Chief of the People

Chief of Staff or Chief of the People? Are they the same? Should they be?

I’ve served as a Chief of Staff twice—first for a 15,000-Soldier division with a 350-person staff, and later at a combatant command with roughly 4,500 staff members, including 12 flag officers. I also supervised and developed five Chiefs of Staff.

Army doctrine calls the Chief of Staff the commander’s principal assistant and key staff integrator: directing the staff, integrating its work, managing battle rhythm, and freeing the commander from routine management. I’ve seen that role performed exceptionally in very different ways.

One of my Chiefs, Sean Lucas, was an unmatched warfighting Division Chief of Staff. He could wield the staff like a hammer, bringing the full weight of the Division to bear on a problem. He knew how to focus expertise, information, and energy where the organization needed them most. Our entire Division depended on him in that role when he served as the Chief.

Michael Wagner taught me something additional about the role. He was both Chief of Staff and Chief of the People. Mike was already the 4th Infantry Division Chief of Staff when I arrived as Division Commander. He knew the organization and had seen the relationship as a primary staff officer, a Brigade Combat Team Commander, and then as the Chief himself. Mike knew how to run the machine.

What made him exceptional was that he understood the people inside the machine. A good Chief of Staff keeps the trains running on time. The Chief understands workflow, manages processes and resources, synchronizes the staff, serves subordinate organizations, and makes the headquarters useful.

The Chief of the People does something more. That Chief protects the boss’s time and attention, understands what the boss is trying to accomplish, translates intent into action, and—critically—brings information and uncomfortable feedback back the other way.

Sometimes that requires a little interpretive dance.

I recently spoke as the capstone presenter at the McChrystal Group's Chief of Staff Leadership Retreat. Their model, developed from Chris Fussell’s book, One Mission, describes the Chief's progression from making the principal more effective to improving the organization, enabling faster decisions, and ultimately becoming a strategic thought partner.

In my senior Chief of Staff job, there was no leisurely progression. My boss dragged me toward the fourth quadrant pretty quickly. Mike had already worked through those stages with the previous Division Commander. So, with me, he moved through them rapidly because the organizational trust was already there.

Outside the military the Chief still plays a role, admittedly with different organizations, different bosses and different operating environments.

But the central question remains: Do you ask your Chief principally manage the staff—or increase the effectiveness of the people who make the organization work?

An exquisite Chief of Staff can do both.