Most Important Skills For A COO At Rise
Liz, Rise's COO, highlights "natural curiosity" as a crucial skill, explaining that asking open-ended questions allows her to uncover problems and offer solutions. This curiosity, demonstrated by asking insightful questions during interviews and acknowledging when Liz doesn't know the answer, is key to effective leadership and problem-solving in a high-level operational role.
Communication, Problem-Solving, Curiosity, Executive/Leadership, Questioning Skills
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Liz Conn
COO
Rise
Columbia University 2012
UCLA Anderson MBA
Classics, Spanish Literature
Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Operations and Project Management
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. A natural curiosity is crucial for a COO to uncover problems and offer solutions by asking open-ended questions.
2. Knowing when you don't know something and actively seeking out answers from others is a key skill.
3. Researching a company and identifying areas of genuine curiosity beforehand demonstrates proactive interest and problem-solving skills
Transcript
What skills would you say are most important for a job like yours as COO?
COOs should be naturally curious. Many employees might not know exactly what the problem or issue is, or even how to describe it. So I ask a lot of questions.
Through those questions and conversations with people, which are generally pretty open-ended, I can uncover ways to jump in or suggest ideas. These ideas help their job or move the issue forward in a smoother way. I'm curious, ironically.
So, you're saying that asking open-ended questions and being drawn to asking people questions to understand is a way of being naturally curious. What are some other examples that would qualify someone as being naturally curious?
If you were interviewing people to potentially be a COO, how would you know if they're naturally curious? Ways that I would know people are naturally curious are by the questions they ask me in an interview.
In past interviews, at the fintech company I worked at or even at the consulting firm, I did a ton of research. I identified the areas where I was genuinely curious or didn't know the answer. Another thing a Chief Operating Officer needs is the ability to know when you don't know the answer. You need to be able to ask, search, or find other people who are smarter to give you that answer.