How to Scale as a Chief of Staff

Stay curious, learn about new technology, and pursue professional development opportunities to continue to grow in your career.

Key takeaways:

• Chiefs of staff need to pursue professional development to stay current on the latest trends and innovations in their industry
• Three tips to scale in your career, no matter where you are:
  1. Create SMART goals
  2. Identify skills and characteristics you want to have
  3. Focus on improving your organization

Great chiefs of staff are hungry to continually grow, learn, and improve. But how do you continue to scale in your career, as well as within your organization? Both take a solid strategy with realistic goals. Here is your guide to ensuring you continue to grow as a chief of staff.

Why is professional development important?

Chiefs of staff are much more than traditional executive assistants, who may answer the phone, schedule appointments, and take care of general administration tasks. Chiefs of staff often get strategic in their roles and even advise the C-suite. This means they need deep knowledge about the industry they’re in and the most effective ways to stay competitive.  Industries change all the time. Customer sentiment may shift in an instant. To stay ahead of the game, chiefs of staff need to continually seek out professional development opportunities, training, workshops, conferences, and courses to keep their finger on the pulse of their industries. They need to keep up with the news and be able to talk about what’s going on. Another reason chiefs of staff need to stay curious is to be aware of new technology. They need to understand the latest tools that benefit organizations, how they work, and how to teach other people how to use them. Part of the job is uncovering ways to streamline processes, so staying on the cutting edge of innovation is a must.  If you’re in a chief of staff role now, you have many options for your future. You can decide to continue growing in your position at your current organization, work toward a higher position, or look for work at a new company. Many chiefs of staff have gained strong leadership skills and vast industry knowledge which elevates them to the C-Suite. Some people stay within their chief of staff role and take on more duties as they improve and grow. Other chiefs of staff choose to move from their current role and start consulting which can provide a lot more freedom and opportunity to create the role they want. Whatever your future looks like, finding opportunities to develop professionally is a key component of getting better results. Staying curious and open allows you to scale into your ideal career path moving forward.

3 tips to scale in your career

So, what steps should you take right now to start scaling? It takes plenty of planning and consideration to craft the future you want and to make it happen. Here are a few important tips to help you get going:

1. Create SMART goals

You won’t have a clear picture of where you’re going without doing some mapping. Come up with the most important goals you have for your career, whether it’s reaching a certain position at your company or taking on a specific type of project each year.  Ask questions like: How long will you ideally stay where you are now? Where do you want to be in 5, 10, and 15 years? What measurable outcome would show you that you’ve succeeded? Create a strategy that helps you reach small goals along the way that leads to your main objective.  Be very clear about what you want, and bring in the SMART framework. Your goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound.

2. Identify skills and characteristics you want to have

You may need to strategize how to obtain any skills or competencies you currently lack. Research programs and courses you can take that will help you build these skills, like leadership workshops or certificate programs for specific areas you may need to improve or build upon. Developing as a chief of staff is more than expanding your hard skill set. Soft skills are just as important to be successful and efficient in your position. Soft skills that would be beneficial like better communication or the ability to motivate people can go a long way with your team. Ask for feedback in these areas from people you’ve worked with to gauge where you might try to improve. A good exercise is to come up with a list of traits that make a great business leader. What characteristics have you noticed in the people you look up to? What do you think you could do better than other leaders you’ve encountered? Also, consider the leadership or management style you’re attracted to and determine how you’d be most successful based on your goals and personality.

3. Focus on improving your organization

You likely have many different roles as chief of staff, or at least you will as you grow into your position. An important way to continue to scale is to focus on all the ways you can improve your organization. Identify areas or processes that need help, and initiate projects to address challenges. Get to know business leaders and identify any gaps that the team may have, thinking of ways you can fill in those needs.  Come up with solid solutions for issues that the C-suite may not even be aware of. Anytime you present them with a problem, bring a better workflow or process for them to consider. Your goal should be to become a trusted advisor who understands how the entire business functions and how everything works together to ensure business goals are met.

Why Chiefly Consultants?

Chiefly Consultants has a team of fractional chiefs of staff to assist founders and businesses with establishing greater efficiency. Our consultants are self-starters, solution-oriented, and strategic thinkers with a desire to keep learning and growing in their roles.  Get in touch to learn more about joining our team of experts!