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Case Study: Mental Health Organization

Scaling a non-profit technology organization through the chief of staff role

The CTO of a growing non-profit mental health organization needed operational support to scale from 30 to 120 staff while maintaining culture and efficiency. Vannin [now the Chief of Staff Association] placed a chief of staff who streamlined board funding requests, drove hiring processes, and improved team collaboration, enabling the CTO to focus on strategic leadership.

Challenges

A non-profit organization operating for over 50 years with the mission to promote emotional well-being for all was growing exponentially. The Chief Technology Officer started with a team of around 30 individuals and is expanding that team to over 120 in less than two years. Between hiring around 80-90 people in a year, building and maintaining partnerships with external stakeholders, creating a strong team culture, and working on other projects, the CTO realized they would be over-extended. They needed someone who could help them meet growth goals and maintain the culture and efficiency of the existing team along the way. They needed a Chief of Staff.The CTO had little first-hand experience with the Chief of Staff role, so they decided to engage an external firm to help them find the right person. The CTO called several CoS organizations to get a sense of their capabilities.
When I talked to the other Chief of Staff organizations, they were just looking for a personality fit with me, rather than trying to understand my goals.
CTO
The CTO approached CEO Keziah Wonstolen, whom they’d worked with at Accenture, and described their ideal candidate. Wonstolen pushed the CTO for further details, directing their focus towards the most important competencies for the specific situation; she proceeded to define what the CTO needed in a Chief of Staff. The CTO knew they needed help with the nuts and bolts–for instance, with monthly funding requests to the executive board. The CTO knew they had found their ideal CoS partner in Vannin [now the Chief of Staff Association]. The CTO and Wonstolen then tapped veteran Chief of Staff Jamie Cole for the job.

Solution

Cole was an ideal fit for the company during this transitional phase. As the former COO of TaskRay, she had prior experience heading growth-stage startups. Cole intrinsically understood what they were dealing with, and her actions reflected that understanding. Cole jumped right into advancing the CTO’s vision: they gave her high-level plans, and she filled in the structure, provided key details, and drove the projects to completion. 
[I needed] to give her the rough bones of the project, and I needed her to pick up my vision and advance it… That's exactly what Jamie can do.
CTO
Cole had three major areas of impact:Board materialsCole partnered with the company's CFO and CEO to present expenditure requests to the executive committee of their board. This was a labor-intensive monthly process that ultimately allocated and approved the funds the CTOs needed to drive growth. Cole defined steps to ensure the process ran smoothly, collating requests from the CFO and CEO and delivering them to the board.HiringCole prioritized the roles for which the company needed to hire and drove the recruiting effort, while simultaneously navigating significant leadership transitions. She defined the process for each role - not only for a single hire, but at scale. She assigned roles and deadlines, measured cross-functional performance, and helped modernize people operations (HR). Her detailed work plan helped speed the company’s hiring push along.Improved interactions with his organizationThis was one unexpected benefit that Cole provided. Because she coordinated the company’s time and made sure it went to the right places, the CTO was able to forge strong connections and relationships with their own leadership team. This sense of connection started within their own CoS relationship and grew from there.In these three areas and beyond, the CTO leaned on Cole as an advisor. She served as a second set of eyes for them, and employed her breadth of experience to help the CTO capture the right opportunities
I needed an advisor I could talk to, someone who knows all of the things that are going on and is able to understand the context [for my organization]... I didn’t even know I needed that.
CTO

Results

The company’s engagement with Vannin [now the Chief of Staff Association] resulted in hiring 20 of 80 new hires. Cole built a process from scratch that sets up clear expectations and processes to hire the remaining open roles. Board materials have been delivered 100% on time since Cole’s arrival, and the CTO has gotten all of their requests for funding approved without modification. Weekly operations of the technology leadership team are now standardized and structured, and the whole team is tied together for better collaboration.Now that Cole has laid the groundwork for a smooth 10x growth experience, she is working on finding her replacement. This person will take the baton from Cole and continue supporting the CTO as they navigate an exciting new chapter for the team and organization.
[Cole] is able to give me the counseling and advice that I need… That's the thing that I'm going to miss most once she graduates and goes on to her next role.
CTO

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