Chief of Staff vs. COO: Which Makes More Sense for You?

For the majority of CEOs, the answer is simple.

In the minds of many CEOs, the roles of Chief of Staff (CoS) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) have only a hazy line dividing them.

Both are high-level roles designed to support the CEO, often working behind the scenes to ensure the organization runs smoothly. However, the two roles serve distinct purposes. Misunderstanding their differences can end up with you hiring a role you don’t need — or lacking the support you do!

Let’s break down the key differences between the Chief of Staff and the Chief Operating Officer roles and how to structure your leadership team for maximum impact.

The CEO’s Partnership Dilemma: CoS or COO?

Many CEOs default to the idea of hiring a COO when they begin to feel overwhelmed, either by the demands of daily operations or the strain of turning vision into action. But unless your company has a business model that is deeply operational (like logistics, manufacturing, or energy), a COO may not be the right answer.

Too often, companies treat the COO as a catch-all role for whatever the CEO doesn’t want to handle. The title gets applied inconsistently, leading to ambiguity, inefficiency, and ultimately disappointment. As I’ve said before, the COO is often the most ill-defined role in the company. It means something different in every organization. That makes it hard to hire for, hard to succeed in, and hard to know if you even need it.

The COO role also exists outside the paradigm I think is most critical for thinking about your business at the structural level: the two Triangles of Tension.