How to skill up into a Chief of Staff role in a startup?
You may be seeing many job openings for the Chief of Staff role in recent times among startups. It has become a very hot position and many startups/founders are scrambling to find the right talent for this role. There are few roles which are complementary to the requirements of a CoS and thus can transition successfully to a CoS. Lets discuss them here today and understand what additional requirements are required to skillup to be a CoS :
a) Program Management
By nature of the job, the skillsets required to be a good Program Manager (technical or otherwise) is very similar to that of a CoS namely working with cross-functional teams, getting things done and have a breadth of knowledge of the business. In order to skill up to a CoS, some experience in strategy, defining frameworks and developing executive presence would help. So, look for projects where you can work on defining the problem statement, come up with the solution based on analysis / research, socialising the approach with leaders and moving it to execution. This was the path that I took up to become a Chief of Staff and I felt that it was a very natural progression.
b) Business Strategy/Ops
Another common role who can successfully transition to CoS is someone from Business Strategy or Business Operations. If you are currently in this role, you would have the advantage of having a strong understanding of the business and its nuances. In order to transition to a CoS to the founder from this role, you would need to be comfortable picking up program management skills. Overseeing day-to-day progress, mitigating risks and working across teams to get things moving are all vital experiences to gain. A transition for you would also mean moving from a managerial position to an individual contributor role. In most startups, CoS is a IC role or in few bigger startups, CoS may have a small team of 1–2 people.
c) Special Projects
If you are already working on Special Projects for the leader, you have one of the most important things going for you to transition into CoS and this is the trust of the leader. By working on projects and missions close to the leader as an IC, you would have a good understanding of the leader’s working style, preferences and expectations. So, to transition into a mainstream CoS role, you would have to build a solid understanding of the business and develop relationships with the other teams.
While these roles are highly complementary to a CoS role, there is no stopping anyone with the right mindset and attitude to successfully transition in a CoS role. If you are entrepreneurial in nature but not sure whether to take the plunge, a CoS role is an ideal proxy to experience all that a founder goes through. So, scout out opportunities available to you and upskill yourself to become the next Chief of Staff at your company!
