If you’re a Virtual Assistant, early-career operator, or even a Founder’s Associate looking to deepen your impact, you may have heard whispers about the Chief of Staff role. Maybe you’re curious. Maybe you’re even considering a pivot. But let’s get one thing straight:

Chief of Staff is not the next step from being “good at admin.”

It’s a leap that demands a shift in mindset, skillset, and altitude.

So… What Is A Chief of Staff?

A Chief of Staff is a strategic force multiplier for founders and executives. It is not the glorified EA, interim COO, or one-size-fits-all operator that people tend to think of.

Think of us as the business world’s connective tissue, driving clarity, alignment, and momentum across people, projects, and priorities.

My work centres around five core pillars:

• People: Aligning teams, boosting cross-functional communication, and shaping culture.
• Planning: Turning vision into clear, actionable roadmaps that the team can execute on.
• Projects: Leading mission-critical initiatives from start to finish.
• Processes: Removing friction and creating scalable systems that help a business grow.
• Performance: Implementing KPIS and rhythms that measure what matters.
  

We’re not just in the room; we shape the agenda.

VA, Founder’s Associate, Chief of Staff. What’s the Difference?

Let’s break it down, because these roles often get blurred, especially in startups.

Virtual Assistant

You’re the operational backbone. You keep the trains running. You handle admin, scheduling, logistics, inboxes, and sometimes light project support. You’re essential. But you’re rarely asked to shape strategy or challenge the status quo.

Founder’s Associate

This is often a stepping-stone role for early-career generalists. You’re hands-on, learning fast, and delivering high-impact work. It’s a brilliant way to understand how a business scales. But the role is transient, designed to evolve you out of it.

Chief of Staff

Different league.

This is a strategic leadership role that grows with the business. You’re there to drive alignment across the organisation, lead initiatives that touch every department, and act as a second brain to the founder or CEO. You don’t just support decisions, you shape them.

If a Founder’s Associate is on the pitch executing plays, a Chief of Staff is in the locker room with the coach re-writing the playbook.

Why Founders (and Scaling Startups) Need a CoS

The modern founder is under pressure to do more with less. The pace is intense, the stakes are high, and internal chaos is a real risk.

That’s where a Fractional Chief of Staff becomes indispensable:

• Strategic oversight without the full-time overhead
  
• Flexible support that scales with the business
  
• One person who can tie together people, projects, and performance
  
• A trusted partner who sees around corners and helps de-risk decisions
  

Founders shouldn’t have to choose between running their company and growing it. A strong CoS makes both possible.

Thinking About Making the Shift?

If you’re currently a VA or an operator and curious about stepping into a Chief of Staff role, fantastic. The path is real, but it’s not a promotion… It’s a transformation.

You’ll need to move beyond execution and step into strategy. You’ll need to learn to lead without authority, influence up, and see the whole business holistically. You’ll need to understand how the business works as an ecosystem and connect the dots that others don’t even see. 

That said, if you’ve got a sharp mind for business, strong emotional intelligence, and a hunger to drive impact at a high level, this could be one of the most rewarding moves of your career.

The Chief of Staff role isn’t a trend; it’s a cornerstone of how lean, high-performing businesses operate in 2025. Whether you’re a founder looking to scale smart or an operator ready to level up, the CoS role offers an opportunity to drive real, organisation-wide change.

It’s not about getting closer to power; it’s about becoming a powerful force for alignment, clarity, and growth.

If that’s the career you’re craving or the kind of partner your business needs, now’s the time to make the move.