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CoS to Functional Leader (and Back): Judy Abad’s Career Playbook
Judy Abad has been a Chief of Staff at Facebook, Slack, and Freshworks, and a functional leader in between each of those. Her take on which path actually gets you to the C-suite will probably surprise you.
Here's something most career advice gets wrong: the idea that you have to choose between breadth and depth.
Judy Abad has spent her career refusing that tradeoff. She's been Chief of Staff at three different companies, and in between, she's run product marketing at Slack, launched business products at WhatsApp, and temporarily led both customer success and marketing at a Series B startup. She didn't choose the CoS track or the functional track. She’s navigated fluid and deliberate transitions between each path throughout her whole career.
The distinction she draws between the two roles is clarifying. As a functional leader, your job is to handle as much as possible yourself and not escalate. As a Chief of Staff, your job is almost the inverse: synthesize across everything, know when something is stuck, and unblock it. You're a force multiplier and an absorber at once. That requires a fundamentally different operating mode, not a lesser one.
What strikes me most about Judy's framework is how she talks about credibility. The temptation in a CoS seat is to stay high-level because your exec is high-level. She thinks that's a trap. Write the PRD. Build the email copy. Jump into the implementation. People trust demonstrated competence, not positional authority, and they'll welcome help from anyone who can actually move the work forward.
"I'm not going to ask for permission. I'd rather apologize if I've overstepped my bounds later."
She also makes a point that's easy to nod along to but harder to actually internalize: almost every career decision is reversible. The pressure to find the perfect role before making a move keeps a lot of people stuck. The more interesting question is what you want your career to look like when you're looking back at it from decades out, and whether what you're doing today is building toward that or away from it.
That question doesn't have a clean answer. And that's probably the point.
Stop Surviving the Role. Start Leading It.
Most Chiefs of Staff learn the role by surviving it. There's a better way.
The CoS Launchpad is a 6-week certification program built for people who want to operate at the highest level from day one. You'll learn the frameworks, build the instincts, and get the credentials that signal you're serious about the role.
Whether you're stepping into your first CoS position or looking to sharpen what you've built over years in the seat, Launchpad gives you the structure most CoS never get.
Not ready for a cohort-led program? Try Chief of Staff Fundamentals first!
📆 Upcoming Events
We have an exciting lineup of events coming up across multiple cities and topics! Here's what's on the calendar:
This Week
Join us Thursday, May 28 for Building an AI Champions Program That Actually Works, where we'll dive into practical strategies for implementing AI leadership within your organization.
The next day, Friday, May 29, we're hosting an AI Working Session — a collaborative space to tackle real AI challenges together.
Early June
Thursday, June 4 is packed with opportunities:
Chief of Staff Connect - Austin Forum — Connect with fellow Chiefs of Staff in Texas
Chief of AI Fellowship — Deepen your AI leadership capabilities
Zurich Chief of Staff Chapter Launch — Help us kick off our Switzerland presence!
Mid-June
On Wednesday, June 10, we're launching two new chapters:
Chief of Staff San Francisco Meetup — Bay Area networking
Melbourne Chief of Staff Network Chapter Launch — Our next Australian gathering!
Wednesday, June 17 brings the Dubai Chief of Staff Network Chapter Launch — expanding our Middle East community.
Late June
Looking to level up your Chief of Staff skills? The Chief of Staff Launchpad (June - July) program begins Tuesday, June 23.
Wednesday, June 24 — Join the Detroit CoS Meet Up for Midwest connections.
Thursday, June 25 — Learn about Workflow Thinking: The Skill Behind Every Automation, essential for operational excellence.
Tuesday, June 30 — Prioritize your wellbeing at From Reactive to Regulated: Energy Management Tools for Chief of Staffs.
July Preview
Thursday, July 9: Sydney CoS Networking Event
Wednesday, July 15: Boston CoS Meetup
Browse the full calendar and RSVP to the sessions that fit your schedule and interests. We hope to see you there.
best,
Scott
Founder, Chief of Staff Network & BizOps Network
