7 Ways Business Owners Sabotage Their Fractional COO (and How to Fix It)

Hiring a Fractional COO won’t fix your business unless you get out of their way.

Fractional COOs are a powerful asset for businesses offering high-level operations management without the cost of a full-time executive. But even the best fractional COOs can be derailed by one thing: the business owner.

Here are seven common ways owners unintentionally (or intentionally) disrupt their COO’s work and what to do about it.

1. Micromanaging After You’ve Delegated

You hired a Fractional COO to streamline operations. But if you’re still jumping in to direct employees, override processes, or second-guess decisions, you’re bottlenecking your own business.

Fix It: Set boundaries. Let your COO lead, and redirect employees who come to you back to them. Trust the expert you brought in.

2. Bypassing the Chain of Command

When employees skip the COO and go straight to the owner and the owner responds it completely undercuts the COO’s authority.

Fix It: Reinforce structure. If a crew member brings you an issue, ask, “Have you talked to the COO yet?” Every time you reroute a concern properly, you reinforce the new system.

3. Resisting Change with “We’ve Always Done It This Way”

Many small businesses run on legacy knowledge. But clinging to old methods (manual dispatch, outdated tech, verbal scheduling) keeps growth stuck.

Fix It: Be open. Start small. Let the COO run pilot tests or show cost/efficiency data. Improvement doesn’t erase tradition, it strengthens your foundation.

4. Failing to Clarify the COO’s Role

If your team doesn’t know who the COO is or what they’re responsible for, they won’t follow their lead and confusion spreads fast.

 Fix It: Announce the role clearly. Update your org chart. Back the COO publicly and align on what success looks like.

5. Not Integrating the COO into Company Culture

In tight-knit companies, an outsider, especially one part-time, can feel like a “consultant with a clipboard” instead of a leader.

Fix It: Champion them from day one. Share their wins. Help them build relationships on the shop floor, not just in the office.

6. Letting Loyalty Cloud Judgment

Long-time employees or family members can become sacred cows even if they’re slowing down operations. A COO may spot it, but if you won’t act, their hands are tied.

Fix It: Focus on facts. Use data to drive decisions. Loyalty matters, but so does accountability. Help people grow or reassign them if needed.

7. Having Different Visions

You’re the visionary. Your COO is the integrator. But if you keep shifting priorities or chasing shiny objects, your COO can’t build anything sustainable.

Fix It: Hold regular “same-page” meetings. Set shared goals. Align strategy with execution and respect each other’s lanes.

Hiring a Fractional COO is a major step toward scaling your business. But if you’re not willing to shift your leadership style, even the best COO will fail.

Avoid becoming the problem you hired them to solve. Support their role, align your vision, and let them do the job you hired them for.

When done right, the results are transformational: less chaos, stronger systems, and more time for you to lead, not manage.

Is your business stuck in the weeds? Let’s build the systems to get you out.

Visit atlatlbusinesssolutions.com to learn more about how we can assist.