches they take. The Fractional COO will influence how your organization works, so you need to make sure you like how he does things.
If you emphasize team development, and the Fractional COO jumps at firing people that don’t perform right away, there might be a mismatch.
You want the COO to do things differently (otherwise you could do them yourself), but your values and cultural approach should align.
Personal connection
Last but not least, you need a strong personal connection. You’ll be building your business together for a while, so you better like working with that person.
If you end up dreading calls or touch points with your Fractional COO, not only won’t you enjoy the collaboration, but results will reflect that.
So, find a true partner that you like to work with.
