FAQs

A COO coach is an executive coach who works specifically with the person in the second-in-command seat (the COO, Integrator, VP, or managing partner) on the things that define that job: running operations, leading employees, and partnering effectively with the founder or CEO whose vision they’re responsible for executing.

There’s no COO coach certifying body. Anyone can call themselves one. So the useful question isn’t what the label means; it’s what to check for before you hire someone. Three things matter:

Time in the seat. Not adjacent to it, in it. There’s a difference between being part of a leadership team and being the one who has to drop everything and make it happen when the plan changes on a Thursday.

Fluency in the CEO-COO relationship. This one is rarely talked about. Yet your relationship with your CEO influences what you can execute, what you get pulled into, how you’re perceived, and how much of your week belongs to you. I rarely see operational problems in founder-led companies that don’t trace back to it. A COO coach who doesn’t understand the nuances of the CEO-COO dynamic, or how to help you strengthen it so you can turn your frustration into your advantage, is working downstream of the actual problem.

The ability to ask the unexpected question and then be quiet. A good COO coach has strategies and frameworks and will share them, but only when appropriate. Most of the time you don’t need more information. You need a place to think out loud. A place to work through issues with someone who understands the constraints you’re operating under, and who will ask the questions that help you see into your blind spots and create the best possible outcome from your current circumstances. If your coach is doing most of the talking, it’s just a course with extra steps.

I’m describing this from inside the role rather than as a neutral survey of the field. I spent 20 years as a second-in-command before I started coaching, and these are the things I’d verify if I were the one hiring.

Once you’re satisfied that a coach has the expertise, the next question is fit, and it isn’t a soft one. Coaching only works if you can open up, be honest, say things you thought you’d never say out loud, and then be challenged to see things differently and step outside your comfort zone. That takes someone whose style meshes with yours.

Two things worth probing in a first conversation:

Do they understand the isolation? You have access to information that can’t be shared. You’re helping the CEO figure out plans before they’re announced. Even if you aren’t officially leading the leadership team, in practice you often are. And if you were promoted from within, you’re now responsible for getting work done through people who used to be your peers. People you used to go to for support. That adds another level of awkwardness. A coach who hasn’t lived it tends to treat this as a communication problem, which it isn’t.

Will they help you get out of Chief Firefighter mode? Overwhelmed is the word I hear over and over from COOs, Integrators, and second-in-commands. Things come at them from all directions, and they’re better at taking them on than deflecting. I remember feeling like I was across the net from a tennis ball machine that had gone berserk…huddled on the ground behind my racket while everything landed on me. It was because I was taking on things that really belonged to other people. I was rescuing them, not supporting them in finding their own solutions. Time management advice doesn’t fix that. It takes a new mindset, different kinds of conversations, and a willingness to let go. Your coach should help you work on the habits and patterns that drive those.

The best way to test for fit is through a complimentary session. Most coaches offer one; if they don’t, ask anyway. An hour of actually working together will tell you more than reading through their social media posts and listening to their workshops or podcast appearances.