270+ Graduates • COHORT-BASED Course
Chief of Staff Network
Fundamentals Track
The Fundamentals Track is the ideal starting point for Chiefs of Staff at any level of their career. This course focuses on rapid onboarding and managing the interpersonal idiosyncrasies of this unique role.
Course overview
Welcome to the Chief of Staff Network Fundamentals Track, the ultimate onboarding experience for Chiefs of Staff. This course will equip you to handle the EQ / interpersonal nuances of the role. Most functional roles (e.g. Ops Manager, Marketing Lead) don't have the service component that the CoS role does. Via the Fundamentals Track, you'll learn how to manage these unique aspects of your relationship with your Principal and other executives and teammates at your company.
Key outcomes
- Leverage a range of tools and mental models
- Quickly strengthen your relationship with your Principal and teams
- Build clarity around your responsibilities and organization
- Identify opportunities to level yourself up as a leader
- Foster new connections with other top Chiefs of Staff
Course Details
- Duration: 6 weeks of lessons and group discussion.
- Meeting Schedule: Virtual sessions every 2 weeks to ensure consistent engagement, feedback, and progress.
Who Should Attend?
- New Chiefs of Staff who are eager to magnify their value and contribution within their organizations.
- Leaders transitioning to the Chief of Staff role who want to hit the ground running.
Meet your instructor
David Nebinski
David is the Senior Community Manager at Chief of Staff Network. He has served in General Manager, Head of Growth, and CoS roles in the past. He served as a Founding Coach at Maven and has had guests including Seth Godin and Sahil Lavingia on his podcast.
Tangible products to take away from these sessions were very useful. While great to have the “think big” conversations, it was also very nice to be able to walk away and come BACK to a real template or written framework to guide/reference.
Justin Shore
Chief of Staff, Wing.com
Syllabus
1. Writing a "User Manual"
We'll begin by covering the idea of a personal user manual (i.e. a guide to working with you). By introducing this to your principal, you can learn how to work with them.
2. Relationship Building with your Principal
Next, we'll discuss how to manage up to your principal and develop a strong working relationship with them. This will include optimizing your 1:1s.
3. Getting Early Wins
As with any new job, demonstrating competence and getting wins straight out of the gate can really help. This lesson will discuss how to best do that.
4. Leveling Framework
Then, we'll go over the CoS Network's proprietary leveling framework, to help you understand where you fall in terms of relative seniority. Chiefs of Staff have 5 levels of seniority and vastly differing responsibilities and compensation based on their level.
5. Role Scoping
Next, we'll scope your role. What is it that you're meant to do as CoS? This question can have wildly varying answers by company. Knowing and controlling your specific answer can help you navigate relationships in your organization.
6. Leadership and Influence
The CoS role is an odd one because it can be quite senior, but without any significant management responsibility. Since CoS can't pull rank to get things done, leading via influence is incredibly important.
7. Building Relationships across the Executive Team
Beyond managing up to your principal, you also need to build alliances with the other executives. Often, we hear the CoS role described as "glue" or "connective tissue" in the company. This lesson will help you break down silos.
8. The Meeting Model
Part of being the glue is keeping everybody aligned. One of the best ways executive teams stay on the same page is via weekly leadership meetings; typically, the CoS runs those and this lesson will help you optimize them.
9. Learn to Operate
This lesson, broken into 2 parts, will assist you in learning about the all-important strategy and planning aspects of the CoS role.
10. Measure Success
As you ramp up in your role, we'll discuss how to keep track of your success. An ongoing log of your wins will help you accelerate your trajectory in the role.
270+ GRADUATES • COHORT-BASED • 6 weeks
Chief of Network
Fundamentals Track
Last day to enroll: Jan 10