The CEO's Most Valuable Tool Is Another Human

Bloomberg ran a piece on July 16: The $400,000 Chief of Staff Is the CEO's Secret Weapon in the AI Age. The argument is that in the age of AI, the Chief of Staff role is getting an upgrade at companies that have one working under the CEO. Executive work has become too fast and too complex for one person to manage alone. The numbers back it: postings for the role more than doubled over the past year, and the number of people carrying the title in North America has tripled since 2021.

So what does the CEO do? Hire a Chief of Staff. Not an executive assistant. A strategic partner who keeps the CEO focused on the matters at hand, turns vision into execution among the other C-Suite executives, and leads cross-functional initiatives. Serves as a sounding board. Cuts down the groupthink that forms around senior leadership.

The position has always been powerful and demanding — as expected when you work under a CEO. AI has given it a new dimension. Used correctly, AI raises the value of the role, because it augments the Chief of Staff's capacity to do more of it. But like all things AI, it cannot replace sound judgment, influence, political awareness, and the rest of the skills required to excel at this level of the game.

AI accelerates the speed at which you can move and make decisions — as long as the user wields it correctly and knows what they are doing. It can help a CEO decide faster, provided someone beside them knows how to harness the tools and has the skills to do the job in the first place.

I get asked all the time whether AI can replace "this or that role." My answer is the same every time. Right now, AI is a force multiplier for a user who understands how to use it, knows its limits, and really understands where their personal experience and judgment come into play.

In my role, I advise the CEO, plan strategy, lead a team, run projects, and serve as a sounding board. I rely heavily on AI to augment my decision-making and the speed at which I can move projects. Using AI properly will make you faster. But make no mistake — it goes hand in hand with experience and human judgment, with the ability to discern and think strategically. Use it wisely, and it will pay you dividends.