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Today’s guest is Adrianne Poyet-Smith, Chief of Staff to the VP GTM & Transformation at VMWare, a cloud computing and virtualization technology company.
Prior to VMWare, Adrianne was the Chief of Staff to the CMO at SAP Concur.
In this episode, Adrianne and I discuss:
Her experience transitioning into the Chief of Staff role
The importance of mentors
What it really means to be a Chief of Staff
Why taking risks is a core aspect of the role, and more
Show Notes
00:00 — How Adrianne knew the Chief of Staff role was for her
01:29 — Learnings from mentorship & finding a champion at work
03:11 — Adrianne’s biggest takeaways from her mentor/mentee relationship
05:12 — Other career trajectories of former Chiefs of Staff at SAP Concur
06:47 — Adrianne’s primary responsibilities
08:19 — How the Chief of Staff collaborates with others on the team
10:09 — Why the first 90 days are so critical for a Chief of Staff
11:35 — A Chief of Staff’s “breakeven point”
13:12 — The value of doing a listening tour during your onboarding
14:10 — Taking risks and advice for aspiring Chiefs of Staff if there isn’t an opportunity internally
14:57 — How Lindsay Goldman (CoS at Rupa Health) landed her first Chief of Staff role
16:30 — Advice for current or aspiring Chiefs of Staff knowing what she knows now about the role
18:08 — What Adrianne believes in but isn’t as open to telling most people
19:34 — Adrianne’s contrarian viewpoint on remote work
20:49 — Tips for remote collaboration
22:38 — The top question to ask to really connect with someone
23:49 — The importance of EQ and psychological safety on the job
24:47 — Parting thoughts for aspiring Chief of Staff
Key takeaways:
A Chief of Staff is a strategic thinker, communicator, and stakeholder and accountability manager.
Building relationships and trust as a Chief of Staff is crucial, especially within the first 90 days.
When you’re clear on what you want, be fearless and take risks.
Career paths look more like squiggles than straight lines, and that’s OK.
References
The First 90 Days by Michael D. Watkins
More about Adrianne:
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Until next time, Right Hand fam! 👋
What it means to be a Chief of Staff with Adrianne Poyet-Smith, Chief of Staff @ VMWare