The Executive-Project-Manager Audition
Hire your future COO into a watch-first role, then promote as they prove themselves
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 82%
When Jasmine Star had seven people reporting to her and felt drained rather than freed, she needed an operations right hand but didn't know exactly what she was looking for. Instead of hiring a COO outright, she deliberately under-titled the role as 'executive project manager.' This let her observe the candidate's attention to detail, humility, communication, and thinking style at low risk. The new hire spent her first 90 days simply watching and asking why the business ran as it did, then began proposing and owning projects like an employee handbook and process standardization. Demonstrated execution earned successive promotions: to Director of Marketing at six months, then to COO at ten months. The mechanism converts an ambiguous, high-variance hire into a staged, evidence-based promotion path where each level is earned by observed performance rather than assumed from a resume.
Origin
Jasmine Star developed this after reaching seven direct reports as founder of Social Curator, feeling drained rather than freed, and reading a Harvard Business Review article on hiring a COO. She hired her first executive project manager in July 2019, who became COO by 2021.
Core principles
- 01Under-title a high-potential hire so a mismatch costs you little and an upgrade costs you nothing
- 02Let the person observe the whole business before they change anything
- 03Promote on demonstrated execution, not on interview impressions
- 04A right hand should strengthen your weaknesses, not mirror your strengths
- 05Attention to detail and humility to 'get their hands dirty' predict operational fit
How to run it
- 1
Recognize the trigger to hire
Notice when you've shifted from doing the work to managing people doing the work yet feel more drained, not more free. For Jasmine this was seven direct reports.
Pro tip The signal isn't headcount alone; it's that answering your team's questions leaves you no time to work on the business.
- 2
Deliberately under-title the role
Write a job description one rung below the role you actually want to fill so a mismatch is cheap and an upgrade is easy.
Pro tip Frame it as 'executive project manager' to surface attention to detail and willingness to get hands dirty.
Watch out Don't over-title someone before you've seen how they think and execute in your business.
- 3
Give a 90-day watch-and-question mandate
Have the new hire spend their first three months observing the entire business and asking why things are done the way they are, without changing anything yet.
Pro tip The quality of their 'why' questions reveals how sharp and compatible their thinking is.
- 4
Hand over a first concrete project
After 90 days, let them take on a self-proposed project such as an employee handbook or process standardization to prove ownership.
Pro tip Let them suggest the project; initiative here is itself a strong signal.
- 5
Promote on demonstrated execution
Elevate them through successive roles only after each is executed well, moving from project manager to functional lead to COO.
Pro tip Move as fast as their proof allows; Jasmine reached COO in ten months.
Watch out Don't promote on potential alone; each level must be earned by observed results.
- 6
Confirm they strengthen your weaknesses
Ensure the final right hand complements you rather than duplicating your strengths, covering the gaps you can't.
Pro tip The best integrators are relentless where you are weak and comfortable staying behind the scenes.
In the wild
Jade saw Jasmine's Facebook listing for an executive project manager and took a pay cut and title demotion from a near-CEO role because she believed she could work her way up. For her first 90 days she only watched and asked why: why the meetings, why seven direct reports, why files split across Dropbox and G-Drive, why no time-off process. Then she proposed an employee handbook, standardized processes, and restructured meetings. Six months in she became Director of Marketing and slayed the launches; at ten months she was promoted to COO, a role she has held since 2021.
→ An unproven under-titled hire became a trusted COO who strengthens the founder's weaknesses.
Common mistakes
Over-titling before you've seen them work
Hiring straight into a COO title commits you to an unproven executive and makes a graceful downgrade nearly impossible if the fit is only partial.
Skipping the watch period
Letting a new right hand start changing things before they understand why the business runs as it does forfeits their most valuable early output: sharp diagnostic questions.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders scaling from doing-the-work to managing-the-work who need an operational right hand but can't yet define the role precisely.
Not ideal for
Situations demanding an immediate, fully-authorized senior operator with no runway to observe and prove fit.
From the transcript
“So what I did was I created a job title and a description for an executive project manager. Why? I wanted to see their attention…”
“So in the first three months, all she did was watch. She was learning. And she asked why?”
From the episode
Finding Your Dream COO and Defining Success for Their Role