RESOURCE: Chief of Staff vs. Business Manager vs. Executive Assistant

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Regardless of your title, if you get things done your clients or employer will value you. (Well, in an ideal world that’s true. It isn’t always.) So, if the outcome is the most valuable part, why does a title even matter? Who cares what we call ourselves if we’re getting things done that make a difference, right?

This is a classic “Yes, and…” set-up. Yes, it’s true the outcomes matter most, at least quantitatively. And, without clarity of titles, we run into mismatched expectations that wreak more havoc than a cat stuck in a paper bag (if you’ve seen this, you know exactly how much havoc I’m talking about). Additionally, titles do carry weight, no matter what we try to tell ourselves or enforce. The human drive to pursue and display status is very real, and we pay attention to titles whether we want to or not. Titles provide clarity. And I’m all about clarity.

So, with that in mind, I want to talk about the differences between the Chief of Staff role, the Business Manager role, and the Executive Assistant role. Why? Because they are often conflated, and they are not the same thing.

Each of these roles encompasses different responsibilities and different levels of strategic focus. While there is some overlap, there are distinct differences that define which leaders and what business challenges benefit most from each role’s support. Most importantly, understanding the differences in these roles creates a level of clarity that can enable incredible partnerships between and among them, multiplying the weight of their impact exponentially.

This resource provides a simplified look at the overlaps and differences between the Chief of Staff, Business Manager, and Executive Assistant roles. Simplified is the key word in that previous sentence; there is nuance in everything, but my hope is this can be a useful easy-to-reference resource for anyone trying to understand any of these roles. Expect this graphic to be updated as my knowledge and perspective expand.