The Chief of Staff largely works behind the scenes to solve problems, settle disputes, and deal with issues before they escalate. By design, the Chief of Staff role varies from one organisation to another, but the best Chief of Staff will complement the skills of the executive they’re working with.  

There are a lot of misconceptions about the Chief of Staff role, that’s why we’re launching this brand new Chief of Staff Secrets series. And to kick it off, we’ve had the pleasure of chatting with the amazing Lauren Gildersleeve, CoS to the CEO at Dija.

Dija is a groceries delivery service bringing products to customers’ doorsteps within 10 minutes. Dija opened their doors in mid-January, in the middle of lockdown, and have gone from strength to strength since.  In fact, CEO and Co-Founder, Alberto Menolascina says Dija will soon be opening “a new location every five to seven days”.

Originally brought in as Head of Partnerships, Lauren found her role evolving into a hybrid of strategic and critical items that really played to her strengths as a person. After building a strong case, Lauren became Chief of Staff and thought partner to the CEO, Alberto.  

In this instalment, Lauren discusses the toughest parts of her role, the misconceptions surrounding the responsibilities and the duties of a Chief of Staff. Lauren also explores the importance of developing self-awareness and identifying your strengths by asking the people around you for candid feedback.

To find out all this and more, just press play below:

If you’re looking for more career inspiration, make sure you have a listen to our 40 Minute Mentor podcast at – https://jbmc.co.uk/category/40-minute-mentor/