After 8+ years of being a Chief of Staff, I have heard all too often.
"It sounds like your an over-glorified Admin"
Instead of being irritated, I usually would take the time to tell them about the role. The Chief of Staff role is one of the most misunderstood positions in modern organizations. Too often, it is seen as an “overqualified assistant” or a “catch-all” for tasks that don’t fit anywhere else.
In reality, when used effectively, a Chief of Staff (CoS) is a strategic partner, an integrator, and a force multiplier - someone who helps leaders and organizations operate at their highest potential.
The Misconception
An Executive Assistant excels at managing logistics, calendars, and the details that keep a leader’s day moving. They are crucial to a leaders success.
A Chief of Staff, however, is not simply an EA with a new title.
The difference lies in scope and impact:
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An EA manages time and logistics.
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A CoS manages alignment and execution.
Harvard Business Review puts it succinctly:
“A CEO needs more than an assistant—they need someone who manages their time, information, and priorities in a strategic way.”
When leaders limit their CoS to tactical support, they leave tremendous organizational leverage untapped.
What the Data Shows
Research continues to validate the CoS’s strategic importance:
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According to McKinsey’s “The Anatomy of the Chief of Staff Role”, CoSs are increasingly seen as the connective tissue of leadership, managing complexity, aligning stakeholders, and ensuring execution.
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A London School of Economics (LSE) study analyzing over 2,500 LinkedIn profiles and surveys from 108 CoSs found that they have “disproportionate influence on CEO decision-making”—often translating vision into operational reality and surfacing challenges early.
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A data study by Elevar Talent found that across 150 CoS job descriptions:
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97.5% require program or project management
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95% include strategy and planning
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92.5% involve execution or implementation
These aren’t administrative tasks—they’re strategic functions.
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And according to Chief.com, the number of CoS roles has grown by more than 30% since 2019, particularly in companies undergoing transformation or rapid scaling.
Together, this data paints a clear picture: organizations are recognizing that the Chief of Staff is not a luxury—it’s a strategic necessity.
How to Get the Most Out of a Chief of Staff
To fully leverage this role:
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Define the Role Clearly – Clarify that your CoS is a strategic operator, not a super-admin.
Set expectations around decision-making, influence, and ownership of strategic priorities. When the CoS role is clearly defined, they can confidently drive outcomes rather than chase tasks. -
Bring Them Into the Room – They can’t drive alignment if they’re excluded from key discussions. Your Chief of Staff is most effective when they understand the full context behind decisions. Include them in strategic conversations so they can anticipate needs, bridge gaps, and ensure follow-through.
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Leverage Their Strengths – Whether strategy, communications, or change management, use their expertise to bridge vision and action. Every CoS has unique strengths—some excel at operations, others at organizational design or storytelling. Play to those strengths to unlock their full impact.
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Empower Them to Prioritize – A CoS protects your focus by filtering what truly matters. Trust your CoS to act as a gatekeeper. They can triage requests, manage competing priorities, and ensure the leader’s energy stays focused where it creates the most value.
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Treat Them as Your Scale – They don’t just help you do more; they help the organization move better. A strong CoS extends your leadership capacity across the org - ensuring clarity, accountability, and momentum even when you’re not in the room.
The Payoff
A well-utilized Chief of Staff creates ripple effects across the organization:
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Leaders gain more time for vision, relationships, and growth.
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Teams experience stronger alignment and clarity.
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The organization operates with greater focus and consistency.
As SHRM notes, CoSs are often trusted to lead strategic initiatives, budgeting cycles, and reorganization efforts—bridging the gap between tactical execution and strategic planning.
Final Thought
When a Chief of Staff is used as more than an admin, the organization benefits from a built-in strategist, communicator, and operator.
In future blog posts, I will go into further details on how to get the most out of a Chief of Staff so follow Unsalted Oak for updates.
👉 At Unsalted Oak, I help executives and teams understand and maximize roles like Chief of Staff to create operating models that truly work. When leaders see their CoS as a thought partner, not an assistant, they unlock the real leverage this role was designed to deliver.