Staffing an Office

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jeff small

Former Senior Advisor to the Secretary, US Department of the Interior

Lauren Boebert, representative-elect for the 3rd Congressional District, has announced her senior staff members. Small is a presidential appointee currently serving as senior adviser to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary (and Rifle, Colorado, native) David Bernhardt. Jeff serves as a senior official on federal land, water, and energy matters. He manages relationships with governors and other elected officials in 11 western states as well as national and local external organizations. Jeff was instrumental in relocating the Bureau of Land Management’s headquarters to Grand Junction, was a key contributor to the Administration’s NEPA reforms, and established a western water and agriculture users working group

He was also a policy analyst for the House Freedom Caucus.

How to Staff Your Principal

  • Effective Strategies for Staffing Your Principal:
      • Know the preferences and expectations of your principal
        • How quickly do they expect you to respond to a text or email?
        • What format do they like their schedule in?
        • What format do they like briefing papers in?
  • Remember: expectations cannot be met if they are not adequately communicated. 
    • Always anticipate their needs
      • What can you do to make their day and their job easier?
      • What can you take off their plate?
    • Know the schedule and be able to adapt quickly to changes
      • Memorize the schedule - make sure your phone is charged and always have the calendar at the tip of your fingers
      • Preparation and organization are critical, but in politics things don’t always go as planned
      • You may not be the scheduler, but you need to be able to think on your feet and find quick solutions
    • Know the President’s agenda and your agency’s policy priorities and initiatives. 
      • You need to be able to articulate recent wins for your principal, the agency, and the administration
  • Staffing your principal during onsite meetings
    • Do your research and obtain pertinent background information on all meeting attendees and the organization(s) they represent
      • Include this information in a clear and concise briefing memo for your principal
    • Be the first person to greet meeting attendees/guests upon their arrival
      • You are a direct representation of your principal, so make a good first impression!
    • Update the scheduler and let them know when meeting attendees are in place and ready for your principal
    • Use small talk to make your principal and the Administration look good! (Highlight policy accomplishments)
    • Actively take notes during the meeting - if your principal says your office will do something, write it down, task it out, and follow up with the meeting attendees.
  • Staffing your principal at events
    • While in the car with your principal, let them set the tone and initiate conversation
    • Always be at your principal’s side
    • Know the names of the people who will be interacting with your principal
      • Ideally you should know where they met or the last time they interacted
    • Have plenty business cards on hand (yours and your principal’s)
    • Take notes on conversations and be sure to follow up on actionable items