How Leaders Hire and Use Chiefs of Staff
Quick, which zone are you working in most days?
If you said the Zone of Competence or the Zone of Excellence, you are like most leaders.
What is working in the Zone of Genius like, though?
Let’s start at the beginning. This framework is the brainchild of Gay Hendricks as detailed in his book The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level. Think of it this way: The Zone of Excellence is filled with tasks at which you excel even though you do not enjoy completing them. Matt Schnuck, cofounder of The Inflection and Vannin Chief of Staff partner with whom CEO Keziah Wonstolen recently recorded a webinar, suggests this is where “the world gets value from you focusing on these tasks, but you become drained by doing them.”
By contrast, The Zone of Genius refers to the intersection of two key factors: tasks at which you are uniquely skilled or best in class and activities that Schnuck describes as, “You enjoy so much that you lose track of time while doing them.” When you operate within this zone, you contribute the highest possible value to your organization and experience personal fulfillment. This is where your talents align perfectly with your passions, making your work highly effective and deeply enjoyable. By focusing on these areas, you maximize both organizational impact and personal satisfaction. Defining your Zone of Genius helps align your work with tasks that give you energy and keep you engaged.
Schnuck goes on to suggest you color code the last two weeks of your schedule with green for activities that gave you energy and red for activities that drained your energy. In our example to the right, you can see an actual CEO’s results from this exercise where she spent less than 50% of her time in the green, or Zone of Genius.
What’s the goal?
“Spend 80% of your time in the energy-giving green [areas],” reports Schnuck.
You may not be at 80% just yet, but there is a way forward. First, Schnuck offers three ways to minimize red-area activities that drain you:
Outsource or delegate these tasks.
Eliminate these to-dos altogether.
Make them sacred tasks, but be hypervigilant in only giving yourself one to two of these daily.
Next, keep in mind that tasks color-coded red and yellow on your schedule may be in the Zone of Genius for someone else, perhaps a Chief of Staff.
Find added success and balance in your role. Get access to the full webinar with Matt Schnuck and Vannin Chief of Staff CEO Keziah Wonstolen.
Vannin Chief of Staff, founded in 2020, is a premier talent partner with a focus on roles supporting the CEO. We have a proven track record of helping executives find the right talent, full-time or fractionally, and up-level their talent via our proprietary advisory program. Vannin Chief of Staff has served over 250 clients globally, including Shopify, Orange Theory, Cordis, Lilac Solutions, GRIN, Propelus, WALR, Wish for Wheels and more. Get details at vanninchiefofstaff.com.