Why Chiefs of Staff Need an Effective Framework
Chiefs of staff are meant to be drivers of change – but too many end up being relegated to simple order takers.
This usually happens when a chief of staff can’t define the role and expectations of the job for themselves or other team members. The role of Chief of Staff is nebulous by nature, and that often works to the benefit of a CoS by allowing them the flexibility to respond to their CEO’s priorities at all levels of the company.
But the problems begin when the ambiguity of the job leads Chiefs of Staff to adopt the “problem solver” mentality, in which they let themselves bounce from department to department, putting out fires as they arise and letting others dictate their priorities.
Instead of implementing effective strategies and driving measurable progress towards their CEO’s goals in a few key areas, a reactive CoS ends up getting pulled in a dozen different directions. Chiefs of Staff are at their least effective when they’re splitting their attention between tasks that sound important, but don’t actually fall within the scope of their responsibilities.
By failing to define their responsibilities clearly early on in their role, Chiefs of Staff end up lacking the time, bandwidth, or insight to identify the priorities they were brought on board to accomplish - and everyone ends up worse off.
The Vannin Chief of Staff Impact Model
This lack of definition is a common problem, and it’s the reason why implementing a framework like the Vannin Chief of Staff Impact Model can make all the difference.
Vannin created the Chief of Staff Impact Model as a way to codify the knowledge we've built over our collective 40-plus years of training and placing Chiefs of Staff. We know what works and what doesn't when it comes to setting a Chief of Staff up for success and readying them to help their CEO realize their vision for their company from the outset.
This framework categorizes the effectiveness of a Chief of Staff into three main areas: Align, Execute, and Amplify. By clearly identifying the main components of the job and providing actionable insights Chiefs of Staff can use in their day-to-day operations, the framework prevents the kind of ambiguity that leads to pitfalls in the Chief of Staff role.
Ultimately, the goal of the impact model is to give chiefs of staff the tools to communicate effectively with their CEO, identify organizational priorities, and implement effective strategies.
Align
From day one, Chiefs of Staff need to have a clear picture of their organization’s health in order to implement a clear business structure, keep communication channels open, and make decisions that advance the executive’s goals.
Maintaining this top-down understanding of organizational health means Chiefs of Staff need to ask targeted questions to discover what’s going well, where there are opportunities for improvement, and to identify solutions.
These questions might sound like:
What is the CEO’s 10-year target (big, long-range goal)?
How do you communicate with stakeholders? Customers?
What is your current org structure? Is the org chart updated and documented?
How are opportunities and risks escalated to the leadership team?
Is there a scorecard or metric dashboard for the business overall? Functional areas?
Even a basic “red, yellow, or green light” assessment of some key business systems can provide indispensable insight into what needs to change and where the executive’s vision is falling short.
Conversely, failing to align with the CEO can cause Chiefs of Staff to spend time on less critical tasks, leaving crucial issues unaddressed. If the Chief of Staff is not fully aware of the CEO's vision and strategic goals, they might also overlook potential partnerships, market trends, or internal innovations that could propel the company forward.
By undertaking this kind of discovery initiative, Chiefs of Staff can align with their executives on issues to prioritize, and can then strategize next steps. This alignment is crucial for ensuring both the CEO and the Chief of Staff are placing their time and efforts where they’re most valuable. When both parties are on the same page, it prevents miscommunication and duplicated efforts, allowing the CEO to focus on high-level strategic initiatives while the Chief of Staff handles operational details.
Execute
Chiefs of Staff need to be outstanding project and change managers. While aligning core priorities is crucial for positioning a Chief of Staff within a business, executing solutions is arguably the most important function of the role, requiring both hard and soft skills.
Chiefs of Staff often need to take direct ownership of high-priority projects, acting as individual contributors. For instance, if a new product launch is critical to the company's success, the Chief of Staff might lead the project, relying on hard skills like budget management, data analysis, and technical proficiency to coordinate efforts across departments.
At the same time, Chiefs of Staff often lack direct authority over individual team members, meaning they can't simply assign tasks or issue feedback. Instead, they rely on relationship building to get team members on board with new initiatives and execute tasks effectively. This involves using influence and people skills to drive performance, rather than wielding direct authority over actions.
