THE CHIEF OF STAFF: YOUR SUPERHERO FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS - PART 2

In my first article, I explored the evolution of the Chief of Staff (CoS) role, providing an overview of its responsibilities and shedding light on how CEOs allocate their work hours. In this article, we will deep dive into exactly what a Chief of Staff does.

To recap, CEOs typically work an average of 62.5 hours a week. With such a demanding schedule, achieving work-life balance can be a challenge, often leading to burnout and feelings of being overwhelmed. To appreciate how a Chief of Staff can help alleviate some of this burden, it’s essential to first grasp the nuances of the CoS role.

The responsibilities of a CoS can differ significantly across organizations, influenced by factors like company size, the specific needs of the CEO and executive team, organizational complexity, geographic diversity, and unique business demands.

Tyler Parris, in his book CHIEF OF STAFF: THE STRATEGIC PARTNER WHO WILL REVOLUTIONIZE YOUR ORGANIZATION, outlines 13 key duties that a CoS might take on.

1. Portfolio Management: Manages a portfolio of projects for the CEO using organization skills.
2. Execution Guidance: Helps the staff and their teams interpret, understand, and carry out the CEO's vision and strategic intent.
3. Project Prioritization: Helps a CEO prioritize project and business impacts so that the CEO and his or her direct reports are moving forward with only the most important work.
4. Communication Liaison: Exercises exceptional discretion with confidential information to keep the CEO apprised of what's going on in the organization and, where possible, to keep the organization informed of what's going on at the top.
5. Executive Cycle Management: Manages business rhythms such as recurrent leadership meetings and governance processes on behalf of the CEO.
6. Decision Making Support: Provides analysis, recommendations, and options to the CEO regarding decisions to be made or problems to be solved in internal or external meetings.
7. Collaborative Conversation Leader: Attends and facilitates complex, cross-departmental discussions to ensure that good decisions are reached (versus so-called yes-people simply agreeing with the CEO) and that decisions are carried out.
8. Executive Proxy: Acts as proxy and information funnel, filter, and facilitator for the CEO, dealing with as many issues as possible before they reach the CEO's desk, representing the CEO's point of view, and making decisions, as needed, in the executives absence.
9. Strategic Thought Partner: Serves as thought partner and coach to the CEO, influencing the overall agenda for the organization, offering the CEO and his or her direct reports perspectives they might not see, uncovering or helping the team uncover new possibilities, and challenging ideas before they are committed to action.
10. Growth Integrity Manager: Manages risk by bridging interdepartmental gaps, by connecting the executive to what is really going on in the organization, by keeping shop while the executive is away, by maintaining continuity during leadership changes, and, in early-stage companies, by being the negative feedback loop for behaviors that don't meet long-term growth objectives.
11. Visionary Architect: Manages a strategic planning and budgeting process for the executive's organization.
12. Executive Brand Promoter: Manages or helps manage the executive's communications, brand, and relationships in the organization.
13. Operational Oversight: Might or might not manage a departmental budget or have direct reports.

Parris mentions in his book that several leaders he interviewed referred to Radar O'Reilly from the classic television show M*A*S*H when describing what a Chief of Staff does. "Radar is a character who seems to have a sixth sense about the organization, who can finish his boss's sentences, and who can not only anticipate organizational needs before they happen (he is often the first to hear medevac helicopters approaching the field hospital where the show is set) but also uses a keen resourcefulness to obtain supplies - seemingly out of nowhere - that the camp needs."

As you can see from this detailed list, the role of Chief of Staff has many duties, all of which are to assist the CEO or executive in multiplying efforts and building capacity. a Chief of Staff works as a confidante, advisor, mobilizer, communicator, strategic execution implementer and overseer, the opposite of a yes-man, sometimes giving the CEO advice and feedback that they don't want to hear. They are essentially a Corporate Consigliere.

Karan Rhodes from the website, Shockingly Different Leadership, defines a Consigliere as,

"A trusted strategic advisor and confidante to an important person, who provides thought leadership and sound counsel so that the leader can more effectively influence, impact, and lead."

CEOs and executives shouldn't have to navigate their roles alone. Leadership can often feel isolating, especially with each departmental leader focused on their own priorities. Wouldn't it be nice to have a strategic partner and confidante to help you? Kind of like Han Solo and Chewbacca (Star Wars), Captain Kirk and Spock (Star Trek), Tony Stark aka Iron Man and James Rhodes aka War Machine.

What do you think about the Chief of Staff role? Do you think this would be of value to a leader?