A Chief of Staff has power, but no authority. This is by design. They have no direct reports so they can be agile and act on the CEO’s priorities quickly. But working in this capacity means that they’re constantly asking team members - over whom they have no jurisdiction - to do things. So they have to be excellent relationship-builders. We test for this in our interview process by giving candidates a business case in which two companies with wildly different cultures are slated to come together. We look at what the CoS plans to do to get ahead of any potential misalignments. Those who prioritize forming relationships stand out. Without authority, Chiefs of Staff have to build up an arsenal of soft skills, in addition to their project management, communication, and writing skills. Ultimately, a Chief of Staff’s EQ is what enables them to have a lasting impact.
As a former senior military commander, I found my chiefs of staff to be indispensable. Although the CoS has no command authority, he/she must know the commander's vision in order to guide the organization to carry out that vision. Sometimes it's like herding cats, but a good CoS maintains contact with all key subordinate leaders and reports to the commander. Depending on the organization's span of control, the CoS is a key link to accomplish the mission.
An able COS needs to have the skills to get buy in from cross functional teams. An able COS would need to drive long term Company vision and agenda and yet be nimble enough to see through short and mid term strategic initiatives driven by the CEO. This requires maturity and ability to handle people and their expectations even though they might not be direct reports. Not an easy role by any means. Being a bridge between CEO and the SBU heads is a tough job.
Keziah, actually this is not true. Chief's of Staff in the military & government are the Chief of "Staff" meaning they have staff that work directly for them. In the military the CoS role is a very senior role, someone who was already a proven leader in the practical sense. The CoS in the military usually would have all the specialty organizations reporting directly to them. This can include: HR, Information Systems, Logistics, Special Security, facilities, plans, finance, legal, equal opportunity, communications etc. The reason this role works so well in those contexts is that the Chief leads teams AND is the advisor to a leader and in some cases will act on behalf of the leader. I think in the typical corporate setting a Chief of Staff is probably more analogous to an aide-de-camp in many corporate settings.
Interesting: we use AI to assess psychology with just language from LinkedIn profiles. (Yes - it’s accurate) One of the most fascinating things I see across thousands companies is that Chiefs of Staff are consistently one of the best problem solvers and mindsets in the company. They’re usually high EQ, high results drivers (like… they could run the company), and even tend to have high innovator mindsets. It doesn’t matter if the company is 500 people or 5000. The CoS is usually a rock star.
Agreed - influence is the critical piece, and relationships play a big part of that. But even when you do have authority, true leadership is about influence, not wielding a heavy hand of your authority. You want people to follow along or do what the business needs because they believe you have their (and the business’s) best interests at heart, not because they have to under your rule.
The ability to influence others when you don't directly manage them is a vastly underrated skill set!
I have come across at least 2 chief of staffs in my career that spent no time building relationships but expecting team members to do their bidding simply because they were closest to the CEO and C-suite. The team members that refused to follow them were immediately black listed. I see this trend way too often in companies, especially small, nascent start ups where CEOs are too busy to make their own relationships in the company, and lean on the CoS's opinion to assess people. In the end, these Cos become a pain to work with and cause attrition and discontent. Your viewpoint that a CoS's EQ is his/her's most important skill is absolutely on point!
Advisor-style COS positions only work if everyone knows you represent what the CEO/leader thinks. If there is daylight between what they think and what you do, you're dead in the water. No one will trust you. As Keziah Wonstolen said, it's all about creating trust and forming relationships. Once staff understands that you can help them meet their priorities faster, you'll be their first stop for every initiative from then on.
Director for Tech Policy - State Dept. Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Tech. Building partnerships and driving international policy on AI, Quantum and Bio. - views are my own. Ex - NSC, Meta, HOOD.
1 年As a multi time Chief of Staff, I learned early you can serve as an absorber or amplifier of all things. Stress, anxiety, excitement. The best know when to switch between the two. The primarily trait I hire for in my orgs is a proven history of pushing back and seeking clarity from people more senior than the applicant. The COS has power but is often needs to push back hard on people vastly more senior than them to save everyone’s time and energy and to ensure issues are clearly defined with trade offs articulated.