Tobey Wyatt: Generalist Shaking up the Model
As a VP of Operations, how many letters do you need behind your name?
Tobey Wyatt stepping into her new role as VP of Operations at a dynamic healthcare analytics firm, faced a pivotal question: how many skills and qualifications does one need for such a diverse position?
Her role demanded proficiency in financials, HR, IT, marketing, and overall operations – a daunting spectrum for anyone. With her characteristic resolve, she opted to tackle the growth curve one functional area at a time and picked HR as a starting point.
This people-centric learning journey took her to conferences where she saw the importance of getting the basics right in this space. One of the foundational elements she decided to implement was 1:1 meetings with everyone at the company.
Despite initial apprehensions about the dynamics of these interactions, she plunged into the process. These meetings soon unveiled their true value – they weren't just conversations but windows into the nitty gritty inner workings of the organization.
Tobey's listening sessions transformed her into a translator of sorts, adept at converting complex operational languages into actionable strategies. This blend of operational insight and empathic communication became her trademark.
Meet Tobey Wyatt: A Generalist who spans the COS and COO space
From her vantage point overseeing operations and stretching into the Chief of Staff space, Tobey crafted a unique framework for organizational functions. This framework, a testament to her Generalist approach, encompassed:
Strategy: Grasping the broad landscape to chart a future course.
Tactics: Engineering the implementation of these strategies to move the work forward.
Execution: Actualizing tactics through ground-level work.
Administration: Ensuring that the cycle from execution back to strategy remains seamless.
This framework wasn't just theoretical; it was born from Tobey's hands-on experience across these domains, proving that real-world application is often as valuable as formal education like certifications and degrees when it comes to learning as a Generalist.
This operational approach can be leveraged across a variety of business problem statements.
In the below example, you can see how a performance management system flows from strategy through tactics, execution, and administration, and then back up from admin and execution as problems are identified and improvements are deployed.
Reinventing her job search
Tobey recently found herself in a job search. She was looking for a Chief of Staff role and ran into a familiar job seeker experience. Some companies were looking for a super-charged EA, and some were looking for a stand-in for one or more C-suite executives, including the CEO. All of them were calling it Chief of Staff.
She took several contract roles as a virtual Chief of Staff while job searching and loved the chance to air-drop into a company that needed help, solve the problem, and then hand off the execution to an internal resource.
During this process, she realized that while she was passionate about some of the components of the posted full-time Chief of Staff roles, none of them were calling to her during the next phase of her career.
She was looking for something that allowed her to play in her sweet spot: parachute in to solve a strategic or tactical problem while also developing the longer-term talent to hold the execution.
What if….you could solve 2 problems at once?
Instead of going out to find the perfect job, Tobey decided to build one. She thought about the acute need most companies have for a great operator and remembered the pain points from her own experience. She looked at the framework for how great operators are made and infused that into her structure.
In the end, she solved for:
passion for interesting work
desire to offer a place for great Generalists to learn and build their operator skillset
a unique solution for companies that need operator talent
Thus - Motherlode was born
Meet Motherlode. A revolutionary approach that addresses both Tobey's career aspirations and the operational needs of companies. This model provides strategic and tactical guidance from Tobey, while entrusting the execution and administration to rising generalist talents, echoing her early career journey.
These operators, handpicked for their potential and eagerness to learn, benefit from real-world experience across various domains. Tobey is offering people a chance to cut their teeth without investing years, and 6 figures, into an education program.
For companies, Motherlode Consulting offers continuous, expert-backed operational support. That means that even if someone is out on leave or vacation, payroll gets done, renewals are completed and annual reports get filed. Business owners rest easy knowing all the important execution tasks are covered.
It's a modern apprenticeship model – a win-win for all involved. Tobey's initiative not only fills a critical niche in operational support for businesses but also nurtures the next generation of multifaceted professionals. They are exposed to the incredible breadth of what can be included in ‘operations’, particularly at a small company where each individual is expected to don many hats.
The below image provides a peek behind the curtain for what this cross-functional operations apprenticeship might cover on any given day!
Epilogue: Tobey Wyatt's Legacy
Tobey Wyatt's story is not just about mastering the diverse demands of a Chief of Operations or Chief of Staff. It's about vision, adaptability, and the courage to redefine the norms. By bridging gaps between strategy, execution, and education, Tobey has crafted a legacy that transcends traditional job roles, empowering both individuals and organizations to reach new heights of operational excellence.
About Tobey Wyatt
Tobey's diverse business operations experience spans over two decades. As VP of Operations, she grew a healthcare analytics startup from 5 to 27 employees before becoming Chief of Staff to the Head of Corporate HR at Boeing. She has a Master's in Secondary Mathematics Education from KU, where she led the Women's Club Volleyball organization for three years, increasing membership 3x and budget 6x.
Join us in Breaking the Mold: Generalists Who Thrive in a Specialist's World as we explore real-life examples of generalists connecting dots, innovating, and solving problems.