On the Qualities of a Great Chief of Staff

On this episode of Dreams with Deadlines we meet a dynamo who has converted lessons learned over many years of serving as chief of staff to various C-suite executives at AT&T into a professional development program with bespoke coaching and tools you won’t find anywhere else. Laurie Arron breaks down exactly what it means to be a chief of staff and how the role shapes, protects, and advances leadership agendas.

What you will learn

• “Rewirement” and Laurie’s career pivot into coaching
• The specific roles and functions that chiefs of staff serve
• The three C’s that form the basis of Laurie’s trusted advisory practice
• Block-and-tackle tools and systems to optimize leadership goals and efficacy
• The unique cross-industry opportunity that Laurie’s ChiefSpace group coaching program offers chiefs of staff – especially those who are operating in isolation
• Valuable lessons learned, especially when it comes to speaking up early and often!

Show notes

• [00:03:48] About the many hats that Laurie wore during a long career at AT&T and the venture she has more recently launched as a business coach for high-level leaders.
• [00:04:53] “Rewirement” and what it means to pivot – not into retirement but into an opportunity to leverage skill sets, experience, and passions in new ways.
• [00:07:31] About the 3C’s that form the basis of Laurie’s trusted advisory practice: 
  • Coaching
  • Consulting
  • Chief-ing
•  [00:09:13] Breaking down the role of chief of staff into five parts:
  1. Air traffic controller for a leader and their team
  2. Integrator among silos
  3. Master communicator
  4. Link between the executive team and broader organization
  5. Honest broker and truth-teller, a confidante without an agenda
• [00:10:08] Laurie’s take on the servant-leader role that chiefs of staff play, which is shaped by the requirements and needs of specific leaders at any given moment.
• [00:13:08] Why developing relationships and ensuring alignment among various team members is a critical aspect of performing the Chief of Staff function.
• [00:14:53] How it feels to work for a Fortune 10 company on the cutting edge of innovation, including the exhilaration (as well as occasional exhaustion and loneliness) associated with being integral to critical decision-making.
• [00:17:18] Laurie shares strategies she deployed with the leaders she served at AT&T, challenging narratives, providing perspective, highlighting risks and rewards, and pushing back where necessary. 
• [00:19:08] Ultimately, a chief of staff’s highest purpose is to see what needs to be done and then ensure that, one way or another, it happens efficiently and effectively.
• [00:21:23] More about the chief of staff’s highly strategic niche:
  1. Identifying and delivering on goals
  2. Ensuring alignment among companies, departments, and divisions
  3. Tracking progress against strategic plans
• [00:22:00] About where the chief of staff function should sit organizationally and why. 
• [00:25:35] Laurie touts the 4D Productivity System as a helpful filter for chiefs of staff:
  • Do it – Is this a task that I can accomplish quickly?
  • Delegate it – Is this something that could be better done by someone else?
  • Defer it – Could this be pushed out to a later time?
  • Dismiss it – Does this really need to be done at all?
• [00:27:28] About the power of time blocking, which places all planning in an intentional framework that modulates energy and maintains focused priorities.
• [00:27:48] More helpful tools for chiefs of staff, leaders, and really anyone at any level:
  • Apps to support morning routines and drive efficiencies.
  • Intention-setting at the start of meetings.
• [00:31:16] Laurie’s ChiefSpace group coaching program targets chiefs of staff, who generally lack a support network, offering them a cross-industry opportunity to:
  • Navigate critical decisions with speed and confidence.
  • Act as an accountability partner and reality check. 
  • Drive alignment and maximize efficiency across the enterprise. 
  • Act as a gatekeeper, protecting and advancing leadership’s key priorities.
  • Learn how to work powerfully and deftly across silos.  
  • Be a strategic thought partner and proxy in executing strategy.
•  [00:31:48] About the book Laurie is writing – which is the book she wished she had when she first started in her chief-of-staff role. It will demystify the job and offer advice. 
• [00:34:56] How to turn business challenges into foundational opportunities:
  • Cultivate crystal-clear clarity about where you’re going and why
  • Implement clear communication that aligns efforts across teams
  • Follow up consistently to ensure alignment and anticipate issues
  • Put milestones in place as well as measures for tracking execution
  • Take time out to reflect, debrief and learn from wins and losses
• [00:42:24] About the primary leadership lesson that Laurie has learned: To speak her truth early and often. It isn’t about being liked. It’s about expressing yourself as a leader.
• [00:45:30] Laurie shares what’s top of mind for her in advancing her work as a transformational coach and advisor, cultivating health and wellness, and keeping a calendar that reflects her philosophy that time is energy. “I want to give my clients and my family and myself the best energy I can,” says Laurie.

Relevant links

• More about Stephen Covey's books and business strategies.