The leadership team's perspective on the Chief of Staff
From a management team perspective, the Chief of Staff is primarily a function that is intended to increase the management team’s overall ability to make decisions, implement priorities, and manage organizational complexity. While the CEO often sees the Chief of Staff as a strategic partner and an extension of their own leadership capabilities, the other members of the management team assess the role based on how it affects their ability to succeed in their respective responsibilities. This means that a COO, CFO, HR director, CIO, marketing manager, or business manager does not primarily ask themselves what the Chief of Staff is doing, but rather what value the role adds. Does the role contribute to better coordination? Does it create clearer priorities? Does it lead to faster decision-making? Or does it create an additional layer of coordination and administration?
In well-functioning organizations, the Chief of Staff often becomes the hub between strategy and execution. The role helps the management team to focus on what is most important, ensures that decisions are followed up, and identifies dependencies between different functions. As the organization grows, undergoes transformation, or operates in a complex environment, the need for such a function often increases. At the same time, there are natural tensions. A management team consists of experienced managers with their own mandates and responsibilities. If the Chief of Staff is perceived as a control function or an informal decision-maker, resistance can arise. The role must therefore build its influence through trust, competence, and coordination rather than through formal power. From the management team’s perspective, the central question is not whether a Chief of Staff is important, but how the role is used. When the mandate is clear and the collaboration works well, the role can become a powerful catalyst for the management team’s effectiveness. When the mandate is unclear, the role instead risks creating uncertainty regarding the division of responsibilities and decision-making paths.
What the management team can expect from the Chief of Staff
Strategic coordination
One of the most important expectations is that the Chief of Staff helps the management team to keep the organization’s strategic priorities together. In many organizations, different functions drive their own initiatives, projects, and improvement efforts. The Chief of Staff can contribute by:
- Highlight dependencies between functions.
- Ensure that resources are used in line with overall objectives.
- Identify target conflicts.
- Support prioritization when capacity is limited.
The management team expects that everyone sees the big picture when each manager naturally focuses on their responsibilities.
More effective decision-making
Many management teams struggle with:
- Too many meetings.
- Too long decision-making processes.
- Unclear ownership.
- Poor follow-up.
The Chief of Staff can create structure by:
- Ensure qualitative decision-making support.
- Clarify decision-making issues.
- Define the responsible ones.
- Follow up on the implementation.
The goal is not more processes but better decisions.
Follow-up of strategic initiatives
A recurring frustration in many management teams is that decisions are made but not always implemented in practice. A Chief of Staff can:
- Follow up on strategic initiatives.
- Coordinate cross-functional programs.
- Highlighting deviations.
- Escalate obstacles to the lead.
This does not mean that the role replaces the responsibility of line managers; rather, it helps the management team ensure implementation.
Objectively challenging
The management team may also benefit from the Chief of Staff acting as an independent analytical partner. The role can:
- Challenge established assumptions.
- Taking on risks that are overlooked.
- Identify alternative courses of action.
- Contribute with an organization-wide perspective.
A skilled Chief of Staff helps the management avoid groupthink.
What the role should not do
The management team is usually sensitive to certain cross-border issues. The Chief of Staff should not:
- Make decisions that fall within the scope of the function managers' mandates.
- Agera is the informal leader of the management team.
- Filtering information to the CEO without transparency.
- Create parallel reporting structures.
When such behaviors occur, the role is often perceived as a hindrance rather than a support.
Possible friction surfaces
Some common risk areas are:
Unclear mandate
If no one knows exactly what responsibilities the Chief of Staff has, there is a certain amount of uncertainty.
Strong connection to CEO
If the role is perceived as ”the CEO’s representative” rather than the management team’s partner, trust may decrease.
Overlap with other roles
The Chief of Staff can sometimes get close:
- COO
- Chief Strategist
- PMO chief
- Human Resources Director
- Stabschef
Therefore, clear limits of responsibility are needed.
Recruitment of the Chief of Staff from the perspective of the management team
When the management team assesses a candidate for the position of Chief of Staff, it often comes down to less about technical expertise and more about the ability to function in a complex management context.
Basic requirements
Strong business understanding
The management team wants someone who understands how the organization works in practice. The person needs to be able to discuss:
- Business models.
- Processes.
- Economy.
- Personnel issues.
- Technology.
- Operational activities.
It's not about being a specialist in everything; it's about understanding the big picture.
Strategic capacity
The candidate needs to be able to:
- Interpret strategic goals.
- Break them down into actionable activities.
- Identify risks and dependencies.
The management team values people who can move between the strategic and operational levels.
High integrity
Since the Chief of Staff has access to many sensitive matters, it is necessary to:
- Discretion.
- Good judgment.
- Objectivity.
- Trust-building behavior.
The members of the management team must be able to speak openly with the person.
Influence without formal power
The Chief of Staff often lacks direct personal responsibility. Therefore, the following becomes crucial:
- Building relationships.
- Communication.
- Conflict management.
- Cooperation ability.
The person must be able to make things happen through networks and trust.
Relevant experience
The management team often appreciates experience from:
- Change management.
- Transformations.
- Program management.
- Strategic work.
- Management consulting.
- Operational line responsibility.
Experience from roles where the person was responsible for results and implementation is particularly valuable, not just analysis.
Assessment questions
The management team often wants to know:
- Has the candidate worked closely with senior management?
- Can the person handle conflict-filled situations?
- Has the candidate brought about changes through others?
- Does the person understand both strategy and operational reality?
- Can the candidate win the trust of strong personalities?
Personal characteristics
Highly valued qualities are:
- Intellectual curiosity.
- Analytical ability.
- Pragmatism.
- Patience.
- Mod.
- Humility.
The most successful Chief of Staff is often not the most visible person in the leadership, but the one who gets the entire leadership to function better.
Differences between the public and private sectors
In the private sector, the management team often focuses on:
- Growth.
- Profitability.
- Competitiveness.
- Innovation.
- The implementation pace.
The Chief of Staff is therefore often expected to support:
- Strategic change initiatives.
- Expansion.
- Digitalization.
- Efficiency improvement.
The leadership team often values quick decision-making and the ability to accelerate implementation.
In the public sector, the context is often more complex. In addition to operational results, consideration must be given to:
- Regulations.
- Transparency requirements.
- Political governance.
- From a citizen's perspective.
- Public scrutiny.
Here, the Chief of Staff often becomes important as a coordinator between multiple stakeholders and decision-making levels. The management team can therefore place greater emphasis on:
- Process understanding.
- Stakeholder management.
- Governance.
- Communication.
- Legitimacy.
However, the differences should not be exaggerated. Regardless of the sector, management teams usually want a Chief of Staff who:
- Creates clarity.
- Improves collaboration.
- Strengthens implementation.
- Reduces organizational friction.
- Contributes to better decisions.
What varies is primarily the types of complexity the role is expected to handle.
Summary
From the perspective of the management team, the Chief of Staff is most valuable when the role serves as a strategic enabler rather than as an administrative coordinator or informal authority figure. The role should help the management team translate strategy into reality through better coordination, clearer priorities, and consistent follow-up. The management team primarily expects the Chief of Staff to:
- Creates increased coordination between functions.
- Improves the quality of decision-making.
- Ensures the implementation of strategic initiatives.
- Make risks and dependencies visible.
- Supports the CEO without undermining the mandate of the other managers.
- Builds trust through integrity and objectivity.
When recruiting, the most important characteristics are usually:
- Understanding of operations.
- Strategic ability.
- Integrity.
- Influence without formal power.
- Change management.
- Strong collaborative skills.
The best Chief of Staff role often becomes almost invisible within the organization. Not because it lacks influence, but because it enables the leadership team to function as a cohesive team with a common direction, faster decision-making, and greater effectiveness in execution. This is usually where the role creates its greatest value.
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