Tyler Parris’ Chief of Staff is one of few books written specifically for the contemporary chief of staff. In this blog post, CSA member David Serabian reviews Parris’ influential work and evaluates its utility for those in the profession.
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By David Serabian
Published: 24/05/2022 |
Chief of Staff by Tyler Parris is a seminal book on chiefs of staff. Parris notes that while many books have been written for the American political chief of staff, few exist outside of this realm. To account for this gap, Parris embarked on building a well-researched text for the contemporary chief of staff – this book is the result. Parris interviewed chiefs of staff, HR executives, and C-suite executives with experience with the role. He also reviewed statistical data from a team at Seattle University and as many articles, books, and studies as possible.
The need for this book is quite evident, another non-political chief of staff book still has not been written. It was sorely needed, as around 40 percent of those interviewed by Parris stated they watched the television show The West Wing (a fictional show about the White House) for tips and tricks.
The need for the role has grown in recent years. Parris argues that the main reasons for the growth of the role include: the growing complexities of running a business compared to 50 years ago, the rapid pace of changing technology, the effects of globalization, and the unprecedented degree of new policy, regulation, and how consumers affect these. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has certainly amplified all of these. What Parris notably addresses in Chapter 2 is that not all organizations need a chief of staff. This is helpful in that it lends to the credibility of changing dynamics requiring the need for the role instead of the role being something that is part of a trend.
Parris divides the book into three main sections. They focus on the background and importance of a chief of staff, where to find a chief of staff, and (quite importantly) what to do with the role and how to evolve it. There are boxes with the 8 universal competencies that Parris believes chiefs of staff should have throughout the book as well.
This unfortunately creates a disjointed book aimed at 3 significantly different audiences: the general business world, chiefs of staff (including people that want to be a chief of staff), and executives who would want a chief of staff. Furthering this, the complete list of 8 universal competencies for a chief of staff is not introduced until two-thirds of the way through. The section where the list is located is mentioned throughout the book, but (like the competencies that are spread out) no page number is given. The competencies with their page numbers below can be used as a guide. The competencies in order are (see page 107):
This exemplifies the disjointed nature of the text, as the reader has to hop from place to place. For example, the box for “Results Orientation” on page 53 diverts the reader to jump ahead to section 5 (page 110) for more detail. There is also no index, just a rudimentary table of contents. Nevertheless, I would argue that such disorganisation is the only criticism that can be lodged against the book.
The competencies are well-argued and the examples are well-illustrated and practical. In the past, The Chief of Staff Association’s speakers have discussed the importance of these competencies in seminars. To name a few, Keith Ferrazzi in his seminars has mentioned and gone into detail regarding coaching and managed ego. Anoushka Healy has gone into detail on servant leadership, systems and process thinking, and anticipation in her seminar on driving innovative strategy.
There is a significant amount of valuable information throughout the book. The section aimed at the first 90-100 days accurately highlights the resistance organizations often have to the introduction of a new chief of staff and offers tips and solutions. Moreover, Parris discusses how a principal should delegate responsibilities to a chief of staff and highlights the importance of titles as well. The resistance to and the inherent ambiguity of the role has been echoed repeatedly by CSA members in small group discussions and meetings.
The figures on page 103 (figure 5.2) and page 108 (figure 5.3) titled “The Spectrum of Task Complexity Between EA and VP” and “Chief of Staff Competencies, by Leader’s Position” are excellent. They showcase the various skills and abilities that are needed between the type of chief of staff position (more executive assistant versus operation), and the different needs different levels of leaders would require from their chiefs of staff.
Despite the detractions, this book is essential for chiefs of staff and is helpful at all stages of their career. This book is a useful tool on the shelf of any chief of staff. This can be used as a reference book to repeatedly go back to select sections if one finds themselves in difficult or ambiguous situations.
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