And first of all, what is the difference between the two?
In short, think of your Chief of Staff as your right-hand guy or gal, a strategic thinking partner who can help you make your vision happen. You can discuss topics that you wouldn’t with your senior staff or even co-founder. They can help you grow as a leader, while also helping you grow your business.
Your CoS is your go-to person for the most difficult challenges, and the secret weapon behind a well-oiled machine (your company).
What do you need help with the most? Ask yourself these questions:
Do I need someone to take notes for me, capture my ToDo-s and help me get prepped for meetings?
Do I need someone to figure out whether it’s better to use Monday.com or Asana?
Do I need someone to draft nice looking docs and slides with given input?
Do I need help with my meetings and work logistics (even if I have an EA)?
Do I need someone to track down other people / teams’ ToDos or deliverables?
If you answered ‘yes’ to these, most likely you need a Founder’s Associate.
Of course, you can give them a fancy title if that makes them happy. Their salary range won’t be as high as a Chief of Staff (exec level), but you don’t need such an expensive resource for the tasks above.
Sometimes even a rockstar EA can do these types of tasks, so you might be better off investing there first.