The Single Most Important Success Factor for a Chief of Staff

By PRIME CHIEF OF STAFF


When new Chiefs of Staff begin their roles, questions abound on what they should be doing to be successful. While these questions are understandable (you high achiever, you), it is important to accept that there is no silver bullet to success.  Period. That includes as a Chief of Staff. Success in the role takes time, but time alone won’t make you effective. It is what you do with that time that matters. If we could boil down the single, most critical factor for success as Chief of Staff, it’s this: earning the trust and respect of your principal.

Focus on building trust with your principal, first and foremost, when starting a Chief of Staff role. The rest will come.

You can be a smart, highly capable whipsaw at work, and still completely flounder as Chief of Staff. The reason being: you cannot fully integrate into this role without the trust of your boss. Trust creates the opportunities for you to demonstrate your competencies, learn the business, build relationships, and more. When your boss trusts you, he or she provides you more exposure. They let you in. This exposure into decision making, thought processes, organizational dynamics, and more, are what provide the context for effectiveness in the role.

The Chief of Staff and executive partnership is often the closest relationship in an office. As we know, this partnership is extremely critical to the success of the Chief of Staff, the leader, and the organization. So, how do you begin building closeness with an executive you barely know? 

Focus on building trust with your principal, first and foremost, when starting a Chief of Staff role. The rest will come. 

What was successful for you when building trust with your boss? Let us know in the comments below. If you're interested in learning more about how a Chief of Staff can help you reclaim your A-game, connect with us today.


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