While the Chief of Staff title might feel like an obscure role to some, those with experience in public sector or military circles will recognize it as a critical force multiplier, and staying up to speed with everything happening within the organization becomes mandatory. In October 2024, I stepped into the role of Chief of Staff at Valiantys Federal, a new entity that emerged from the acquisition of Contegix by Valiantys.
Throughout my military career, I had the privilege of working under exceptional Chiefs of Staff. I knew firsthand how vital the role could be, especially in an environment where agility, focus, and alignment are non-negotiables. For us at Valiantys Federal, building something new post-acquisition and doing it lean meant this role would be key in stitching together the many threads of the business. In short, I enable the strategic direction of the company and drive cross-functional execution from idea to delivery.
And yes, that means a little bit of everything, on any given day, I might move from reviewing marketing plans to approving AP disbursements, triaging HR items, and finalizing board reporting. No two days are the same in my role, which is exactly the kind of environment I truly thrive in.
Distributed Teams, Unified Tools
It sounds like a lot to be a Chief of Staff, and it is, but my background in high-pressure, fast-moving environments, combined with a healthy dose of work visibility tools, makes it manageable and, dare I say, fun? If you're into that kind of 'fun' anyway.
Atlassian tools like Jira, Jira Service Management (JSM), and Confluence help me keep tabs on what needs attention, what's in motion, and what's ready for action, across teams, time zones, and functions.
We're a remote-first team spread across nearly every U.S. time zone. That means async visibility isn't a dream, it's a requirement for how we work. Instead of chasing down status updates through email threads or Slack messages, I rely on Jira dashboards that give me complete visibility: what tickets I'm watching, what's in my queue, what blockers I can chase down for the General Manager, and more. To me, work looks more exciting when you've got a dashboard filled with charts and graphs to grasp what's going on instantly.
Jira's Slack integration is another unsung hero. Redundant? Maybe. Effective, definitely. Plus more emojis? My favorite 😁.
Confluence: Everyone's Meeting Sidekick
In my role, I lead meetings across a broad swath of the organization, from leadership syncs to sales huddles to enterprise management standups. And no surprise: they all run on Confluence or are supported by documentation in this powerful collaboration tool.
Meeting notes, team updates, action items, and calendars are all there, in one place. Confluence makes collaboration easy and transparent. Updates aren't locked away in slide decks that are outdated as soon as they're emailed out; instead, they live in real time where teams can contribute, comment, and get the information they need. The result is less noise, more clarity, and a shared understanding of our direction and team responsibilities.
From Silos to Service: A New Way to Support Teams
One of the earliest calls we made as a leadership team was to take the same service-first mindset we deliver to our customers and apply it to our internal operations. That meant breaking down silos and treating internal requests like we would external ones, with care, visibility, and consistency.
Using Jira Service Management (JSM), we launched internal service portals for HR, Marketing, Licensing, and Security, making it easier for our teams to ask for help, get support, and track progress. It also took the pressure off individual inboxes and put work where it belongs: out in the open.
I've loved watching traditionally non-technical teams embrace the tools, onboard through our internal tooling team's white-glove experience, and gain confidence in handling requests with more structure and less stress.
Wearing Many Hats, But Always Focused on the Mission
Being a Chief of Staff in a rapidly evolving, tech-meets-public-sector organization is a roller-coaster role. It's dynamic, it's wide-reaching, and on some days, it's downright chaotic, which happens to be exactly where I thrive. I get to help shape and execute the strategic vision not just externally, but internally too. I ensure we walk the talk of customer-centricity by building systems that support our people just as much as they support our clients.
At the end of the day, my role is about creating cohesion across complexity, so the whole team can keep delivering solutions that work, scale, and evolve alongside our customers. The right tools help, but it's the incredible people behind those tools, and behind the day-to-day work that truly make it possible. Tools are essential, but it's our team that makes Valiantys Federal special.
This blog was enhanced with the help of AI to improve flow, grammar, and clarity. Because what Chief of Staff is surviving without the bots, anyway? All experiences, perspectives, and ideas shared are entirely my own.