Chief of Staff Executive Education at Harvard Business School

Developed in collaboration with one of the world’s most prestigious business schools, the programme is designed to help chiefs of staff develop the skills they need to thrive in their roles.

Founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University, Harvard Business School is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston. For more than a century, HBS faculty have drawn on their research, their experience in working with organisations worldwide, and their passion for teaching to educate leaders who make a difference in the world, shaping the practice of business and entrepreneurship around the globe.

Classroom sessions during the Chief of Staff Executive Education Programme at HBS include cases examining leaders’ effectiveness in navigating difficult organisational challenges, and exercises designed to enhance skills foundational to the three key activities. Participants will engage in case discussions exploring multiple aspects of leadership, collaboration, and organisational alignment. Participants will also actively practice different approaches influencing others, managing conflict, and building trust.

Inside and outside the classroom, participants will share their own experiences and questions, teaching and learning from one another as they build relationships with other chiefs of staff. Participants will leave HBS with new understandings of the chief of staff’s role in creating organisational effectiveness and innovation, and new skills for influence and collaboration.

Upcoming Programme

  • Date: Monday 15 April – Thursday 18 April, 2024

  • Capacity: 50 members of The Chief of Staff Association

  • Price: USD8200 (includes accommodation, meals and programming)

For more information, contact membership services.

Learning Objectives

The Chief of Staff Executive Education Programme has three key learning outcomes:

1. Leading with relational power
• Enhance and refine your influence and negotiation skills, building from your own personal and relational sources of power.
• Build trust with your principal and key stakeholders to create credibility and be an effective leader.
• Develop your authentic leadership style and build your authority as a leader.
2. Collaborative leadership
• Expand your repertoire of collaborative action possibilities as you become more open to trying things out in partnership with others.
• Incorporate nuances of the organisational structure, providing 360-degree views to the principal and clarity for other leaders operationalising the principal’s vision.
• Navigate conflict and emotionally charged discussions, while remaining neutral and even-keeled.
3. Ambidextrous innovation
• Develop new insights and approaches to organising “ambidextrously”, focusing on day-to-day execution and forward-looking innovation simultaneously.
• Identify and address common challenges and barriers that hinder congruency within individuals, teams and organisations.
• Enhance interdisciplinary problem-solving skills through proven frameworks and integration of diverse perspectives.

“The chief of staff role is unique and challenging, and we are committed to providing our members with the resources they need to excel. This programme will equip chiefs of staff with the skills they need to be world-class leaders, expert advisors and strategic decision-makers”

Trent Smyth AM, CEO, The Chief of Staff Association

Exclusive to members of The Chief of Staff Association