A great Chief of Staff is a leader’s best-kept secret. Deployed stealthily from behind the scenes, things just seem to go better and faster when these clandestine multi-tools are on the team.
There are traditional problem statements that beget hiring a Chief of Staff: organizational efficiency, change management, better communications, stronger culture. These are all valid reasons to consider adding a specialist to the leadership team.
There are also a few unspoken issues that can be solved by a Chief of Staff. You might not know to ask for these outcomes up front, but will be so grateful for them in hindsight!
Leadership is lonely and the buck stops with you
Most businesses are complex enough that one human can’t hold all the pieces in their mental framework. However, your team expects you to know and care about each of the things and have informed opinions. Wouldn’t it be great to have an extra ‘brain’ to think through priorities and recommendations? You feel less alone as you make tough decisions with a trusted thought partner in your corner.
No one gives you growth-oriented feedback
Your team isn’t incentivized to rock the boat by telling you things you don’t want to hear. If you have a boss (or a board), they are likely only talking to you about results. No one is giving you an accurate representation of how you are leading and your growth opportunities. A Chief of Staff provides in-the-moment feedback as part of their role (whether you want to hear it or not!) coming from a place of wanting to help you grow. This support is especially critical if you are attempting to make a step-change in your leadership style or scope.
As the team expands you aren’t as connected to people doing the work
The people practices that worked in your startup days are no longer as effective when your calendar is jam-packed and your time is spent with increasingly senior audiences. Chiefs of Staff typically have high EQ and can quickly take the pulse of relationships, energy and sentiment across the team. Like an early warning system, they identify people and organizational problems that are likely to erupt and take proactive steps to stem the impact, bringing you in only when needed.
You spend too much time on HOW to work
You’re sick of debating the what and how of the work and reinventing the wheel with your leadership team. Imagine if tomorrow you could snap your fingers and goals were set, everyone had marching orders and you had a system that delivered perfect clarity on where everything was in the delivery process. Chiefs of Staff aren’t wish-granting genies, but they can take friction out of the system by setting up an operating rhythm that works for everyone involved and gives you the necessary information to run your business. Less time on how means more time to actually do meaningful work.