The ecosystem advantage: one reason to think about staying in your industry after being a Chief of Staff
In the last McKinsey article I coauthored, we shared findings on where people come to Chief of Staff roles from, industry-wise, and where they go to next. As you’ll see, most stay in the industry they were a Chief of Staff in.
That makes sense. And in fact, as I reflect on my own experience and that of clients and friends, it became clear why: In a Chief of Staff role, you'll likely work with as many external people as internal, especially if you're in a smaller organisation.
This can be absolute gold dust. In addition to knowing your organisation cross-functionally, you also get to know parts of the whole ecosystem your company operates in. That's a huge learning curve (it sure was for me) and a powerful differentiator.
The external network you didn't know you were getting
The role naturally positions you at the intersection of your company and its broader industry ecosystem. You're not just working alongside your colleagues. You're engaging with government affairs specialists, strategy consultants, accountants, investment bankers, industry associations, regulatory bodies, research institutions, and trade organisations.
Each interaction adds another layer to your understanding of how the industry actually works. You see the pressure points. You learn which relationships matter most. You understand the informal networks that make things happen faster than any formal process ever could.
This wasn't something I anticipated when I took my first Chief of Staff role in aerospace. I expected to learn about the company. I didn't realise I'd be learning about an entire industry's architecture. The consultants taught me how other players in the sector approached similar challenges. The bankers gave me insight into how our industry was valued and perceived by investors. The government affairs teams showed me the regulatory landscape and how policy decisions rippled through the sector.
It was a part of the role I loved. Getting to work with government affairs folks, consultants, accountants, bankers, industry associations, to name but a few.
Why the external network matters as much as the internal one
No company is an island, after all. But it wasn't until I was a Chief of Staff that I fully experienced the intricate web of specialists that power an industry.
Most people in most roles have a relatively narrow external focus. Sales teams interact with clients. Procurement teams work with suppliers. Finance teams engage with auditors and investors. But Chiefs of Staff, by virtue of supporting the executive they work for, touch all of these relationships and more.
You attend the industry conferences alongside your principal. You sit in on the strategic partnership discussions. You help prepare for board meetings where external advisers present. You coordinate with the communications agency on the crisis response. You work with the legal team and their external counsel on the acquisition due diligence.
Each of these interactions is a masterclass in how your industry operates. You're not just observing. You're actively participating, problem-solving, and learning the language and logic of each specialism.
What makes this particularly valuable is that you're seeing these external relationships from a vantage point that few others in your organisation have. You understand both sides of the conversation. You know what your company needs and what the external party can offer. You become good at translation, able to bridge different professional languages and priorities.
This bird's-eye view of the ecosystem is rare and increasingly valuable as industries become more interconnected and complex.
The growth effect of staying in your industry
Here's what happens when you've been a Chief of Staff in an industry and then take another role in that same sector: You already know the players. You understand the dynamics. You can pick up the phone to people who remember working with you. You've got credibility before you even start.
That network you developed as a Chief of Staff becomes a significant asset. It accelerates your effectiveness in your next role. It opens doors. It means you're not starting from scratch with the external relationships that matter.
Compare this to moving to a new industry. You might bring transferable skills and a valuable outsider perspective. But you lose the ecosystem knowledge. You have to rebuild those external relationships from the ground up. You're learning a new industry's norms, regulations, key players, and unwritten rules.
There's also a momentum effect that's worth considering. The longer you stay in an industry, the more your external and internal networks grow. The consultant you worked with at your first aerospace company introduces you to someone at your second. The industry association contact becomes a mentor. The investment banker you collaborated with on one deal remembers you for the next. These relationships create a gravity that makes it increasingly advantageous to stay within the same sector, at least for a sustained period.
The learning curve that never really ends
People often talk about the learning curve of a new role flattening out after 18 months or two years. But in a Chief of Staff position within a vibrant industry, the external dimension means the learning never really plateaus.
New regulations emerge. New technologies disrupt established players. New competitors enter the market. New partnerships become possible. Each of these changes ripples through your external network and creates new opportunities to learn and add value.
I found this dimension of the role energising. Just when you thought you'd mapped the landscape, something shifted. A policy change meant we needed to engage with a whole new set of government stakeholders. A potential merger meant getting to know the advisers and ecosystem players around another company. Each new challenge brought new external relationships and new learning.
Why industry matters more than you might think
I've always believed that it's important to like the industry you're a Chief of Staff in. But I think I'd go further now. I'd say it's one of the most important criteria when looking for a Chief of Staff role. Perhaps even more important than the specific company or the particular executive you'd be supporting.
Here's why: once you've developed that internal and external network, it's advantageous to be able to stay as part of it, at least for a while. The relationships you form, the knowledge you gain, the credibility you earn – these are all industry-specific assets that grow in value the longer you nurture them.
If you take a Chief of Staff role in an industry you're not genuinely interested in, you might still do excellent work. You might still learn a great deal. But you're less likely to stay in that sector long term. And that means you won't fully realise the compounding benefits of the ecosystem knowledge you've worked so hard to develop.
But…
This isn't to say you should never change industries. Sometimes the right opportunity, the right leader, or the right company is worth making that leap. But it's worth going into that decision with your eyes open about what you're giving up – not just in terms of internal expertise, but in terms of that broader ecosystem advantage that takes years to develop.
The Chiefs of Staff who seem most satisfied with their career trajectories are often those who chose an industry they genuinely cared about, invested deeply in understanding its ecosystem, and then leveraged that knowledge across multiple roles within the same sector. They became industry insiders, not just company insiders. And that made all the difference.
