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Introduction
CEO of the Chief of Staff Association
Trent Smyth
2 min read
Paradoxical, ambiguous, context-dependent: the position of chief of staff defies exact definition. It sounds as if it’s about people management, though the majority of chiefs of staff outside the military do not even have their own teams. We think of them as leaders, though most will describe themselves as operating in the background. Some have permanent responsibilities relating to strategy or operations; others are proud generalists who fill organisational gaps on a temporary basis.
Historically, many chiefs of staff and their principals have developed the role in isolation. In recent years, however, and particularly from the vantage point of the Chief of Staff Association, we have seen common characteristics emerge, which opens up the role to greater mobility, understanding, and demand across sectors.
Our executive education programmes provide world-class personal and professional development opportunities for individual chiefs of staff. But from the start we have always valued how the discussions and debates both in the classroom and outside also contribute to a wider conversation about defining and maturing the chief of staff role.
This is true even as we work with the programme directors and faculty members to plan each programme’s content and structure. Having collaborated with Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, to produce the first three Chief of Staff Association (CSA) executive education programmes, it was fascinating to see Professor Kathleen McGinn, our programme director from Harvard Business School, come at our initial brief from a completely different direction. It resulted in an exciting experience that asked new questions about the potential of the chief of staff role and challenged participants to develop further their existing skills.
So my own personal takeaway from this programme has been about the importance of deliberately seeking out fresh perspectives. Doing so can help you ‘see round corners’ to spot contextual changes before they happen and develop strategies to respond. It facilitates the creation of separate teams for innovation or reinvention; allows you to interrogate problems thoroughly to tackle them effectively; and helps you test decisions before you make them.
This report captures some of the wide variety of messages and key learning points that participants took from the teaching sessions and developed in conversation with each other during the small-group discussions. We are grateful to them for sharing their reflections.
Author Bio
Trent Smyth AM
Chief Executive Officer
The Chief of Staff Association
Trent Smyth is an accomplished leader with a diverse professional portfolio. As the current CEO of The Chief of Staff Association (CSA), he oversees a leading organization linking chiefs of staff across the military, non-profits, government, and global corporations. Alongside his role at the CSA, Trent has been steering the growth of the Australian Football League (AFL) in Europe as the Chairman of AFL Europe since 2021. His leadership extends to the boardroom, where he supports rising UK decision-makers at OPUS.
Previously, Trent represented Malawi as its Honorary Consul, where he notably facilitated a significant donation of KN95 masks to combat Covid-19. His passion for motorsport was evident during his directorship at the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, where he held various committee roles and chaired the Sales and Marketing committee. For his substantial contributions across international relations, motorsport, and business, he was honoured with the Order of Australia in 2021.
