One-page summary · 1 min read
An Insider’s Perspective on the Chief of Staff
Why You Need One and How to Be a Great One
by Emily Sander
The big idea
The Chief of Staff role is one of the most misunderstood positions in a growing company -- it isn't an executive assistant or a junior generalist, but a specific force-multiplier function, and Sander argues both executives deciding whether to hire one and people stepping into the role need a clearer, practitioner-level picture of what it actually does day to day.
Drawing on her own time as a Chief of Staff plus interviews with colleagues and coaching clients, Sander lays out what the role actually covers -- running the operating cadence around an executive, translating strategy into execution across teams that don't report to the CoS, and acting as an internal trust broker. The book walks through how to evaluate whether an organization genuinely needs the role, what skills separate a good CoS from a bad one, and practical scenarios drawn from her own tenure.
This is an independently published title (Kindle/print-on-demand) with a small footprint -- roughly 80 Goodreads ratings and no coverage from mainstream business press. The content reads as credible practitioner experience, but treat specifics as one CoS's first-hand account rather than a validated industry standard.
Key ideas
Chief of Staff is not an EA upgrade
Sander repeatedly distinguishes the role from executive assistant work, arguing the CoS operates on strategy and cross-team execution, not calendar management.
A litmus test for whether you need one
The book frames the decision to hire a CoS around a specific pain point -- an executive whose time is consumed by coordination overhead rather than decision-making.
Borrowed authority
A recurring theme is that a CoS has to get things done through relationships and the executive's delegated trust rather than formal authority.
Learning from the trenches
Sander draws heavily on her own real tenure in the role plus conversations with peers, giving the book a first-person, here's-what-actually-happened texture.
Try it this week
- If you're evaluating whether to hire a Chief of Staff, list the last five things that ate your week and sort them into 'needs authority to fix' vs. 'needs coordination to fix.'
- If you're new to a CoS-type role, write down who has to trust you for you to get anything done this month, and start there instead of your task list.
Is it for you?
Best for
- An executive genuinely unsure whether their organization needs a Chief of Staff and wanting a first-hand account of what the role solves.
- Someone newly appointed to a Chief of Staff role who wants a peer's practical perspective.
Less useful if
- A reader wanting rigorously sourced research or a validated framework.
- Someone at a large, mature organization with an established CoS function.