COO to CEO: Showing You Can Own the Whole Business

Boards trust COOs. They see them as safe hands. The person who keeps the business running, delivers the plan and fixes problems.

That trust is valuable. But it can also hold COOs back when they want the top job.

When a board looks for a CEO, it wants more than operational excellence. It wants someone who can set strategy, lead growth, represent the business to investors and customers, and work closely with the board itself. Many COOs have done some of this. Few have made it visible.

This article covers the doubts boards have about COOs, how to show you can own the whole business and how to approach internal succession and external search.

The board's doubts about COOs

When a board considers a COO for CEO, common doubts include:

• Strategy. Has this person set direction, or only delivered someone else's plan?

• External leadership. Can they represent the business to investors, customers, governments and the media?

• Growth. Do they know how to grow revenue, or mainly how to run costs and operations?

• Board relationship. Have they worked closely with the board, or mainly with the CEO?

• Breadth. Do they understand finance, sales, marketing and people, not just operations?

These are fair questions. Your job is to answer them with evidence before the board asks.

Strategy and growth proof

Look for strategic and growth work you have led:

• Contributing to or leading the strategic plan

• Launching a new product, service or market

• Leading an acquisition or partnership

• Growing a business unit

• Changing the business model

Results that build the case:

• "Led the strategy and launch of a new service line that reached $35 million in revenue within three years."

• "Led the integration of two acquisitions, delivering $12 million in synergies and growing combined revenue by 18%."

• "Co-authored the five-year strategy with the CEO, adopted by the board and now guiding $200 million in investment."

If your COO role has been purely operational, ask for strategic projects. Offer to lead a new market entry or a growth initiative.

External profile: investors, customers, media

CEOs spend much of their time outside the business. Boards want to see that you can do this.

Build experience in:

• Investors. Presenting at results briefings or investor days.

• Customers. Leading relationships with major customers.

• Government and regulators. Representing the business in important discussions.

• Industry. Speaking at events, sitting on industry bodies.

• Media. Handling interviews, especially in a crisis.

Show this on your resume. "Led the relationship with the business's three largest customers, worth $180 million a year, and presented at two investor days."

Board relationships

Boards appoint CEOs. They need to know and trust you. If your board contact has been limited:

• Ask to present major items to the board

• Spend time with individual directors

• Attend board strategy sessions

• Lead a board committee paper

Over time, directors will form their own view of you, not just one filtered through the CEO.

Breadth across the business

CEOs need to understand every part of the business. If your background is operations, build your knowledge of:

• Finance, including funding and capital allocation

• Sales and marketing

• People and culture

• Technology and digital

Take on cross-functional projects, sit in on other executives' meetings and ask to lead areas outside operations.

Resume and interview changes

Profile. Lead with whole-of-business results, not operational ones.

Weak: "Experienced COO with a strong record in operations, efficiency and delivery."

Stronger: "COO who has grown revenue, led acquisitions and run operations in a $600 million services business. Co-authored the company strategy, leads the largest customer relationships and works closely with the board. Ready for a CEO role."

Achievements. Lead with growth, strategy and external results. Follow with operational results.

Interview. CEO interviews focus on vision, strategy, leadership and board relationships. Prepare to talk about where you would take the business, not just how you would run it. See CEO interview questions.

Internal succession versus external search

Internal succession. If your CEO is leaving and you are a candidate, the board may run an internal process, an external search or both. Being internal is an advantage, because the board knows you. It can also be a disadvantage if they see you mainly as the operator.

Show that you can lead change, not just continue the current approach. Boards often worry that internal candidates will be too loyal to the past.

External search. If you are applying elsewhere, search consultants will assess you against other candidates, including sitting CEOs. Your resume and interviews must show CEO-level thinking. Target businesses where your operational strength is a clear advantage, such as turnarounds, operationally complex businesses or growth phases.

For more on internal processes, see internal executive interviews for promotion.

Your first CEO role

Many first-time CEOs start in a smaller business or a subsidiary. A Managing Director role in a division or a CEO role in a private equity-backed business can be a strong first step. See first-time CEO and General Manager to Managing Director.

Common mistakes

• Presenting yourself as the best operator rather than a business leader

• Not building external relationships before applying

• Relying on the CEO to represent you to the board

• Leading your resume with operational efficiency rather than growth and strategy

How search consultants assess COOs for CEO roles

When I assessed COOs for CEO roles in search, the question I asked most was: has this person ever owned a result that was not handed to them? A new market, a new product, a turnaround. If the answer was yes, and it was clear on the page, they were a real candidate. If every result was about delivering someone else's plan, they usually were not.

A 12-month plan

If you want to be CEO-ready within a year, aim to: lead one growth initiative, present to the board at least three times, own a major customer or investor relationship, and take on one function outside operations. By the end of the year, your resume should show all four.

Show that you can make the hard calls

CEOs make decisions that no one else can make for them. Boards want to see that you have done this. Look for examples where you:

• Closed or sold part of the business

• Changed a senior leader

• Took a risk on a new market or product

• Said no to the CEO or board, with good reason

"Recommended and led the exit from a loss-making division, cutting annual losses by $8 million and refocusing the business on its core."

These show judgement and courage, which boards look for in a CEO.

Your LinkedIn

Your LinkedIn should reflect a business leader, not just an operator. Update your headline to show growth and strategy as well as operations. "COO | Growth, Strategy and Operations | $600m Services Business | Acquisitions and Integration" gives a search consultant more reason to call. See the LinkedIn profile checklist for executives.

A quick self-check

Read your resume as a board chair would. Ask: does this person look like they could run the whole business tomorrow? If the answer is "they could run operations", you have more work to do on strategy, growth and external results before applying for CEO roles.

Your next step

List your results under four headings: strategy, growth, external leadership and board. If any heading is empty, that is the gap to close before you apply for a CEO role.

If you want help positioning yourself for a CEO role, my executive positioning work is built for senior leaders making the step to the top.

If you are planning your path from COO to CEO, book a complimentary Clarity Session.