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From bold ideas to minor improvements: the many faces of innovation
CSA Global Chief of Staff Awards winners
5 min read
Members of the Chief of Staff Association share their insights on diverse approaches to innovation and what it means to them.
We know that innovation is more than a rush to implement the latest shiny new toy (although that’s definitely what it looks like to some leaders). We also know that it looks different according to the sector, type, size, and age of the organisation. But why is it different? How does the meaning of innovation vary? And what are the implications for the role of chief of staff?
We asked the winners of the Global Chief of Staff Awards 2025 for their views.
It is critical to distinguish meaningful opportunities from distractions
Gina Gaultier
Innovation in the family office sector is essential as the industry undergoes a profound transformation. With increasing attention and capital in the space, it is critical to distinguish meaningful opportunities from distractions. In this environment, innovation requires continuous learning and strategic discernment – identifying and leveraging the most valuable opportunities to drive long-term growth for the families I represent. This means integrating emerging ideas, technologies, and partnerships to enhance governance, investment strategies, philanthropic partnerships, and operations. By maintaining a forward-thinking and disciplined approach, I help ensure that families not only preserve and enhance financial wealth, but also create lasting impacts across generations.
A chief of staff is uniquely positioned to drive innovation by serving as a strategic advisor to the principal and a trusted advocate for the most valuable emerging opportunities. The foundation of this role is a deep, trusted relationship with the principal – one that enables smart risk-taking. With a comprehensive view across stakeholders, operations, and priorities, a chief of staff can filter complexity, identifying innovations that align with long-term objectives. By leveraging trust, access, and influence, we ensure that new ideas are pursued with both vision and discipline, balancing risk and reward to drive sustainable growth and lasting impact.
Many leaders aim for the revolution, but they ignore the tangible and significant benefits from evolution
PJ Jung
In health care, innovation is best measured in increments. Health care is a process more than anything else, and many of the complaints that people have about health care are typically related to inefficient or ineffective processes. There is a difference between evolution and revolution. Many leaders aim for the revolution, but they ignore the tangible and significant benefits from evolution. Take AI for example - there’s already talk about how it can “transform” health care. But in the meantime, can’t we simply apply AI to make incremental improvements to the health care process? There can be big benefits from minor improvements, especially a series of minor improvements.
A chief of staff needs to understand their industry enough to know where the incremental evolutions can make a difference and push for those improvements. There is always room for high-risk, high-reward investments, but chiefs of staff shouldn’t exclusively demand revolutions, they can succeed just by pushing the daily grind, finding those lower-profile evolutions that take the organisation one step further.
Transcend boundaries, bridge silos, and connect dots to unlock new possibilities
Jeff Buckeye
Microsoft recently celebrated its 50th anniversary; our innovative spirit has guided us from day one and will continue to drive us forward, creating solutions that empower everyone. In my role, innovation means leveraging my unique position that enables me to transcend boundaries, bridge silos, and connect dots to unlock new possibilities. As a Chief of Staff, I uniquely contribute by fostering collaboration across diverse teams, ensuring seamless integration of ideas. By nurturing a growth mindset and driving innovation within myself, I inspire others to embrace change and think boldly. This holistic approach empowers me to champion innovation in ways no other role can.
Innovation requires courage – to question, to experiment, and to fail fast in pursuit of better outcomes
Jhumar Johnson
Innovation, to me as chief of staff in the education sector, means challenging the status quo to create meaningful, lasting impact for students and educators. It’s about identifying gaps, fostering collaboration, and implementing forward-thinking strategies that enhance learning experiences and operational efficiency for the benefit of our students and staff.
Innovation requires courage – to question, to experiment, and to fail fast in pursuit of better outcomes. I see my role as a catalyst for change, ensuring that bold ideas are not only welcomed but strategically executed. Ultimately, innovation is about impact, ensuring every decision and advancement aligns with our mission to deliver inclusive, high-quality education for all.
A chief of staff contributes to innovation like a conductor in an orchestra. While not playing an instrument, they ensure each section works in harmony to create something extraordinary. Unlike any other role, the chief of staff has a unique vantage point across departments, priorities, and people. This allows them to spot patterns, connect ideas, and align efforts that others might miss. They clear roadblocks, amplify underheard voices, and translate vision into action. By weaving together strategy, execution, and culture, the chief of staff enables innovation to not just spark, but scale.
Questions that are free of preconceived answers can spark ideas, creative concepts, and new approaches
Ifeoma Onwughalu
In my role as the chief of staff to the Chief Client & Revenue Officer at Thoughtworks – a global technology consultancy – innovation means ‘the art of the possible’. Thoughtworkers (as we call ourselves) seek out clients that have interesting problems to solve; and clients often seek us out because they have complex problems they have been unable to solve on their own (or with other providers) and are looking for partners to co-create solutions that deliver meaningful transformation and business value. Innovation in this sector means relentless curiosity, creativity, flexibility, and adaptability.
A chief of staff can contribute to innovation by modelling a culture of curiosity by asking open ended questions – What if we….? or What prevents us from ….? Questions that are free of preconceived answers can spark ideas, creative concepts, and new approaches. By modelling the process of simplifying complex and seemingly intractable wide-ranging challenges into thinnest slices of value that is possible for the organisation to achieve, chiefs of staff are in the unique position to help executive leadership teams drive forward momentum (incremental or step-change) towards desired outcomes and lasting innovation.
We always need to be thinking how to reach more people and do our job better
Christopher Rassi
Innovation means anticipating, reacting, and changing.
A chief of staff should be positioned to champion the organisation, and this includes all teams and individuals, and the communities we work with.
For an organisation like the IFRC and the Red Cross and Red Crescent, this can be a tough task. But the reality is we have the best people working with us. So, our role is to listen, adapt, and support. If I can be the person that optimises our ability to make an impact, and connect to and reach those that need it most, I am doing my job. For this, I need to know how to develop and implement strategic initiatives, facilitate cross-departmental or cross-organisation collaboration, and provide insights that drive growth and effectiveness.
We always need to be thinking how to reach more people and do our job better. This can involve finding innovative ways to consult stakeholders, and ensure we are more and more relevant when humanitarian needs are growing and being unmet, with less and less traditional resources available.
And it is not just about doing things the way they have always been done -- I need to ensure ethical practices drive our work, to protect people we seek to serve and the people that I work with every day. We are constantly improving how we respond to humanitarian crises, which must include safeguarding our staff and communities and being aware of the consequences of how we work. This requires a lot of listening, assessing and responding, and making recommendations about how to be better.
