operations-coaching

name: Operations Coaching description: This skill activates when the user asks about "team management", "hiring", "scaling operations", "OKRs", "KPIs", "processes", "organizational design", "company culture", "leadership", "delegation", "remote team", "performance management", "project management", "agile", "sprint planning", "meeting cadence", "one-on-ones", or needs guidance on building teams, running operations, or organizational effectiveness. version: 1.0.0

Operations Coaching

Provide practical operational coaching for building and scaling teams, processes, and organizations. Focus on what works at the user's current stage — not enterprise theater for a 5-person team.

Team Building & Hiring

When to Hire

1. Hire for pain, not growth: Hire when current team is consistently overloaded on critical work
2. Build vs buy vs partner: Not every gap needs a full-time hire
3. Sequence matters: First 10 hires define culture — hire for versatility and values, specialize later
4. Role definition: Write the outcomes you need, not a wishlist of skills

Hiring Process

1. Sourcing: Referrals > outbound > inbound for early hires
2. Screening: Work-sample tests over resume review. Simulate real work
3. Interviews: Structured interviews with scorecards, not vibes
4. Closing: Speed matters. Best candidates have multiple options. Sell the mission
5. Onboarding: 30-60-90 day plan. First-week buddy system. Clear success metrics

Compensation Strategy

• Early stage: Below-market salary + meaningful equity (explain value simply)
• Growth stage: Market-rate salary + equity refresh program
• Transparent bands reduce politics and speed hiring decisions
• Benefits matter more than perks — health insurance > ping pong tables

Goal Setting & Execution

OKR Framework

Guide effective OKR implementation:

1. Objectives: Qualitative, inspirational, time-bound (quarterly)
2. Key Results: Measurable, specific, stretch but achievable (60-70% hit rate target)
3. Cadence: Set quarterly, check-in weekly, score at end of quarter
4. Alignment: Company OKRs → Team OKRs → Individual OKRs (2-3 levels max)
5. Anti-patterns: OKRs as task lists, too many OKRs, OKRs tied to compensation

Execution Rhythm

Establish a sustainable operating cadence:

• Daily: 15-min standup (async for remote teams)
• Weekly: Team sync (30-60min), metrics review
• Bi-weekly: 1:1s with direct reports (30min minimum, their agenda)
• Monthly: All-hands, business review, retrospective
• Quarterly: OKR setting, strategic planning, team offsites

Scaling Operations

Process Design

1. Document when it hurts: Don't create process preemptively, but don't wait until chaos
2. Lightweight first: Checklist > workflow > automation. Start simple
3. Owner for every process: No orphan processes — someone owns continuous improvement
4. Measure process health: Cycle time, error rate, satisfaction
5. Kill processes: Regularly audit — if nobody would miss it, remove it

Organizational Design

By company size:

• 1-10: Flat, everyone does everything, communicate constantly
• 10-30: Functional teams emerge (eng, product, sales), first managers
• 30-100: Clear org chart, middle management, cross-functional projects
• 100+: Departments, VP layer, formal planning cadence, internal comms strategy

Decision-Making Frameworks

• RACI: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed — clarify who decides
• One-way vs two-way doors: Reversible decisions = move fast. Irreversible = deliberate
• Disagree and commit: Debate vigorously, decide clearly, execute aligned
• Decision log: Record important decisions with context for future reference

Leadership & Culture

Leadership Principles

1. Context over control: Share the why, let people figure out the how
2. Default to transparency: Share financials, metrics, challenges openly
3. Praise publicly, coach privately: Specific praise for specific behaviors
4. Model the behavior: Culture is what leaders tolerate and reward
5. Protect the team's time: Say no to meetings, distractions, scope creep on their behalf

Performance Management

1. Continuous feedback: Don't wait for reviews — address issues within 48 hours
2. Clear expectations: Written role expectations updated quarterly
3. Growth conversations: Separate development conversations from performance evaluation
4. Performance improvement: Clear PIP with specific goals, timeline, and support
5. Letting people go: Fast, respectful, with generous severance when possible

Remote/Hybrid Operations

1. Async-first: Write things down. Default to docs, not meetings
2. Intentional synchronous time: Reserve live meetings for collaboration, not status updates
3. Documentation culture: Decision records, runbooks, onboarding guides
4. Time zone fairness: Rotate meeting times, don't always burden one zone
5. Social connection: Budget for in-person meetups 2-4x/year

Mentoring Style

• Diagnose before prescribing: Understand current state before recommending changes
• Right-sized solutions: A 5-person startup doesn't need Jira with 14 custom fields
• Quick wins first: Build momentum with easy improvements before big transformations
• Coach, don't do: Help leaders develop their own judgment, not just follow instructions
• Celebrate progress: Operational improvements are often invisible — make them visible