In Hot Demand: Chief of Staff?
Job postings for chief of staff positions have doubled since last year, and people with the title have tripled since 2021. What’s behind the rising demand for a once-obscure role?
Some people describe the role as the connective tissue of the organization. Others think of it as an executive assistant job on steroids. But nearly everyone agrees that whoever holds it is on the fast track and could be their boss someday.
The chief of staff position in business isn’t new, but it’s in vogue again as leaders seek help navigating an increasingly complex landscape. According to new data, job postings for the role doubled last year, and the number of executives with the title has tripled since 2021. The role isn’t limited to serving the CEO either—at some large firms, other C-suite leaders and division heads have their own chiefs of staff.
To some degree, the shift is surprising, since many observers believe the job involves mostly administrative tasks that AI is quickly automating. But the title’s resurgence reflects how the chief of staff has morphed into a key ally and strategy aide for high-level leaders. David Farris, sector leader for Korn Ferry’s Professional Services practice says the position’s rise reflects the urgency of bringing to life leaders’ ambitions in AI-forward firms in tech, financial services, and other sectors. “It really is a senior-level, strategic utility-player role,” he says.
To be sure, many chiefs of staff remain the keepers of the CEO’s calendar and correspondence. But they also function as the CEO’s voice—influencing stakeholders, serving as liaison to other C-suite executives, overseeing operations, acting as cultural ambassador for the firm, and more. And with AI taking over more of their logistical work, chiefs of staff (not unlike CHROs and CCOs) have emerged as trusted advisers and strategic counselors to CEOs. “Chiefs of staff today have more of a business and strategic mindset,” says Liz Schaefer, a senior client partner in Korn Ferry’s Human Resources Officers practice.
Still, the role has its challenges, particularly in navigating how it’s viewed by other leaders in the organization. Though not technically part of the C-suite, chiefs of staff arguably work more closely with the CEO—and have a better pulse on the executive team’s inner workings and dynamics—than other C-suite leaders. As a result, says Farris, other senior leaders see them as walking a very narrow line between colleague and threat. “They are, after all, wielding the sword of the leader of the entire firm,” he says. And though they aren’t historically considered a potential CEO successor the way a COO or CFO is, some chiefs of staff go on to lead different business lines or rise to other high-ranking roles across the firm. Data shows that two-thirds of chiefs of staff ultimately get promoted, whether within or outside the firm.
What happens to the other third? Experts point out that the role still isn’t always a springboard; for every chief of staff that helps decrease bureaucracy and speed up decision-making, there's one who does the opposite. “I've seen chiefs of staff create more, not less, blockage and bottlenecks,” says Farris. Firms often mismatch the role’s duties with the person occupying it. No two chief of staff roles are alike, he observes, noting by way of example that firms commonly make the mistake of putting a potential business-unit leader into a chief of staff role that is more administrative and gatekeeping in nature, or vice versa. “It's all about putting the right person into the role,” Farris says.
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