Why you need a Chief of Staff! Why you need Me!

The title and responsibilities may vary, but IT chiefs of staff are now a permanent fixture in IT functions around the world. Not so prevalent in the UK but these roles are starting to appear amongst the job pages.

Sometimes referred to as the IT chief of staff, Principle Staff Officer or Technology Engagement Manager, the past few years have seen a rise in these IT leaders running “the office of the CIO.”

A recent survey has shown that there are four characteristics that cut across this growing group:

1. Most chiefs of staff are in newly-created or redesigned roles: In fact, only 19% moved into a role that was already well-defined, strongly indicating that the role is set up and defined according to the needs of the CIO in seat at the time. This goes some way to explaining the disparity in role titles and responsibilities.
2. All chiefs of staff are at risk of over-commitment in their first few years in seat: Due to the loosely-defined nature of the position, chiefs of staff take on many different responsibilities and are reluctant to reduce their involvement. Given that the role is often established to support an overcommitted CIO, chiefs of staff should beware of falling into this trap and instead define a few areas where they can maximize their effect.
3. Nearly 50% of all chiefs of staff have worked outside IT for more than five years: Fewer than a quarter of respondents have no experience working outside of IT. This compares to nearly half the respondents who had strong business backgrounds, underlining the role’s importance in coordinating and liaising both within IT and with other business functions.
4. IT strategy, IT communications, and IT project management offices are the teams most likely to report directly to the chief of staff: On average, chiefs of staff have three teams reporting directly to them, and another one reporting indirectly. This suggests that the role largely involves coordination and mobilization of the teams within their direct authority, rather than influencing those outside of their control.

Orchestrators and Direction Setters

A recent survey also shows that chiefs’ of staff activities and accountabilities distinguish the roles into two distinct profiles: “orchestrators” and the “direction setters.”

• Orchestrators represent about 53% of IT chiefs of staff and focus their time on executing and coordinating activities across the IT function.

Their time is mainly spent on investment prioritization, project oversight, and sourcing strategy, meaning they spend a large portion of their time interacting with stakeholders within IT (often meeting daily with multiple IT stakeholders).

• Direction setters, representing the other 47% of the chief of staff population, spend comparatively more time interacting with other business functions than orchestrators do and focus on setting strategic direction for IT.

Accordingly, they spend the majority of their time on activities relating to business partner engagement, workforce planning, and IT strategic planning activities.

The objectives of these two groups reflect and reinforce this division; orchestrators are comparatively far more likely to be held accountable for IT cost goals, while direction setters are more commonly goaled to enable business and IT growth.

As a company grows and becomes more complex, hiring a chief of staff can be a smart move. In the corporate world, the COS understands the company’s sensitivities, customers, and team members who make it all work. While the COS concentrates on troubleshooting and paying attention to the daily needs of the company, he or she makes room for the CEO and COO to spend more time strategizing and focusing on the growth of the company.

The COO/COS Partnership

Although the COO and COS have complementary roles, they handle very different day-to-day responsibilities. The outward-facing COO is strategic and concerned with client retention, revenue, bookings, profitability, pipeline, and client and consumer satisfaction. On the other hand, the COS is concerned with employee satisfaction, recruiting efficiency, training, and facilities. When a new opportunity comes along, the CEO and COO can focus on closing the deal and making it work, while the COS finds, trains, and outfits people to execute it.

What You Want in a COS

A COS can offer valuable “gut checks” to the CEO and other members of the C-suite, but he or she needs special skills to succeed:

• The ability to be a steel trap: The COS is privy to highly confidential discussions and needs to maintain the complete trust of all those with whom he or she interacts.
• Confidence with a small ego: An effective COS must have the authority and confidence to make decisions but be content remaining largely outside the spotlight. When functioning correctly, the COS enables other team players to do great things.
• Openness and intuition: A COS must believe that all feedback is good and keep communication open across all levels. He or she should be able to listen to what people are saying (while understanding what people aren’t saying) to identify and address underlying issues.

In an organization with a good COS, the COO can focus on running the business, while the COS manages the company and the CEO leads the enterprise. This C-suite dream team ensures that each part of the organization will get the attention it deserves.

So if you are a frustrated, overworked Executive Leader that is in great need of a ‘senior trusted assistant’ then please contact me on 07966 904539.