Do You Need an MBA to be a Chief of Staff?

One question I get asked literally all the time is “do I need an MBA to be a Chief of Staff?”

The easy answer is No.?

There are so many jobs and companies that do not require an MBA to be a Chief of Staff. It’s a position that relies on your skillset and agility in strategic thinking more than a documented education in its responsibilities. Similarly, so many businesses will have a CoS job description that is uniquely tailored to the specific function of the company and the needs of the executive you’d be supporting. Every week on LinkedIn, I see job postings that don’t necessitate an MBA for people to find a role not only doable, but fulfilling.?

So, does that mean MBAs are antiquated for the CoS role? Also, no.

I loved my MBA program at the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington - go Huskies! ?? It gave me the confidence to tackle challenges head-on and ask for help when I needed it. It also provided me with a wealth of local resources, including internships, access to networks, and supportive infrastructure to draw and learn from. And, the MBA experience definitely gave me forward momentum in my personal career trajectory. For example, I wouldn’t have been placed into the executive development program at T-Mobile had I not been at the Forte MBA conference where I met the recruiters.

But I can also tell you that business school doesn’t teach what you need to know for a Chief of Staff role. Many of the skills I use everyday I developed from learning how to think quickly on my feet on the job. (You can see our blog on my experience as a Buyer at Nordstrom for a deep dive into some of the first roles I credit for my CoS success!) I may have learned the basics about things like storytelling, project management, conflict resolution, and presentation skills in my MBA, but it was on-the-job experience where I truly practiced and mastered these core functions.?

In most cases, an MBA is not a necessity. What is most important is leveraging your unique strengths and experiences to showcase you’re the right fit for the eclectic set of responsibilities of a Chief of Staff. But there is no one clear path to career success, and we know that. Our hands-on education model in Nova’s Chief of Staff Certification course, along with our personal coaching services, empowers people to amplify the relevant experience they have so they can blaze a trail to their ideal career in a way that’s best suited for them. And because I know how useful real practice is, we’ve created a path for people to roll up their sleeves to get to work without signing up for business school.?