Since you’re short on time and attention, here’s my down and dirty. Perspective of someone who was an S1 from 2LT to a CPT, worked with 5 different headquarters commanders:

1 – Please. PLEASE. Let the staff primaries do their job.  They WILL need your guidance (don’t let them fool you otherwise) – maybe as a peer, maybe as a superior, maybe for magical commander powers on leave forms –  but they have enough going on that they don’t you bursting telling them how to do their jobs.  They are not your platoon leaders. Treat them as peers, yes, even the LTs, and you will empower them (therefore, making them more reception to your guidance and coaching).  (Note: If you do have issues or just want to help guide with a staff primary, work with the XO and find a suitable and professional time and place to talk to them.)

2- Communicate on the verge of over-communicating.  When I deployed, I wasn’t informed when container moveout was, so my section deployed without a connex. Guess who dragged 2 tough boxes with supplies half-way around the world. Cool, right? Part of that was timing of my arrival to the unit, but it turned out to be a symptom of a systematic issue.  The implied task of this idea is face to face communication is your highest level of currency as an HHC commander. I cannot stress that enough. Don’t fall to the level of a commander who only shows up when they need someone from the staff section. When I had a commander who had just taken over ‘just pop in to say hi’…and he meant it…I almost fell out of my chair and stared at him in disbelief.  After that interaction, I knew he meant what he said, and we had each others backs while we worked together.  If the S6 shop has a coffee pot, stop by for coffee and drink it there.  If the S4 shop is by the gym, swing by en route to your work out.  You get the idea.

3 – While keeping #1 in mind…Keep the staff sections in line.  There is always tons of work to do as a staff section, and you can work and work, and never empty your inbox.  So give them guidelines. Hold them to task on motorpool , award submission standards, APFT expectations, and generally be squared away (formation timeliness, uniform, etc.).  If you’ve got a good staff, they will just chug away at work until the sun sets.  But if you give them clear guidance on standards and expectations, you help them understand how they balance their specialties with Company and BN expectations.  However, if you’ve reached the point where “the company” and “the staff” are enemies, they you need to re-evaluate your balance.

4 – Check in with the XO frequently, I’d recommend daily.  This is personality and command dependent, but could be anything from before/after a battle rhythm meeting to a daily office call.  It’ll help both of you see ‘the rest of the picture’, for example if a staff primary is sending the XO a last minute DA31 that will eventually get to you, that sort of thing.