How to be a Good Chief of Staff

With the increasing demand for chief of staff in the job market. There is a question that generally pops up – How to be a good chief of staff?

Well, there is no perfect answer to the question – How to be a good chief of staff. But, there are a few key things that can help you stand out of the crowd and be a good chief of staff.

“The COS should be a force multiplier”…as a “veteran of the corporate battlefield,” Dr. AI Chase, Founder, White Rhino Partner.

How to be a good Chief of Staff

1 Time management

Time is the most scarce and critical resource for you as well as your boss.  Being a Chief of staff it is of paramount importance that you manage your as well as your boss’s time closely. You will have to ensure that the time is utilized according to the top priorities of the organization. You can do this by doing daily stand-ups so that everything is in sync. Weekly audits of the calendar will also help in deciding the priorities of tasks.  

According to Caroline, CoS, Care journey” To be an efficient CoS one needs to be very organized and work efficiently and effectively. He/she must be people-oriented and objective and communicate well with people with different personalities”

2 Set the right procedures

Setting the right procedure to get the work done will help you and your boss in better team management, meeting management, and balancing the workload. Being the Chief of staff you should have an eye for details. You should do your best to organize the tasks systematically and ensure that all projects are completed on time. 

3 Priortize the task

You should be adapted to prioritizing competing and often conflicting objectives. This will allow you to optimize finite resources and capital.

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4 Integrity

You should always work with a sense of integrity. Integrity in professional conduct helps you to build long-lasting relationships which in turn, can open doors to places that others may not have access to. Integrity is an asset that is universally appreciated.

5 Be loyal

Your relationship with your boss is very important. You have to be loyal to your executive and create an environment of harmony that will facilitate productivity. Being a CoS you might have sensitive information that other executives are not privy to. You will have to ensure the information does not leak out and maintain confidentiality.

6 Decision Making

Your boss needs to make many every day. You can help him make better and quick decisions by making a robust framework for them. You can also create possible scenarios, pros/cons for each and add your personal recommendation to it.  

7 Keep an eye on data

Ensure to keep a check on the organization’s metrics as they inevitably evolve over time. Ensure the metrics are reflective of the priorities of the business.  

8 Customer Research

Being a CoS you should be aware of who your target market and buyers are. You should be on top of the changing demands of your stakeholders. Also, keep your boss updated about the current demands of your customers and stakeholders.

Click here to read about what a Chief of Staff should do in their first 90 days

9 Keep a pulse on company culture

You should conduct pulse surveys regularly and gather regular feedback. You can ask questions like “What did you think of this week’s weekly meetings? How could we improve our company culture?”. You should also keep a tab on the organizational culture of your competitors and implement the best practices in your organization.  

10 Be open to feedback

A great chief of staff doesn’t always give advice but they seek advice too. They are also open to feedback. So whether you are stuck somewhere or have done anything wrong, be open to discussions and feedback. And just don’t take it and implement it too. 

It will help you increase your effectiveness and in turn, will make your team more effective. Gather input from the team members to understand implications and advise executives for sounder decision-making. 

11 OKR Implementation

As chief of staff, you carry the vision of the CEO and the responsibility of aligning different departments to that vision. Effectively deploying OKRs can help you to keep an eye on the team’s alignment with the vision and implement new strategies to achieve it. 

Conclusion

To be a good chief of staff, requires a bond of faith between you, your executive, and the rest of the organization. You have to be a jack of all trades and bridge the gap between strategic objectives and reality.