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Trust your crazy ideas...then design a plan that inspires others to take the leap with you.

The key to an effective partnership with your principal and peers is transparency and for the CoS to be sparring partner and perspective bringer.

Superhuman and Todoist can make you a master of following up.

Always be considering how you can make your manager not just 2x more effective, but 10x more effective.

When you're working in a high velocity environment like a startup, it's even more important to build networks within your org with leaders and employees who can tell you what's really going on. It can be tempting to only invest your time in building relationships with the exec, but if you want to be a great counsellor to your principle (in my case our CEO) you need to know what's happening at the front line. The insights you can glean from key, high-performing employees and more people leaders shouldn't be underestimated!

Think of yourself as the exec team's ambassador and get the details right. Learn the name of the cleaning staff. Arrive to meetings on time and with energy. Crack jokes. Distill key messages, and repeat them over and over again. You're accountable for getting sh*t done -- and that means taking responsibility for the mood in the room.

I've found that the CoS role means different things depending on the organization. It can be extremely broad, or it can be extremely narrow - it all depends on the hunger and tenacity of the person. A good friend of mine shared a great article with me about the CoS role: https://hbr.org/2020/05/the-case-for-a-chief-of-staff

Embrace the three pillars of being a COS - i.e. strategy, operations, and administrative - as all three are crucial for any business operation, and as a COS you are likely well placed to be influential in these activities. ALSO - be a force multiplier for your leadership, and a reach extender for your staff!

Set expectations up front. For example, I let people know I'm very responsive. I respond to every email I receive in the same day, even if I can't take action immediately and I let the sender know I'm working on it.

I am still pretty new to the COS world, but as a general rule of thumb, insatiable curiosity made this role very attractive as an avenue to have another period of hyper learning growth as you get to participate in many facets of a company!

Being a Chief of Staff means no day is ever the same. You can prepare the best you can, but you'll inevitably pick something up that you didn't anticipate for and you'll need to find your way to make sure it doesn't get dropped.

When you show information to prepare for events, make sure to present it at the right time (not too early or too late) and keep consistent formats so your boss doesn't have to relearn or search for important facts.

I'm pretty new to the role, but definitely delivering on everything that you say you will do is huge. Developing that trust early is everything for a good relationship with the executive team.

Develop 3-5 priorities, build measurable goals around those initiatives, and remain focused! Failure is often the result of too many priorities and a lack of focus.

Never stop being curious - dig into how every single thing works - in order to build the credibility and knowledge you need to advise.

Frailty exists at the intersections. Be a master of understanding where those intersections are and how to maneuver them.

Separating the signal from the noise to inform recommendations is as important as the outcome of the final decision.

Never underestimate the power of relationships - you need to understand this to be effective in your role

Patience... has been useful for me. Observing opportunities and letting them emerge organically.

Make your boss’s life easier. Help the company. Relationships matter. No assholes allowed.

If you're willing to offer your advice to others, remember to be willing to take your own advice--especially when it may be uncomfortable.

Rather than always beating yourself up how you could do things better/differently, remember to ask yourself is this "good enough"?

Be open minded and learn as much as you can from the (most probably) amazing people you are working with.

Take the time to get to know your team on an individual level and build strong relationships!

Build good relationships with the exec team. You can both help each other immensely.

Lead with questions and learn to think like your CEO.

Keep an open mind and don’t limit your options

At first, focus on building rapport with individuals across functions and levels. You'll get a deeper understanding of internal dynamics, which will be invaluable once you start to understand the challenges you're tasked with solving.

Listen to understand, not to respond!

80/20, listen/speak

Document everything

Patience!!

Listen!

Keep learning, make time to think and be the oil not the glue

Always think ahead! Being proactive is the key to success.

Try to avoid the “us vs them” mentality that sometimes surfaces among leadership teams

Anticipate, anticipate, anticipate - and be indispensable.

I'm still learning and would like to expand my knowledge to become a COS. I think the best tip would be to a good gatekeeper and listen.

Instead of just "jumping right in", be aware of the internal politics that may or may have not existed before your time

Challenge the status quo!

The team you build is the company you build

Learn to handle ambiguity.

Progress over perfection. Keep moving things forward.

The ability to effectively project manage yourself is key, makes rolling with the punches way easier

Ground all decisions in data but don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis