The role of a Chief of Staff is often shaped by the needs and priorities of the organization and its leadership team, so the specific tasks and responsibilities can vary depending on the situation. That said, there are countless ways in which Chiefs of Staff are serving organizations from the White House to main street.
In this article, we’ll explore and offer an informed opinionated take on a few of the common ways Chiefs of Staff function and determine where an AI Chief of Staff is capable of supporting a team and where human assistance is most critically needed.
Strategic Planning
Chiefs of Staff often play a critical role in the development and execution of strategic plans for the organization. They may work with the CEO or executive team to identify key goals and initiatives and develop plans to achieve them. This can involve shadowing or working hand-in-hand with the leadership team to turn more generalized ideas into plans that can be carried out by teams.
On a scale of 1 (no capacity) to 10 (full capacity), to what extent can an AI Chief of Staff support this endeavor?
2. AI Chief of Staff software can be very helpful in supporting a team with baseline operational needs, but true strategic thinking that looks forward rather than backward is still something that belongs to the realm of human creativity.
This is mirrored by recent advances in Open AI’s Chat GPT-4, where novel trends are capable of doing increasingly more retrospectively (e.g. passing a Bar exam), but are still incapable of meaningful forward thinking.
AI Chief of Staff visual generated by Dall-E
Project Management
Chiefs of Staff often serve as project managers for high-priority initiatives, working with cross-functional teams to ensure successful completion of projects on time and within budget. Their presence in these areas helps ensure that executives have a close window into project details while the Chief of Staff oversees or at least monitors the status of a project.
On a scale of 1 (no capacity) to 10 (full capacity), to what extent can an AI Chief of Staff support this endeavor?
4. An AI Chief of Staff like Xembly can take notes during meetings and assign action items coming out of meetings. With advances in chat-based collaboration, it’s very likely that AI Chiefs of Staff will be able to support reporting needs with even more clarity and precision over time. Nonetheless, true full scope project management requires deft political touch while balancing economic and relational needs and challenges across departments. This is something that only a human can reasonably be expected to accomplish.
Communication
Chiefs of Staff often serve as a key liaison between the CEO or executive team and other stakeholders, including employees, investors, and customers. They may help develop messaging and communication plans to ensure consistency and effectiveness.
On a scale of 1 (no capacity) to 10 (full capacity), to what extent can an AI Chief of Staff support this endeavor?
5. With recent advances in AI-assisted writing, executives should be able to rely on support for drafting communication plans and templates with ease. What cannot be automated is proprietary knowledge that will likely need to be disseminated within corporate communications as AI would not be privy to this information. In this area, it’s clear that AI can be an effective support but cannot fully replace the human touch.
Operational Support
CoS often provides operational support to the CEO or executive team, helping to manage calendars, coordinate travel, and prepare for meetings and events. These everyday routine tasks can take up significant portions of the workday, leaving executives with less time to focus on core strategic work.
On a scale of 1 (no capacity) to 10 (full capacity), to what extent can an AI Chief of Staff support this endeavor?
8. Operational support is where AI Chiefs of Staff like Xembly truly shine. Scheduling has long seen support from popular SaaS solutions that enable users to generate a calendar link for scheduling. AI takes this to the next level with increasing capacity for chat-prompted AI scheduling across mediums like email and Slack.
Meeting agenda prep and note taking is another area where an AI Chief of Staff can take the reins and handle with ease. An AI Chief of Staff can help ensure that the team is properly prepared for meetings while capturing next steps for future action.
The 10,000 Foot View
While recent advances in AI have astonished the public, it’s clear we’re still in the early innings of the AI Chief of Staff story. There’s a lot they can do, but there’s also a lot they cannot. Savvy leaders will learn to distinguish between the two and optimize resources across their team to ensure that all key personnel are properly supported.
To learn more about how Xembly can help elevate the way your team works, check out xembly.com and sign up for the waitlist.
