Sign In

Clara Ma

Finding a Chief of Staff for Every Executive | Owner & Investor

Clara Ma is an accomplished professional known for her role as the Founder and CEO of Ask a Chief of Staff, a platform dedicated to supporting Chiefs of Staff in securing impactful roles and enhancing their effectiveness within organizations. She has extensive experience in career development, particularly for those in leadership positions, and has cultivated a community of over 500 aspiring and current Chiefs of Staff through mentoring and resource sharing.13

In addition to her work with Ask a Chief of Staff, Clara is an Executive Member at Dreamers & Doers®, a community that connects and empowers women entrepreneurs and leaders. Her involvement in this organization highlights her commitment to fostering collaboration and growth among women in business.24

Clara's early career included significant roles in technical recruiting, where she placed talent at notable startups such as Warby Parker and Dollar Shave Club. This experience laid the foundation for her understanding of the dynamics within early-stage companies and the importance of strategic staffing.13

Overall, Clara Ma is recognized not only for her entrepreneurial spirit but also for her dedication to empowering others in their professional journeys.

Highlights

Sep 9 · linkedin

🤔 What’s the difference between a Chief of Staff, a COO, and an EA?

🤝 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳: An intensely personal role scoped for the CEO/Principal, amplifying their Principal’s impact and helping them free up bandwidth to work in their 𝗭𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀. Works exclusively for the CEO/Principal, handles strategic and critical matters involving employees, customers, and board members.

💼 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 (𝗘𝗔): A powerful business partner with administrative and tactical prowess. A Chief of Staff's right-hand, 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀 to free up time for strategic guidance.

🌐 𝗖𝗢𝗢 (𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿): Serves the organization above all, firmly part of the leadership structure. Unlike a Chief of Staff, 𝗮 𝗖𝗢𝗢 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺, spans various departments, and reports directly to the CEO.

In an ideal world, all three roles will work together in tandem to create a stronger leadership layer all around or what I like to call: the Office of the CEO ⭐️

♻️ Found this useful? Repost and share! 👋 I post about the Chief of Staff role daily. Follow for more!

Sep 6 · linkedin

3️⃣ 𝗠𝘆𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲

🚫 𝗠𝘆𝘁𝗵 #1: 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗕𝗔 𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. ✅ 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵: While an MBA or management consulting experience can be helpful, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Chiefs of Staff come from a wide variety of backgrounds, including operations, marketing, finance, or even product management. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲.

🚫 𝗠𝘆𝘁𝗵 #2: 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗵𝘆𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝗘𝗔 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 ✅ 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵: While Executive Assistants and Chiefs of Staff both support the CEO, the roles are fundamentally different. An EA is focused on administrative and operational support, while a Chief of Staff operates at a more strategic level, managing cross-functional projects and aligning the leadership team. 𝗧𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗘𝗢’𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀.

🚫 𝗠𝘆𝘁𝗵 #3: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲. ✅ 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵: While some Chiefs of Staff do transition into other roles, many remain in the position long-term to provide continuity, strategic oversight, and organizational alignment. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝘅 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗿.

♻️ Found this useful? Repost and share! 👋 I post about the Chief of Staff role daily. Follow for more!

Related Questions

What role does Clara Ma play at Dreamers & Doers?
How did Clara Ma transition from technical recruiting to founding Ask a Chief of Staff?
What are some key achievements of Clara Ma in her career?
How does Clara Ma's experience at AngelList influence her current work?
What makes Clara Ma's approach to mentoring Chiefs of Staff unique?
Clara Ma
Clara Ma, photo 1
Clara Ma, photo 2
Add to my network

Location

New York, New York, United States