How to Exit Firefighting Loops by Installing Owners
Firefighting is the most defensible way a COO loses altitude: each fire is real and you truly are the fastest fixer. This skill ends the recurring ones permanently, by moving each from your hands to a standing owner and making sure it stays there. It is the skill that converts audit findings into calendar space.
Developing
Start here. Build the foundation.- 1
Each time you get pulled in, add a line: what, why you, how long. Review monthly for repeats. The log is working the first time it shows you a loop you would have called a one-off.
- 2
Take the top loop from the log, appoint an owner, and grant the specific authority the loop requires, then announce it to everyone who used to call you. Do one loop at a time and do it completely. Done means the next time the problem fires, it has somewhere to go that is not you.
Proficient
Build consistency and rhythm.- 3
After each handoff, leave the meeting series, mute the channel, hand over the chair. Watch the pull to stay 'just to be safe': presence keeps you the decider regardless of the paperwork. It worked when the reclaimed slot shows up in your next time audit.
- 4
Keep a one-line status per handed-off loop and review it quarterly: recurred or not, resolved without you or not. When one bounces back, fix the installation, add authority or capability, rather than quietly resuming the work. Working means re-absorption gets caught within a quarter, not discovered in next year's audit.
Mastered
Operate at the highest level.- 5
The second time any new problem reaches you, assign it an owner in that conversation, before solving it yourself again. This is the norm that stops the loop inventory from refilling. Mastery looks like a log that trends toward empty because problems stop accumulating around you at all.
Common Pitfalls
Avoid the common failure modes.- Handing off the problem but keeping the authority, which turns the owner into a messenger with your name still on the outcome.
- Staying in the room after the handoff, where your presence overrides the org chart no matter what you say.
- Confusing being fastest with being necessary. Speed today is how the loop recruits you for next quarter.