The Right Support Role Changes Everything, And Most Leaders Learn This the Hard Way
One of the patterns we keep seeing with leaders is this…
They don’t realize how much they’re carrying until they’re already exhausted.
It’s not that they lack vision or passion. Most of the leaders we work with care deeply about their people and their mission. The challenge is that as organizations grow, especially churches, the complexity grows faster than anyone expects.
More meetings.
More decisions.
More people needing access.
More things that feel important and urgent.
And at some point, leaders start to feel stuck, stretched, or constantly behind.
Not because they’re doing something wrong, but because they’re trying to do too much alone.
Not all support roles do the same thing
One of the conversations we’ve been having a lot lately is around support roles. Specifically, how different roles solve very different problems.
An Administrative Assistant, an Executive Assistant, and a Chief of Staff might sound similar on paper, but in real life, they function very differently.
An Administrative Assistant usually helps react to what’s coming in: calendars, logistics, details, follow-up, and paperwork. This kind of help can be incredibly freeing when leaders are buried in tasks.
An Executive Assistant, though, tends to work one step ahead. This person helps protect priorities, manage access, and think proactively about what deserves a leader’s attention. A great EA doesn’t just help you get things done; they help you focus on the right things.
And then there’s the Chief of Staff role, which we’re seeing more and more in complex organizations.
Why the Chief of Staff conversation keeps coming up
A Chief of Staff often ends up carrying the integration work that no one else has time for. Culture, alignment, leadership rhythms, communication across teams, and the health of the organization as a whole.
What’s important to say here is this: Chief of Staff does not have to be a full-time title to be valuable.
In many organizations, it’s simply a role or a hat that someone wears intentionally. Sometimes that’s five hours a week. Sometimes it’s half a job. Sometimes it grows over time.
But when no one is clearly carrying that responsibility, things start to feel fragmented, even when everyone is working hard.
It’s usually not about size
A lot of leaders assume these conversations are for big churches or large organizations with big budgets. In our experience, that’s rarely the deciding factor.
More often, it comes down to wiring and capacity.
Some leaders are naturally wired for operations and systems. Others are not. Neither is better, but pretending everyone can carry the same load usually leads to frustration.
The goal isn’t to copy someone else’s org chart. The goal is to build a support structure that actually fits your context and your leadership.
A few questions worth sitting with
If this conversation feels close to home, here are a few gentle questions to reflect on.
What kinds of work are draining me the most right now?
Am I reacting to what comes at me, or do I feel like I’m shaping priorities?
Do I need help with tasks, focus, or leadership integration?
Is there a role we keep bumping into that no one clearly owns?
Sometimes clarity here doesn’t come all at once, but even naming the tension is a good place to start.
Want to hear the full conversation?
This blog comes from a longer conversation on Season 3 of the LeadingSmart Podcast, where we talk through the real differences between Administrative Assistants, Executive Assistants, and Chiefs of Staff, and how to discern what actually fits your organization.
If this is something you’re currently navigating, you can listen to this episode and the rest of Season 3 here.