The two skills every COO and leader must develop now

Executive overview

Most leaders focus on strategy and execution, but the skill that matters most right now is empathy — the ability to connect with people as humans, not just employees. Every person is carrying something: health worries, relationship strain, financial stress. Leaders who acknowledge this earn loyalty that no incentive can buy.

Social media ended the professional game face. You show up as you are. The only viable response is authenticity.

Leaders who treat employees as humans first will get people who will go through walls for them.

Why empathy is the critical leadership skill now

• Remote work has stripped out incidental human connection for millions of people
• Employees carry constant anxiety: AI displacement, personal health, family, finances
• No one feels sufficiently seen or valued — and leaders are often too busy to notice
• Entrepreneurs who didn't receive praise as children often struggle to give it, despite craving it themselves
• Recognising that every adult still has the emotional needs of their younger self unlocks how to lead them

A framework for handling conflict

• Confront the issue, not the person — focus on the specific behaviour or event
• Use the structure: "When you… I feel… I need… How do you feel?"
• Own your emotional response rather than projecting blame
• Race to the conflict — address issues the same day, not later
• Public praise, private criticism: always

The CEO vs COO dynamic

• CEOs operate at altitude: vision, culture, urgency, direction
• COOs are the brakes to the entrepreneur's accelerator — the who, what, when, where, how
• The same company looks different depending on which seat you occupy
• The COO's story of how a business was built is as true as the founder's — and rarely told