Do you want to know about the Chief of Staff role?
A reading list
This is a post to share some reading and other materials I’ve pulled together on the chief of staff role.
To make it easier to find the stuff that is useful in a particular situation, I’ve grouped the material into sections:
- Background: Why I’m doing this
- Frameworks to understand the role
- Stories from people who have done the role
- What motivates a chief of staff?
- Things on the role’s key functions and responsibilities
- Things for people wanting to hire a chief of staff
- Things for people wanting to be a chief of staff
- Things about onboarding/starting as a chief of staff
- Things for existing chiefs of staff
- Things for people who want to read more…
Background: Why I’m doing this
I am four months into a new role as chief of staff to the Research CTO at Elsevier, a global information analytics business. It’s a new role in the organisation (actual job title ‘Director of Technology Excellence & Performance’, although this isn’t what my boss calls me). I’ve done similar roles in other organisations, but it’s the first time someone’s called me this.
A little while ago, @jukesie said he was intrigued about the role and shared this Washington Post article and this one in Forbes, as well as links to a couple of books. I hadn’t appreciated before then that having a chief of staff is a ‘thing’ is so many tech companies.
I straight away read one of the books Jukesie mentioned:
As a curious person who loves to learn, I wanted to read more, so I read the second book. And I also went digging on the internet, and this article contains the best of what I found.
Having found these materials useful myself, the likelihood is someone else will find them helpful too. Perhaps someone will point me to something interesting that I’ve not seen. It’s happened every time when I’ve shared something like this before.
I believe in making things open. It makes things better.
I’ve focused on the role in the corporate world, because this felt like where I could add value by bringing things together: it seemed much easier to find much more reading on the role in the military and in politics/government.
Frameworks for understanding the role
I have discussed the chief of staff role with other people at work several times and have often needed to explain what it involves. In doing so, I have drawn upon the following frameworks that outline different aspects/functions of the role, as well as the ‘three buckets’ that my boss and I use in describing what I do/where I focus (see slide 8 of this infodeck).
1. Based on their research, McKinsey & Company suggested that chiefs of staff typically assume five different roles:
- administrator — make the trains run on time
- gate keeper — protect the leader’s time, taking unnecessary conversations off their plate and leading cross-cutting projects below their level
- counsellor — act as a close confidant, providing a sounding board and a critical ear, offering advice across a host of issues and speaking truth to power
- implementer — drive priorities to successful completion
- proxy—communicate and act in the leader’s place.
2. In his book, Consiglieri, Richard Hytner sets out four archetypes for the role:
- lodestone — take jobs off the leader’s plate, freeing them up
- educator — a coach, a counsellor, an independent point of view that challenges and offers different perspectives
- anchor — a confidant who provides straight advice and reasoning
- deliverer — make things happen.
3. Catherine Berardi says that are six archetypes of the effective chief of staff:
- gatekeeper
- administrator
- implementer
- integrator
- proxy
- advisor.
4. I also really like Rob Dickins’s “three orientations” to explain how different parts of the role may potentially be orientated/focused in three different directions. First, a chief of staff will have duties towards their ‘principal’ (that is, the leader to whom they report), and, second, they may also have a role in relation to the leadership team and/or, third, they may have a role in relation to the wider organisation.
5. Chris Fussell, chief of staff to Lieutenant General McChrystal, created a useful framework for thinking about the role, which you find in the chapter about the chief of staff position in his book One Mission. (Fussell’s formal title for McChrystal was “aide- de- camp,” but he says himself that the functions of the job were akin to those of chiefs of staff he’s interacted with in the corporate world.) It is different from the other frameworks above in that his model is broken into four stages, each defining a different phase of a chief of staff’s development into fulfilling the potential of their role. A newly assigned chief of staff, regardless of experience level, should be expected to start their job in the first of the four stages. And the timeline for their progression “will vary depending on the individual and the leadership culture, so some may never reach quadrant four, or may be there only for brief moments in their career.” Rob Thomas is one person who has hired a chief of staff and found using Chris’s framework helpful.
6. I know other people have also found the three levels in this HBR article and the six levels in the Chief of Staff Leveling Framework from Chief the of staff Network useful, because “despite sharing the same title, CoS are operating with varying amounts of influence & ownership and therefore at different levels within their companies.”
7. Zachary Zeigler sees the role as comprising the following attributes:
𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬: Building trust with the executive and stakeholders is crucial. Investing in these relationships early on is key to navigating challenges collaboratively.
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: Leave your ego at the door. Your role is to support the executive and the broader organization, often leading from behind.
𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Prioritize and support fellow leaders, fostering a unified executive team.
𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: Be ready to tackle diverse challenges, earning the “Swiss Army Knife” moniker.
𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: Effective influence comes from building respect and trust, not relying on authority.
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲: Anticipating needs and being prepared is essential for success.
Things from people sharing their experiences
I think that one of the best ways to learn about a role is to listen to people who have ‘been there, done that’ talk about what it was like for them.
What does a Chief of Staff do? Brian Rumao, chief of staff to Jeff Weiner, the CEO at LinkedIn. Brian has also made a LinkedIn course on the chief of staff role — a set of short videos about the role, getting hired, getting started best practices, etc (18 minutes in total).
Why we brought on a chief of staff to Chop Dawg by Joshua Davidson, CEO of the company, who decided to create a chief of staff role there.
Should I Hire A Chief Of Staff? by Nakul Mandan, who interviews a CEO who created a chief of staff role and three people who have worked in that position.
10,000 Hours with Reid Hoffman: What I Learned by Ben Casnocha
I’ve Logged 10,000 hours as a Chief of Staff in a large tech company; Here’s my POV on the role, by Rob Dickins, chief of staff at Autodesk, a software company.
How To Be A Great Chief Of Staff In Tech, by Eric Nehrlich, who spent almost seven years at Google as the chief of staff to the product VP of the Search Ads team
Why you need two Chiefs in the Executive Office, by Influitive CEO Mark Organ, who decided to hire a Chief of Staff and here explains why.
What it means to be the Chief of Staff at an A16Z start-up, by Emma Ainley, chief of staff to the CEO at 500px, a Toronto-based start-up.
So you want to be a chief of staff? by Stephanie Williams, who has had three stints at the chief of staff role, including at Amazon and Twitter.
What I learned as Chief of Staff to serial entrepreneur Max Levchin, by Ryan Metcalf
Playing chess not checkers: Intuit’s Brad Smith on the value of the Chief of Staff role, an interview by Tyler Parris
Top 10 takeaways from the Chief of Staff summit, by Hallie Warner
Generalist speaking with Alicia Diamond Chief of Staff, by Generalist Speaking… Alicia also has her own blog where she writes about the CoS role.
Role Rundown: A Conversation with Simon de Jesus Rodrigues, Chief of Staff at Nested, by Sydney Maxwell
Who exactly is a Chief of Staff?, by Kamal Aakarsh Vishnubhotla — the first in a series of five articles he wrote on the role
Prime chief of staff publish interviews with people in the CoS role in their “Meet a Chief of Staff” series.
What motivates a Chief of Staff?
Although not focused exclusively on the chief of staff role, this book by Richard Hytner explains what motivates people attracted to roles like a chief of staff, and what their bosses can do to help them flourish.
Things on the role’s key functions and responsibilities
Chief of Staff, a Critical Role Among High Growth Startups by Scott Amenta, who was chief of staff at Spring and is one of the co-founders of the Chief of Staff Tech Network.
How does a Chief of Staff differ from a COO? by Tyler Parris
The Rise of the Corporate Chief of Staff, by Blair Bryant Nichols
What are a Chief of Staff’s responsibilities? by Maddy Niebauer
Revisiting the Role of Chief of Staff — A Growing Trend, by Al Chase
The role of a corporate chief of staff, by Maggie Hsu
The Chief of Staff role in Silicon Valley, by Julia DeWahl
Why every startup CEO needs a chief of staff, by Dave Bailey
How a chief of staff can help your CIO or CTO function, by Edward Qualtrough (Plus, see this article on the role of an Office of the CTO in a large Technology role and the archetype of the ‘Right Hand’ who extends a {Tech} executive’s attention, borrowing their scope and authority to operate particularly complex organizations)
The Chief of Staff Guide, a four-part essay by Paul M. Cohen, covering an introduction to the role and how it varies by company stage and role independence, how to shape the role (including key responsibilities), how to avoid common pitfalls, and how to use the role to drive your professional development.
