The COO is often the unsung hero of the C-suite. You can probably name dozens of famous CEOs; COOs, not so much. (Sheryl Sandberg might spring to mind, but she stepped down from her role as Meta’s COO in 2022.) It doesn’t help that there are fewer of them than there used to be. In 2000, 48 percent of Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies had a COO. By 2018, that number had dropped to 32 percent.

But the COO role is making a comeback. As of 2022, 40 percent of leading companies have a COO, with financial and energy sectors leading the way at 48 percent.

But what does a COO actually do? Operations, sure. But beyond that, just as every organization’s operations are different, so is the job of every COO. And the role is changing with the times. As CEOs are increasingly public facing, dealing with external constituencies and stakeholders, the COO is becoming a counterweight. Their detailed operational expertise propels technological growth and employee empowerment. And as operations face extraordinary disruptions, COOs are now vital actors in boosting organizational resilience and value creation. Accordingly, they are often leading contenders for the top job: in 2021, nearly 27 percent of CEOs in Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies were promoted from the COO role, more than from any other internal position.

Read on to get the download on the COO’s role in organizations today.

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In 2022, we spoke with several current and former COOs to understand the most critical skills they needed to manage the challenges they faced in their roles. Chief among them? Many COOs we spoke to struggled with allocating time appropriately: only about a third of their time went to long-term strategic planning, with the remainder split between overseeing people and dealing with current operational priorities. Other challenges included managing the unique needs of the workforce, an expanding number of shareholders, rapid increases in automation, and workplace real estate issues in the wake of the pandemic.

Here are the top five proficiencies identified by our interviewees:

The COO agenda guides COO actions, helps the COO focus on things only they can do, and tests whether investments are being made in the right places. Each COO agenda’s core elements will vary by company and context, but the primary elements should include the following:

The COO’s vision should start with the overall business strategy. High levels of ownership and buy-in among all operators—including those on the front line—are critical to the success of the overall business and COO vision.

Learn more about McKinsey’s Operations Practice.

A vision without a plan is just a wish—progress is unlikely to happen by itself. A solid plan is essential for moving forward. To build a robust plan, COOs should ask themselves the five following series of questions, corresponding to the five above core agenda elements:

By gaining a thorough understanding across these five areas, the COO can identify gaps and challenges to achieving their vision, enabling quick action in areas where change is needed.

Learn more about McKinsey’s Operations Practice. And explore operations-related job opportunities if you’re interested in working at McKinsey.

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