Life After Being a Chief of Staff

Hi {{first_name|there}},

This week is about the question most Chiefs of Staff sit with but rarely say out loud: what comes next?

Tristan Lim on the paths after the role -- what the job actually trains you for and where people tend to land. A reminder about the Fundamentals Track for those building the foundation right now. And speaker nominations for Chief of Staff Connect New York, closing Tuesday, June 30.

Tristan Lim left his Chief of Staff role without anything lined up. No plan, no next title. He gave himself space to rest and think -- and in the conversations that followed, including one with Zoe Jakubowich (fractional CoS juggling five engagements, early-stage investor) and Lissa Sorgenfrei (Chief of Staff turned pottery studio founder in Munich), a clearer map of what comes after started to emerge.

What the role really trains, Tristan argues, is high agency. You learn to walk into ambiguity without a script, to influence without authority, to act without permission. That muscle doesn't disappear when the role ends. The question is just where you point it. Zoe pointed hers at building an independent portfolio. Lissa pointed hers at something tangible -- a physical space, a small business, a community. Same muscle, different rooms.

The piece closes with what Tristan calls the part we skip: the space to actually ask the question. "After years of being the person who holds context for everyone else, it can feel embarrassing to admit that you don't really know what you want for yourself."

Worth the read, wherever you are in the role.

Tristan's piece is about what comes after. But before you get to that question, there's a more immediate one: are you building the right things now?

The Chief of Staff Fundamentals Track is a structured program for Chiefs of Staff who want to build the core skills the role demands -- operating cadence, stakeholder management, strategic communication, and more. Whether you're six months in or three years deep, the fundamentals don't expire. They compound.

Chief of Staff Connect New York is October 22-23. We're building the speaker roster now and a handful of slots are still open. We want the stage to reflect the people in this community - world-class Chiefs of Staff doing real work, with a story worth sharing.

We're rounding out four themes: the AI-first Chief of Staff, the Chief of Staff as builder, how the role accelerates careers, and where the role is headed in 2026. If you have a story that fits or know someone who does, put their name forward.

Nominations close Tuesday, Jun 30

best,
Scott  
Founder, Chief of Staff Network & BizOps Network