Lately, I’ve had several C-level leaders tell me some version of:
“I built my own Chief of Staff with AI.”
Usually, when I ask what they mean, the answer sounds something like:
- “It edits emails.”
- “It helps with presentations.”
- “It summarizes meetings.”
- “It drafts communications.”
Many Leaders Were Never Taught About This Role
Hey, look, I get it.
Many leaders inherited a Chief of Staff. Or were told they needed one. Now, they find themselves leading someone with that title… with almost no guidance on what the role should actually do.
So they default to what they can see:
Communications. Slides. Notes. Coordination.
But I think this confusion runs deeper than AI. Many organizations still haven’t fully figured out the Chief of Staff role itself.
Before “Chief of Staff,” They Were Your Right Hand
Remember before we widely used the title Chief of Staff? These were often the people leaders called:
- “My right hand.”
- “My trusted advisor.”
- “The person who just gets it.”
- “The one who keeps me sane.”
- “The person I’d clone if I could.”
They were usually high-potential employees with strong judgment, organizational awareness, and an unusual ability to operate across strategy, relationships, and execution.
The Title Changed. The Work Hasn’t.
A great Chief of Staff isn’t just doing tasks for the leader.
They’re helping you lead. In other words…
- They understand the rhythm of the business and quietly get processes moving before anyone asks.
- They notice when a project update sounds polished but progress has quietly stalled.
- They remember feedback from the CEO that everyone else forgot.
- They spot tension between leaders before it becomes conflict.
- They build buy-in before transformations launch.
- They surface concerns from frontline employees that leaders may never hear directly.
- They notice when your strongest performer is under-utilized.
- They push alignment, challenge assumptions, create accountability, and help leaders focus on the work only leaders can do.
And yes — they may absolutely use AI to move faster.
But the value was never in email and slide deck formatting.
It was always the quiet, thoughtful behind-the-scenes action.
The irony is that many leaders are now spending significant time training AI agents on their communication style, preferences, and ways of working.
Meanwhile, their actual Chief of Staff may still be operating as a glorified project manager or administrative assistant because nobody ever taught you how to use the role effectively.
I have a lot of empathy for that. There isn’t a handbook. Many Chief of Staff roles are poorly scoped, vaguely defined, underdeveloped, or built reactively.
And that’s become a big part of my work.
Unlocking the Full Potential of the Role
I partner with leaders and Chiefs of Staff to answer questions like:
- What should this role actually own?
- What work should move off the leader’s plate?
- How do we build trust and partnership?
- How do we increase strategic leverage without creating dependency?
- How do we develop this person into a true thought partner?
- How do we free the leader to focus on vision, relationships, decisions, and growth?
Because the goal isn’t to give you another pair of hands.
It’s to give you leverage.
So if you’re a leader who inherited a Chief of Staff, were told you need one, or suspect you’re underutilizing the role…
You’re not alone.
But you may be leaving an enormous amount of value on the table.
