Executive Assistant vs Chief of Staff - What's the difference?

The Chief of Staff role is relatively new to the business world and is often poorly defined. The Chief of Staff (CoS) is a very talented individual who is an advisor to the executives, typically the CEO or COO. The CoS role is designed to be an extension of leadership and strategy. It is one of the most important roles as it allows the companies to scale faster and more strategically. The CoS is tasked with managing the executive’s goals, operational tasks and special strategic projects. Briefly put, a CoS is a professional who serves as a project manager, people manager and strategic advisor to a leader, allowing the leader to focus on the highest level of business priorities.

There is a common misconception that CoS and Executive Assistants (EA) are the same. However, the CoS role is decidedly different from that of the EA. EAs live in the now, and CoS live in the future. Broadly put, the CoS role is more strategic and the EA role is more tactical.

Both of them are invaluable to maximizing the leader’s time, impact and productivity, the significant difference between an EA and a CoS is that the CoS is not responsible for optimizing the time and day of that executive, but rather helping to optimize the strategic initiatives across the company that the executive is driving.

Executive Assistants

The core function of an EA is to handle all administrative tasks to keep an executive’s day moving smoothly and efficiently. This includes calendar management, travel and expenses. EAs often execute this so seamlessly that we tend to underestimate the finesse required to juggle all of these details and changing priorities.

An experienced EA may handle strategic projects as they possess a more in-depth understanding of the business and know how to prioritize an executive’s time, anticipate needs, and address issues before they arise.

The Chief of Staff

The Chief of Staff is a strategic partner that helps an executive to accomplish their most important priorities by assisting them or delegating work on their behalf. The role focuses on planning, project management, communication, and relationships. The CoS does not usually handle administrative tasks like day-to-day calendar management. The CoS usually has a company-wide perspective and often manages projects for a variety of teams. The CoS works with the executive to create strategies, actionable steps, and OKRs. They also follow up with all involved stakeholders to ensure a task’s completion.

CoS often come from a finance, consulting, or operations background or may have developed into the role from being an EA.

Every EA and CoS role is different depending on the needs of the executive and the skills of the employee. An experienced EA may work on special projects in a strategic capacity while a CoS may occasionally work on administrative tasks.

-Simran Shah, Talent Acquisition - Non Tech at Passion Connect.