A founder-Chief of Staff working agreement you can write on one page
By Alice Huang, Chief of Staff and operator
Create a one-page founder-Chief of Staff working agreement covering purpose, outcomes, scope, decision rights and review rhythm.
A Chief of Staff cannot read a founder's mind. A founder should not have to wonder whether an important decision is waiting on them. Put the working agreement on paper.
Peter Brack's hiring playbook recommends a role charter covering purpose, outcomes, scope, decision rights, access and review rhythm. a16z also emphasizes clear expectations. The outline below is a suggested working document, not an employment contract.
Start with the purpose
Write one sentence: what problem is this role here to solve? Then choose a short list of outcomes for the next review period. For each outcome, name what done means and how you will know.
Avoid "make everything run better." A useful outcome names the work. For example, "a weekly priority review with owners and recorded decisions" describes a proposed system, not a guaranteed business result.
Name the boundaries
- Principal: who the Chief of Staff supports and reports to.
- Own: work the Chief of Staff is accountable for.
- Support: work led by someone else.
- Not in scope: work that needs another owner.
- Access: documents and meetings needed for the role.
Discuss these with the people whose work overlaps. Do not leave team leads to infer authority from a calendar invitation.
Agree on decisions and escalation
Which calls can the Chief of Staff make? Which need a recommendation and approval? What spending, hiring or public communication needs a separate decision? Write the limits, not just "use your judgment."
Agree on how to raise a blocked project: what happened, what it affects, options and the decision needed. Set a check-in rhythm that fits the business and a place for both people to revise the agreement.
Review the agreement against real work
At the next review, look at what the role actually did. Did new tasks arrive without old ones leaving? Was access missing? Did decisions go to the wrong person? Update the document together.
The point is not another page nobody reads. It is a shared answer to "what are we counting on each other to do?"