What is the career path for a chief of staff?

The career path for a chief of staff includes jobs in mid to senior-level executive roles before reaching the chief of staff position.

There is not just one career path to becoming a chief of staff, this is a role that professionals of all different backgrounds and industry skills might obtain. However, it requires many skills involved in leadership, communication, and managerial skills.

Here are some of the essential areas for those on the chief of staff career path:

• Education

In regards to education, candidates applying for a chief of staff position usually have a bachelor's degree, and many come to the table with advanced degrees, such as:

• MBA

• JD

• MA/MS

• MPA/MPP

There is no requirement for any sort of specialization in a particular field or degree. Instead, the role tends to promote those that have a diversity of experience and can bring a cross-functional background to the role.

• Professional Experience

Many companies look for chief of staff candidates with eight to 10 years of professional experience.

Again, this experience can be in a variety of fields and organizations, often the resume of an optimal candidate for the chief of staff role will have a wide array of roles with differing responsibilities.

However, having expert-level knowledge of overall business operations and processes is essential to those seeking this career path.

• Skills

Chiefs of staff normally take on many responsibilities, meaning there is a myriad of skills that they should possess to be efficient and effective in this role, including:

• Versatile, think jack-of-all-trades, with cross-functional or varied experiences, and a willingness to jump in and learn new skills when appropriate

• Analytical, and data-driven in their approach to solving problems

• Strategic and critical thinker

• Strong written and verbal communication, with the skill of being able to communicate in someone else's voice and style to a wide variety of employees, stakeholders, and other senior officials

• High emotional intelligence, understands employees, anticipates unspoken conflicts and needs, is apt at influencing specific desired outcomes, and has the ability to build strong long-term relationships

• Unmatched organizational skills