What does operational leadership capacity mean in practice?

We join as part of the leadership team, take responsibility for agreed areas, and drive the work forward together with the team. The role is about execution, not just recommendations.

Do you work full-time or fractionally?

Both. The scope is adapted to the company's need, phase, and how much capacity is required to create progress.

Which companies is this a fit for?

Technology startups that have built a product and want to develop the commercial and operational capacity around it. The company doesn't need to have established product-market fit yet.

What sets Fase To apart from a consulting firm?

We don't stand on the outside delivering advice the company then has to implement itself. We join the business, take operational responsibility, and are measured on progress and results.

How long does a typical engagement last?

Some engagements are time-limited, while operational leadership capacity is often delivered over a longer period. The duration depends on the mandate and what needs to be built.

How does a collaboration start?

We start with a conversation about the situation, the goals and the bottlenecks. We then propose a role, priorities and a scope that fits the need.

Leadership capacity

When does a growth company need a COO?

The need for a COO often arises before the company is ready for a new permanent leadership hire. What matters is which responsibility is missing, and how lasting the need is.

Fase To30 July 20264 min read

The CEO gradually becomes the company's integration layer: sales, product, delivery, hiring and internal priorities all meet at the same person. The need for operational leadership is real at that point, even if the company doesn't yet need — or can't yet afford — a full-time COO.

01 · Understand the need

The problem comes before the job title

A COO shouldn't be hired just because the CEO is busy. The role makes sense when the company has a lasting ownership gap between strategy and execution. That usually shows up as several important initiatives crossing functions without anyone owning the whole.

In practice, that means the company knows what it wants to achieve but lacks the capacity or structure to do it consistently. Product development follows one logic, sales another, and delivery has to absorb the consequences. The CEO spends more and more time connecting the pieces.

Direction

Strategy doesn't turn into priorities

The goals are understandable, but the team lacks clear choices, owners and a shared plan for execution.

Whole picture

Work stalls between functions

No one has a clear mandate to resolve dependencies between sales, product, operations and customer follow-up.

Capacity

The CEO is the bottleneck

Decisions, conflicts and follow-up all land with one person, even where others on the team should be able to own them.

System

The company is run case by case

Leadership handles situations as they come up, but doesn't build ways of working that reduce the need next time.

A good COO role takes responsibility for that whole picture. It translates strategy into priorities, establishes a simple governance rhythm, clarifies ownership, and drives critical initiatives through the organisation. Over time the role should make the company less dependent on the role itself, not create a new layer of decision-making.

02 · Choose a model

Permanent COO, fractional COO, or a defined project?

The right answer depends on how broad, lasting and integrated the need is. Many growth companies treat this as a binary choice: either hire a leader, or keep going as before. There's a useful middle ground between those two options.

Model	Fits when	Strength	Key risk
Permanent COO	The need is broad, permanent, and requires day-to-day leadership of a team or of operations.	Continuity, full capacity, and a clear seat in the leadership team.	An expensive hire if the mandate is unclear or the complexity isn't yet lasting.
Fractional COO	The company needs experienced leadership capacity a few days a week, often through a 3–12 month transition.	Can build structure, drive prioritised initiatives, and clarify what a future permanent role should own.	Works poorly if the role is treated as outside advice, without mandate and access.
Project-based help	The problem is well-defined — for example a sales process, a governance model, or a reorganisation.	Clear deliverable, short time horizon, and lower commitment.	Doesn't resolve an ongoing need for coordination and operational ownership.

Permanent COO

Fits when

The need is broad, permanent, and requires day-to-day leadership of a team or of operations.

Strength

Continuity, full capacity, and a clear seat in the leadership team.

Key risk

An expensive hire if the mandate is unclear or the complexity isn't yet lasting.

Fractional COO

Fits when

The company needs experienced leadership capacity a few days a week, often through a 3–12 month transition.

Strength

Can build structure, drive prioritised initiatives, and clarify what a future permanent role should own.

Key risk

Works poorly if the role is treated as outside advice, without mandate and access.

Project-based help

Fits when

The problem is well-defined — for example a sales process, a governance model, or a reorganisation.

Strength

Clear deliverable, short time horizon, and lower commitment.

Key risk

Doesn't resolve an ongoing need for coordination and operational ownership.

The most expensive mistake is hiring the title before you've defined the responsibility. That quickly gets you an expensive coordinator who manages symptoms, without changing the way of working that created them.

03 · Make the call

A simple test before you create the role

Answer yes or no to the questions below. They don't replace a thorough assessment, but they make it easier to tell a real leadership need from a temporary capacity problem.

Do you have at least three critical initiatives that cross sales, product, delivery or the organisation?
Does the CEO become the default owner whenever responsibility is unclear or progress stalls?
Does the company lack a fixed rhythm for priorities, key metrics, risk and decisions?
Is the need bigger than one defined project, but still smaller than a full leadership hire?
Do you lack an internal person with the capacity, mandate and experience to own the whole picture?

0–1 yesDon't create a COO role. Start by cleaning up priorities, ownership and how meetings are run.

2–3 yesConsider a defined project or a fractional role to build the operating model.

4–5 yesThe need is likely real. Choose a permanent or fractional solution based on how lasting and extensive the responsibility is.

The most important thing is to describe the effect you want before you describe the person. Which decisions should get made faster? Which initiatives should move forward? Which responsibilities should come off the CEO's plate? Which ways of working should still be standing after six months?

In short

A growth company needs a COO once the lack of operational ownership has become a lasting obstacle to execution. Don't hire just to take pressure off the CEO. Define the responsibility, assess how permanent the need is, and choose the lightest model that can actually solve the problem.

Next step

Has your company outgrown the way you work today?

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