Within the Vannin Chief of Staff Impact Model, Chiefs of Staff use both skill sets to execute their CEO’s vision in two main phases: Building and Maintaining.
In the "Building" phase, Chiefs of Staff get their teams ready for success by leading strategic projects, establishing accountability standards, clearing any roadblocks, and keeping communication flowing internally. Once the process or initiative has been established, they move into the "Maintaining" phase. Here, they focus on keeping things running smoothly by collecting feedback for the executive team, coordinating responses, providing ongoing training and support where necessary.
By recognizing the importance of executing the CEOs priorities in the company, and leveraging the various skill sets and methods by which to do so, Chiefs of Staff can demonstrate their value early in their roles. This ensures they’ll make the focused, strategic impact expected of them instead of merely tackling a corporate to-do list.
Amplify
From the moment a Chief of Staff first meets with their CEO, they are tasked with amplifying their executive’s voice and priorities - both internally and externally. While a Chief of Staff can’t speak for their CEO, they can amplify their messaging by managing their executive’s time, influence, and communication.
Internally, this might include acting as a trusted sounding board and strategic advisor when asked for guidance. A chief of staff might offer critical industry context for a decision their CEO is considering, or offer counterpoints to their line of reasoning. This provides an opportunity for a CEO to ensure their messaging is carefully considered and appropriately framed before making an official announcement. They might also act as their CEO’s official proxy in internal meetings to ensure their priorities are accurately represented.
Additionally, Chiefs of Staff perform detail oriented work to ensure that the CEO’s strategic directives are understood and implemented effectively. They might be responsible for taking accurate notes during stakeholder meetings and creating summaries to distribute afterward, or schedule follow-up calls to clarify key points. Reiterating the CEO’s messaging and following up accordingly is a crucial part of internal amplification.
Externally, it’s a Chief of Staff’s job to find opportunities to amplify their CEO’s presence in the wider marketplace. This could involve networking with industry leaders, attending key conferences and events, and leveraging media and public relations strategies to enhance the CEO's and the company's visibility. Essentially, Chiefs of staff need to get their CEO (or at least their interests) into the right rooms to share their story with the press, position the company as an industry leader, and explore potential partnerships.
By effectively amplifying their CEO’s messaging, Chiefs of Staff ensure that the CEO is positioned as a thought leader and key influencer in their industry, driving growth and expanding the company's reach and reputation.
Impacts of Vannin’s Framework
The Chief of Staff Impact Model provides a clear, actionable framework to ensure that Chiefs of Staff assume their new role ready to provide operational value from day one. Implementing Vannin’s framework has proven to provide a measurable impact in the overall success of individual Chiefs of Staff as well as the organizations they serve.
These impacts include:
Improved Team Perception and Receptiveness
Vannin’s framework allows prospective Chiefs of Staff to land quickly and firmly within an organization and make an immediate impact on that business. The Impact Model provides structure and definition for an otherwise nebulous role, helping other staff members recognize the utility and duties of a Chief of a Staff.
Increased operational value
Adhering to the Vannin framework allows Chiefs of Staff to drive impact where it's most needed. Chiefs of Staff who place their time where it’s most valuable help their CEO do the same - providing a quick path to tangible value. By driving the strategic direction of the company from day one and identifying potential issues, our chiefs of staff quickly become indispensable.
Final Thoughts
Having a well-defined framework is essential for Chiefs of Staff to be effective in their roles.
Vannin’s Chief of Staff Impact Model was developed with decades of first-hand experience from our own leadership team, and based on facilitating the essential tasks a CEO needs to perform in their role. By identifying the three main categories that define a Chief of Staff’s effectiveness, our framework provides the clarity, consistency, and structure needed to stop Chiefs of Staff from squandering their efforts on busywork and make real change.
If you enjoyed learning about the concrete ways Vannin Chief of Staff sets our clients up for operational success, learn more about our available Chief of Staff Accelerator Program [here]. With one-on-one guidance from experienced Chiefs of Staff and advanced tools like the Vannin Chief of Impact Model, our clients have access to everything they need to make an impact in their new roles from day one.
