The chief of staff role has been growing in importance and popularity as the pressure on private and public sector leaders intensifies. Called upon to spearhead transformational change, navigate complex business dynamics, balance strategic and tactical priorities, and handle myriad additional tasks, CEOs and other senior executives need to ensure that their own offices function seamlessly. Enter the chief of staff (COS).
Over the past decade, we have had the privilege of convening hundreds of chiefs of staff at McKinsey’s Chief of Staff Forum. Through discussions with the participants, we have gained valuable insights on how to excel in the role. Since then, we have fielded numerous questions about the role’s responsibilities, qualifications, and tenure, including: What experience does a COS need? What responsibilities does the role entail? What future positions does the COS role prepare one for?
To develop an empirical picture of the COS role, we analyzed publicly available data on approximately 250 chiefs of staff who have served in the role within the past eight years. The group is almost evenly split between men and women, and its members have worked at roughly 300 organizations around the world. Our analysis suggests that COS career trajectories and responsibilities vary widely, but a few broad archetypes emerge.
Nearly two-thirds of chiefs of staff are appointed from within their organizations, which reflects the value that principals place on a COS having deep institutional knowledge and strong internal networks so they can hit the ground running. This is especially true in large organizations: at companies with 50,000 or more employees, 80 percent of chiefs of staff are internal hires.
When organizations do hire externally, they typically look outside their industries, with more than three-quarters of those individuals coming from other sectors. This isn’t surprising given competitive concerns, but it also highlights the fact that many chiefs of staff use the role to pivot their career direction.
Our analysis shows comparable performance among internal and external hires. While organizational knowledge is valuable, other skills—such as the ability to influence, build relationships, and bring fresh perspectives—are just as important. For example, one COS who attended the forum worked toward the role within the company, while another joined the organization at the same time as the CEO; both have been highly successful in their posts.
The average COS has just over 12 years of work experience, moving into the role from a midlevel position such as senior manager. However, our data shows two career points when individuals most often take on the chief of staff position. The first is five to ten years in; these chiefs of staff tend to focus on administrative tasks, supporting corporate governance (such as tracking KPIs or preparing for board meetings), and managing projects run from the principal’s office. The second group are midcareer executives with ten to 20 years of experience (those in the 15- to 20-year cohort represent a significant share). Their roles tend to encompass a greater level of leadership, and they often serve as their principals’ proxies in discussions and decisions.
We also found that the larger an organization, the more years of experience senior executives’ chiefs of staff typically have. This goes hand in hand with larger companies favoring internal hires and reflects principals’ desire to work with chiefs of staff who understand internal ways of working and can navigate the complexities large organizations entail.
A stint as a COS can accelerate an executive’s career: two-thirds were promoted after serving as chiefs of staff, while 18 percent used the role as a launching pad for lateral moves (some into a different industry or function). Only one in ten individuals in our sample moved directly into another COS position, although some did come back to the role later in their careers.
On average, chiefs of staff move up more than one level in the organization in their subsequent positions—a sizable advance given the typical COS tenure is only two years. Those with relatively brief work experience and tenure prior to being a COS tend to make the largest jumps, which seems to validate many principals’ prioritization of hiring young, high-potential talent over those with years of experience.
Our analysis suggests that while there is no one-size-fits-all route into the COS role, exit opportunities are varied and typically lead to more senior positions. The COS role itself is flexible in its parameters and able to accommodate both relatively junior and midcareer senior executives, making it a rich proving ground for future leadership ambitions.