Things for people wanting to hire a chief of staff
Why do you need a Chief of Staff, by Benson Hendrix
You need a Chief of Staff by Nick Crocker
Chief of Staff vs. Executive Assistant: Which do you need? by Maddy Niebauer
The Case for a Chief of Staff, Dan Ciampa, HBR, May-June edition 2020
Why more start ups should consider adding a Chief of Staff to support the CEO, by Melissa Winguard-Phillips
Chief of Staff to CEO: Why do you need one? Why, when and how to hire one by Melissa Winguard-Phillips
Nine reasons you need a chief of staff, by Alex Benady
Why Every Organization Needs a Chief of Staff Like This One, by Stan McChrystal
Why I need a chief of staff and you probably do too, by Chris Hutchins
Chief of Staff Q&A with GitLab CEO, GitLab CEO Sid Sijbranij explains why he decided to hire a CoS and what he was looking for
How should I hire a chief of staff? Twitter thread by Brian Rumao
In his book, Tyler Parris outlines a set of ‘universal competencies’ that the role requires:
- Results orientation
- Systems and process thinking
- Anticipation
- Political savvy
- Coaching
- Managed ego or servant leadership
- Adaptability and flexibility
- Interpretation or translation
Here are some sample job descriptions.
The Chief of Staff Role: How To Find the Right Fit in the Interview Process by Maxine Litre. This article contains advice for both people wanting to hire a chief of staff and candidates applying for the role.
How do I find and hire a corporate chief of staff? by Maggie Hsu
Why more CEOs are hiring a chief of staff, by Atta Tarki
And, for some balance, here’s an alternative point of view:
Chiefs of Staff Are Necessary for Politics, But Not Always Great for Companies, by Adam Kovacevich
Things for people wanting to become a chief of staff
So You Want to Be a Chief of Staff at a Tech Company; Here Are Some Things to Consider by Max Dworin, co-founder of the Chief of Staff Tech Network in New York City
How to get a job as a chief of staff, by Scott Amenta
How’d you get that job? Chief of staff at Hungryroot, by Leah Muncy
Are you ready to become Chief of Staff? by Bonnie Marcus
So, You’ve Accepted A Corporate Chief of Staff Role — Now What? the first in a five-part series by Tyler Parris on what you need to focus on to succeed as a corporate chief of staff (here are parts 2, 3, 4, and 5).
How to become a corporate chief of staff, by Maggie Hsu
Chief of Staff: Your 6 ‘must have’ skills, by Todd Palmer
It’s lonely near the top: Challenges for Chiefs of Staff, by Ted Riter
Things about onboarding / starting as a chief of staff
The First 90 Days as a Chief of Staff, by Rob Dickins
How to Build the CoS & CEO partnership in the First 90 Days, by Madeleine Niebauer from vChief
Chief of Staff: The First 90 Days, by Maggie Hsu
Chief of Staff: How to onboard yourself in 30 days, by Regina Gerbeaux
How to be an Exceptional Chief of Staff: Advice for Scaling Impact at Startups, by Sonja Manning, Chief of Staff at Levels
Things for existing chiefs of staff
Better CoS Decision Making, by Rob Dickins
How to be a better chief of staff, by Roberta Fusaro and Lucia Rahilly with Andrew Goodman and Carolyn Dewar
The Heart of CEO Effectiveness, by Christine Barton , Nicki Cave , Phillip Cook , and Martin Reeves from the Boston Consulting Group. A practical article on how a chief of staff, CEO, and the CEO’s EA can work together to strengthen the CEO’s effectiveness.
There are two Linked Groups dedicated to the role:
Corporate Chiefs of Staff Network, a LinkedIn group administered by Brad Blom, chief of staff at WWE.
Chief Of Staff | The New C-Suite Leader, a LinkedIn group administered by Camille Jamerson, a former chief of staff.
Also, if you’re a chief of staff and thinking about what’s next, I suggest you read one of these articles:
Is Chief of Staff a dead end role?, by Scott Amenta
Things for people who want more about the role
A number of people have set up companies that focus exclusively on the chief of staff role. They produce a lot of materials related to the role.
Virtual Chief of Staff is a company that offers chief of staff type services, and runs a blog about the role.
Prime chief of staff is a consultancy that helps companies recruit, onboard, develop and coach chiefs of staff. They have a blog, faq, and articles and other resources.
As well as his book, Tyler Parris has also set up Chief of Staff Expert a website containing articles, events, and a member’s area with a forum, videos and worksheets. He’s also written lots of other articles, including:
Leadership and Your Chief of Staff, by Tyler Parris
Will a Chief of Staff be a Wedge in Your Organisation? by Tyler Parris
Is a corporate chief of staff just a spy for the executive he or she supports?, by Tyler Parris
See also: Chief of Staff: The Strategic Partner Who Will Revolutionize Your Organization, an interview with Tyler Parris by Paul Adams
There are even podcasts dedicated to the role:
- The Chief of staff, podcast by the chief of staff association
- The Chief of staff podcast, by the chief of staff network
- Parmenio — chief of staff
