Most Important Skills For A Chief Of Staff At Mesh
Caldwell, Mesh's Chief of Staff, highlights the importance of adaptability ("be able and willing to learn basically anything") and clear communication in their role, acting as a translator between executive strategy and operational execution while shifting between broad strategic thinking and detailed tactical problem-solving.
Communication, Problem-Solving, Adaptability, Strategic Thinking, Leadership
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Caldwell Clarke
Chief of Staff
Mesh
University of Maryland
UCLA Anderson School of Management - MBA
Engineering - Mechanical
Gaming, Technology
Product / Service / Software Development and Management
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. A Chief of Staff must be able and willing to learn new skills quickly, such as using project management software like Jira.
2. Strong communication skills are essential for translating information between executives and operational teams.
3. The ability to switch between high-level strategic thinking and detailed tactical execution is crucial for success in this role.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
A Chief of Staff is often a generalist and needs to be able to span a bunch of different things. There are a couple of core skills involved.
First, you have to be able and willing to learn basically anything. I had done a little bit of engineering but had never used Jira before. I just had to figure out how to set up a framework for engineering work.
Second, you have to be a very clear communicator because you sit between executives and operational teams. A lot of your individual responsibility is translating between them. Executives might say, "We want to go here, and here's why," and I have to translate that to product and engineering orders. Then, from them, I have to translate back up the day-to-day details, like where we are, what problems we're seeing, and any customer-facing input we have.
The third thing, which is similar, is that you have to be able to zoom in and out. When working with operating teams, it's much more tactical, focusing on how to get things done and the actual details needed. When working with the executive team, it's much broader, looking at the market, forces, and the company's position to determine what's important to do. You have to be able to switch context pretty regularly.
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