TeachMe: What Incident Command Taught Me About Being a Chief of Staff
🗓️ Join us on October 8th!
Amanda Winters Cheung recently completed CERT training through FEMA and served as Incident Commander during a live drill. Turns out the Incident Command System is basically a real operating structure for making decisions with incomplete information, keeping communication clean, and knowing exactly who owns what when things move fast — and it maps almost exactly onto what Chiefs of Staff do during a security incident, executive crisis, or reorg that’s gone sideways.
In this session, Amanda will walk you through what she learned from the Incident Command System and how its structure can apply to the kinds of high-pressure situations Chiefs of Staff are often asked to navigate. You’ll explore how to create clarity around decision-making, communication, and ownership when information is limited and things are moving quickly.
This session is especially useful if you’re a Chief of Staff who supports your organization through crises, major changes, or other high-stakes situations where there isn’t always a clear playbook to follow.
Teach Me is a monthly series where Ask a Chief of Staff Community members take the floor to share something they love, know deeply, have recently learned, or created — anything they'd want to teach or pass along to others.
It could be a new skill, a book that shifted your perspective, something from work, a hobby you've fallen into, or a topic you can't stop thinking about. No expertise required, just curiosity and a willingness to share.
Each session is 30 minutes: a short presentation or walkthrough, followed by open conversation. It's a chance to learn something unexpected and get to know a fellow member a little better.
Want to lead a future session? [Sign up here]
🎙️ More about the Speakers
Amanda Winters Cheung spent 5+ years reporting to the CHRO at Quest Software advising the C-suite through reorgs, acquisitions, security incidents, and 20+ leadership transitions. She's now Founder & Principal at Winters Co., a fractional Chief of Staff and communications consultancy serving tech executives navigating scale, change, and complexity.
💜 Ask a Chief of Staff
Ask a Chief of Staff is a premier executive search and career development platform dedicated to placing top-tier Chiefs of Staff and empowering professionals in strategic leadership roles. We serve ambitious professionals and high-growth companies by offering executive recruiting, mentorship programs, and career resources tailored to Chiefs of Staff. By addressing the lack of structured career paths for this role, we provide guidance, connections, and opportunities that accelerate leadership development and organizational success.
Learn more at askachiefofstaff.com.