The Chief of Staff Podcast The Stunt Double: How Chiefs of Staff Create Impact Through Anticipation
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Jan 14, 2026 Itamar Melamed, Senior Director and Chief of Staff at Empathy, shares his insights on mastering the elusive Chief of Staff role. He discusses how to measure success without clear KPIs by tracking decisions taken off the CEO's plate. Itamar explains the importance of anticipating needs, reading calendar patterns, and building trust. He likens Chiefs of Staff to stunt doubles, emphasizing the necessity of adapting to the CEO's communication style. The conversation highlights creating organizational impact through proactive engagement and managing up effectively.
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Align Organization To The CEO's Priorities
- Do align the organization to your principal's priorities so everyone shares top objectives.
- Do optimize your CEO's 24 hours to make them more effective and impactful.
Manage Yourself Out Of The Role
- Do build yourself out of the job by creating repeatable processes others can own.
- Do adopt zero ego and hand over work once it's operationally stable.
Syncs Become High-Value Discussion
- Anticipatory syncs focus on discussion and deep context, not repeated priority alignment.
- When you truly share context, short cues or brief messages can replace long explanations.