Ask a Chief of Staff Community Office Hour with Eloïse Eonnet
- Date
- 2024-11-19
- Host
- Personal
About this event
If you’ve ever wished you could ask a seasoned Chief of Staff your real questions, in the room, without the formality of a conference panel, this office hour is built for that. Ask a Chief of Staff Community Office Hour with Eloïse Eonnet is a chance to have practical conversations with people who understand the pace, ambiguity, and influence of the Chief of Staff role. This is not a polished keynote or a generic networking mixer. It’s an in-person community gathering designed for honest questions, useful perspective, and the kind of peer connection that helps you do your job with more clarity. About the Event This office hour is centered on access: access to experience, access to candid discussion, and access to a community of people who care about how the Chief of Staff function actually works in practice. Whether you’re navigating priorities, stakeholder management, team communication, or the broad question of what great support and strategic leverage look like, the format creates space to talk about it directly. Because it’s framed as a community office hour, the event is likely to feel more conversational than performative. That matters. The most useful insights in this kind of setting often come from hearing how someone approached a messy situation, made a tradeoff, or handled a role that sits at the intersection of leadership, operations, and trust. You should expect a setting where questions are welcome and specificity is encouraged. Instead of abstract advice, the value comes from talking through challenges that people in this community actually face. What to Expect The core of the event is an in-person conversation with Eloïse Eonnet, shaped by the needs and questions of the people in the room. That means the session can be especially valuable if you arrive with one or two concrete topics you want perspective on. Expect a format that may include: Open Q&A where attendees can bring real questions about the Chief of Staff role Community discussion that surfaces patterns, challenges, and smart approaches from peers Informal networking before, during, or after the session Practical examples grounded in lived experience rather than theory alone This kind of event works best when attendees participate actively. You do not need to have everything figured out before you arrive. In fact, some of the strongest conversations happen when someone shares a challenge that others have also been quietly trying to solve. There’s also value in simply listening. You may come with one question and leave with five useful frameworks, a better way to frame your role, or language for a problem you’ve been struggling to explain internally. Why Attend For many people working in and around the Chief of Staff function, the hardest parts of the job are rarely the visible ones. The challenge is often making judgment calls without a clean playbook, balancing strategic and tactical demands, and building alignment across people with different incentives and communication styles. That’s why an office hour format is so useful. It gives you a chance to pressure-test your thinking, hear how others approach similar situations, and pick up practical insight that can travel back with you into your day-to-day work. Even one strong answer to the right question can save you weeks of second-guessing. You may attend because you want tactical advice. You may also attend because you want to meet others who understand the role’s complexity and range. Both are good reasons. Community is not a side benefit here; it’s part of the value. Being in a room with people who speak the same professional language can sharpen your thinking and reduce the sense of solving everything alone. You should leave with: Clearer perspective on current challenges or decisions Useful language and frameworks for communicating across leadership and teams A better sense of how others define and practice the role New connections with people operating in similar environments More confidence in the questions you’re asking and the tradeoffs you’re managing Practical Details This is an in-person event taking place on Tuesday, November 19 at 10:00 AM PST. Because the value of the session depends heavily on live discussion and community interaction, being there in person is a meaningful part of the experience. If you’re planning to attend, it’s worth arriving ready to engage. A little preparation can make the event much more useful. Think about the situations you’re actively working through, the decisions that feel unclear, or the aspects of the Chief of Staff role you want to understand more deeply. A few ways to prepare: Bring one specific question you’d genuinely like answered Be ready to share brief context so others can respond thoughtfully Leave room for informal conversation with fellow attendees Come prepared to listen for patterns, not just answers tailored to your exact case If your work touches leadership support, cross-functional execution, strategic operations, or the often hard-to-define center of organizational coordination, this office hour is a smart use of your time. It offers something increasingly rare: a focused, in-person space to ask better questions, hear grounded answers, and connect with a community that understands the work.
Who should attend
This is for people who want practical insight, candid conversation, and a stronger sense of community around the Chief of Staff role and adjacent work. - You’re a **Chief of Staff**, current or aspiring, and want space to ask nuanced questions about the realities of the role. - You work closely with founders, executives, or leadership teams and need better ways to think about **prioritization, alignment, communication, or execution**. - You’re in an **operations, strategy, business, or program leadership** role and want to learn from how Chiefs of Staff approach complex cross-functional work. - You value **interactive, in-person conversations** more than passive talks and want the chance to ask questions that actually matter to your day-to-day work. - You’re looking for **peers who understand the ambiguity and influence** that often come with working near the center of an organization. - You don’t need to be an expert to belong here. If you’re curious about the function, navigating similar responsibilities, or trying to grow into this kind of work, you’ll likely find the discussion useful.