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Collectively navigating uncharted waters
Evan Billings
5 min read
Evan Billings describes how she is building a community of chiefs of staff in HP’s legal division.
Along with most other people, I suspect, when I first heard of a chief of staff in a corporate environment there was only one of them in an organisation and they reported to the CEO.
That is probably still the most common model, but a growing number of large companies are following the lead of organisations including HP, Microsoft and Deloitte and embedding multiple chiefs of staff throughout their different businesses and divisions. For those of us who are in those roles, it is a marvellous opportunity to learn and to be able to consult and share ideas with people who are doing the same job in the same environment.
It is also an opportunity to build a community. I work in HP Legal, where the CEO decided that she wanted all her direct reports (L2s) to have their own chiefs of staff. So there are now twelve of us within Legal, supporting members of the leadership team and also working together to identify and create synergies within the organisation. It's uncharted territory for all, with many of us new to the principal/chief of staff relationship and all of us with different skills, experiences, and responsibilities.
I was very fortunate in that I was able to build on an established relationship with my principal before going into this role. He had never had a chief of staff: I had never been a chief of staff. We therefore both spent a lot of time and effort in shaping how our partnership would work and getting on the same page. He basically started by giving me a blank piece of paper and said, ‘You can make this role what you want, and what you don't want.’ This was an important way to build trust with him and allows us to work together to play to our strengths and bridge gaps on both sides.
But it emphasises how individual each principal–chief of staff partnership is, and with 12 totally different partnerships in place in HP legal – some of them in which the chief of staff is still doing their previous role on a part-time basis -- we’re all still figuring out how to make the most of our fledgling community. What are the benefits of having this type of community? What can we learn? What can we leverage? We meet biweekly, share what we’re doing, and toss around suggestions, which we might try out or adopt if we think they will work in our parts of the organisation.
One area where we believe that we can make a difference is in overall staff engagement and creating the feeling of ‘One Legal’. Our annual staff survey revealed that quite a few people felt disconnected from their colleagues and the company, probably because most of us work from home. So we’re working together to identify commonalities across the organisation and develop a strategy for fostering a One Legal mindset. I think the plan has a lot of potential, but will require real intentionality on our part to make sure that we are all communicating.
An idea that we are seeding in our organisation – and hoping to spread – is extending our regular leadership meetings to work our way through all the other L2s, their chiefs of staff, and their direct reports. But we’re not just drily reporting on what we’re doing: we’ve shifted it up and introduced a game that is focused on engagement. It’s not something that these senior individuals have been used to in the past, but there's been a lot of positive feedback and the sense that it is contributing to increased engagement and connection.
There have been more initiatives that I started in our part of the organisation that have been adopted by other chiefs of staff, such as a recognition corner and regular activities in our employee meetings. And of course, they have also shared things that they are doing that I have realised would work well for me – so lots of little activities are beginning to catch on, spread throughout the organisation and bind us together through this community of chiefs of staff.
Finally, I am lucky enough to be able to draw on even more ideas from my other chief of staff community, the Chief of Staff Association! I was thrilled to be appointed Regional Director for the USA South Central Community, and we are all enjoying working together to create a dynamic group in which everyone is approachable, and we can all learn from each other (and have fun) through regular Town Hall calls and, hopefully, at least one face-to-face event each year. There is also a Regional Directors’ forum, which is yet another source of support, shared experiences, and innovative ideas. What I once thought of as a lonely position seems to be the most companionable of all.
Author Bio
Evan Billings
Chief of Staff, HP
As a Chief of Staff to senior executive leadership, Evan operates at the intersection of strategy, execution, and people. Evan thrives in high-stakes environments where clarity, momentum, and trust are essential—and she brings all three to every challenge she takes on.
With a background in managing org-wide operating rhythms, facilitating cross-functional alignment, and driving strategic initiatives from vision to delivery, Evan acts as a force multiplier for leadership. Her approach blends business acumen with a deep care for people. Whether she's building an engagement strategy, leading a turnaround plan for a struggling team, or navigating shifting priorities, Evan moves with intention, empathy, and a bias for action.
Evan believes in creating clarity where there's complexity, and momentum where there's potential. She is especially energized by opportunities where she can support bold innovation and foster cultures of collaboration, excellence, and inclusion.