How to measure Chief of Staff work without claiming every team win
By Alice Huang, Chief of Staff and operator
Measure Chief of Staff work with agreed outcomes, baselines and clear ownership. Distinguish activity, contribution and company-wide results.
A Chief of Staff can touch a lot of work. That does not mean every good result belongs to them.
a16z recommends defining the role's responsibilities and expectations. Peter Brack's playbook offers a success scorecard and review rhythm. Measure the work this role owns, not a generic list of impressive outcomes.
Agree on the outcome first
What should change because this role exists? It might be a clearer decision process, a recurring operating review or a project reaching a defined milestone.
Write the outcome, owner, evidence and review period. If the role supports an outcome, say so. Do not assign sole accountability for a result controlled by several teams.
Separate activity from effect
Meetings held, memos written and follow-ups sent show activity. They do not automatically show progress. What did the work enable: a recorded decision, completed handoff or issue resolved with evidence?
A fictional example: the weekly briefing is an output. Decisions made from it are a possible effect. Revenue is a broader result with other causes. Do not treat all three as the same metric.
Check the definition and baseline
- What exactly are we counting?
- What happened before?
- Where does the data come from?
- Who can verify it?
- What else might explain the change?
If you measure founder time saved, agree what counts and how to record it. Do not invent a dramatic estimate after the fact because the work felt valuable.
Review for learning
Did the outcome happen? Did it help? Was authority or access missing? Has the business changed enough to revise the measure?
A metric that encourages unnecessary meetings or hides a blocker is not doing its job. Keep a small set tied to scope. Clear contribution is more credible than claiming the whole company's progress.