Chief of Staff Reporting Structure

CEOs, if you want to get your leadership team to become high performers, make sure you get your Chief of Staff reporting structure right. So, who does the Chief of Staff typically directly report to? There are a few possibilities here:

1) CEO

2) COO

Advantage of 1 is that the Chief of Staff can establish a more intimate relationship with the CEO. The partnership can be much stronger. Disadvantage of 1 is that the CEO may already have many, many reports. They don’t have bandwidth to take on another direct report.

Advantage of 2 is that the COO is operationally minded and may have more bandwidth for career development. Disadvantage of 2 is that the COO may not always have full understanding of and access to the CEO’s agenda.

Consider both of these two reporting structures as you design your executive enablement team.

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