From Mia:

Every organization has an operating system of foundational decisions, rhythms, and structures that determine how work gets done. Most organizations have never designed theirs deliberately.

You know what I’m talking about.

Think about the weekly meeting that’s been on your calendar for 7 months, but no longer serves a clear purpose. Or the reporting dashboard with metrics that have nothing to do with your ELT's current strategy.

Your organization’s operating system is always evolving. It accumulates new processes, needs, experiments, and opportunities every day. But in most organizations we work with, it’s a living thing nobody's on the hook to steer.

Square that with the fact that you’ve delegated all other responsibilities. You’ve got someone running finance, someone running product, and someone running people. But who’s in charge of how everything fits together? Who's watching the patterns, sensing the friction, and designing durable systems to execute your strategy?

Pressure to do it all.

Hang on a minute before you say "I am!"

Many executives feel pressure to be that person, because we’re conditioned to believe that "Ability to steer and execute strategy" is an inherent leadership quality. You either have it or you don’t. But just like finance, product, and people, this is a subject that requires focus and expertise. And there’s another role that could be imbued with the authority to do this work for real.

It’s your Chief of Staff, but not in the way you think.

More than the CEO's "secret weapon."

The Chief of Staff role is having a moment. (Exhibit A: The July headline below from Bloomberg.) Job postings have doubled in the last year, with the central premise of extending the impact and reach of the CEO.

But when the role is too anchored to one leader, a few patterns emerge:

• The loudest needs get prioritized over the most strategic ones
• The organization gets interpreted through a single perspective
• The Chief of Staff becomes highly reactive instead of system-aware

So instead of a high-leverage role built to help your organization navigate increasing uncertainty, you get a hamstrung one.

We have a different take:

Instead of having your Chief of Staff role focused on a single leader’s preferences, design it as the steward of your operating system in service of strategy execution. This is someone who lifts their gaze above daily presenting problems, senses what the entire organization needs in order to move, and creates the operating conditions that let you do what you’ve set out to do.

"The speed the moment requires."

A great Chief of Staff is a great work designer who shapes the dynamics between direction and execution, between what's happening outside your organization and how work gets done inside it, and between what's visible on the surface and the just-hidden forces influencing how people show up.

Many leadership teams get stuck talking about symptoms, but a skilled Chief of Staff diagnoses problems at the root, and designs your operating environment accordingly.

When a Chief of Staff is empowered to run those plays, you get what you want and need: Leadership functioning at the speed the moment requires, and an organization that can execute at pace.

Ready to reimagine your CoS role?

Whether you're hiring for this role or sitting in it, the place to start is the same: the role charter. Book 45 minutes with The Ready’s Chief of Staff, Mia Wise, and walk away with a charter draft that enables the Chief of Staff to own the operationalization of your strategy.

We’ve already made you a template.

All you have to do is fill it out and bring it with you.

Book time with Mia.