“What actually is a Chief of Staff?" - a question I received from a recent candidate I spoke to. 

This past 12-18 months I've observed a steady increase in Chief of Staff opportunities being advertised amongst cleantech startups and SMEs. However, as the question above suggests some (probably many) in the sector don't actually know what the role entails or whether their skillset and experience is well matched or not.

The truth is, a lot of people have heard of the title from US politics or Corporates but the key aspects of such a rule are still rather opaque. This is made more complex by the fact this role may differ considerably from company to company.

This great article from McKinsey highlights some of the critical items typically associated with the Chief of Staff role and the skillsets and experience that lend themselves to such a role.

First and foremost, the CoS is usually a key strategic partner to the CEO of the organisation, providing vital support, coordination and problem-solving. In fact, according to this article almost 50% of companies see the CoS function directly working alongside the CEO.

There is clearly a dynamic nature to this role, with a wide varying array of responsibilities, such as:

• Strategic planning: Assisting the CEO in developing and implementing strategic initiatives
• Project management: Overseeing and successfully completing key strategic initiative projects 
• Planning and running all strategic meetings: Leading and managing all pre-meeting preparation, in-meeting activities, and post-meeting actions
• Managing information flow & communication: Serving as a liaison between the CEO and the rest of the business and key external stakeholder, including public speaking assignments at industry events and conferences
• Team coordination: Coordinating the activities of various teams and departments.
• Problem-solving: Identifying and resolving issues that may impact the organisation's goals.

What kind of individual makes a successful Chief of Staff?

Often these roles lend themselves to those highly competent, high potential individuals with “swiss army knife” skillsets, or alternatively those at the latter end of their career with the breadth and depth of knowledge and skills in the organisation's particular sector / business area. Key skills include:

• Communication skills: Vitally important when delivering key messages both internally and externally 
• Business knowledge: To support and advise on strategy, it's important to have a core understanding of the organisation's core activities, business model, and wider industry landscape
• Strategic thinking: Ability to see the big picture and align activities with the organization's goals.
• Efficiency and effectiveness: Bias to action and ruthless execution 
• Relationship building: Excellent interpersonal skills to foster trust and collaboration with various stakeholders.
• Change management: The CoS will be important pillars of change management, ensuring the employees stay on board with company transformations or evolutions
• Adaptability: No day is the same and the CoS will often juggle priorities and need to be comfortable with unexpected changes of direction
• Problem-solving: Effective at identifying and addressing challenges proactively.
• Strong work ethic: Dedication to delivering results and meeting deadlines.

As you can tell, this is a complex role with a great deal of responsibility and impact on business success. As the article points out, individuals in CoS roles can feel isolated, given the bias to working with the CEO only (or just the wider C-suite). Additionally, the tenure of the CoS role can be shorter due to the demands placed on the individual and a natural shelf-life once key initiatives have been completed.

On the contrary, this can be a fantastic springboard for aspirational leaders looking to progress into future C-level positions, given the variety of activities you're exposed to and the strategic focus of the role. Many CoS candidates go on to find their own C-suite / Senior Leadership roles in other organisations in the future. 

Hyperion supports cleantech clients to recruit at Senior Management and Executive / Board level across Europe. If you're looking for support in building your teams at this level, contact me at david.beeston@hyperionsearch.com