Executive Assistants play a crucial, and sometimes complex, role in organisations. A key business ally and strategic asset, they often have a wide range of responsibilities from overseeing employees to making strategic decisions, apart from being the main everyday support for an executive.
Managing information flow, being a gatekeeper to control access to the boss, dealing with basic financial management, preparing papers and reports, attending meetings, planning and organising are the usual tasks for an Executive Assistant. In reality, their day is often crammed with an array of other responsibilities, such as managing the latest technologies, dealing with office politics or organisational change, handling stress for themselves and their boss, resolving conflicts, motivating fellow workers and mastering the intricacies of internal public relations.
The return on investment of a skilled assistant is substantial as they filter distractions so their boss doesn’t have to sweat the small stuff and can focus on being proactive and influential for their organisation. The best EAs are indispensable giving companies and their managers a human face.
Talented Executive Assistants smooth the life of their boss
Matches between executives and their assistants can be tricky. Good matches can be hard to come by, which is why many assistants follow their boss from job to job, working for many years for the same person. Melba Duncan writing in HBR says “personal chemistry and the one-on-one dynamic can be more important than skills or experience.”
Richard Branson says his assistant is key to the smooth running of his work life. “Helen is my memory,” explains Branson. “She can read my mind and know what I am thinking before I ask.” He says that while smartphones and tablets have a huge positive impact on working life today, “it is the people around me who really make the difference.”
Branson believes that many organisations are using technology to make assistants a thing of the past but feels they may be missing the point because assistants are a great sounding board and a source of fresh ideas. The current focus on flatter organisations is often just a cost-cutting exercise that leaves countless, highly paid middle and upper managers to arrange their own travel, file expense reports and schedule meetings. Sometimes it is passed off as egalitarianism but it often forces top talent to misuse their time, stressing them out with basic tasks.
Attributes that keep Executive Assistants at the top of the game
Important qualities that make a good EA indispensible include:
• Keeping things private
Being in the position of EA signifies you are working for a key executive, giving you access to more knowledge about things than many others in the organisation. The boss expects you to be discreet about confidential information and not be part of the “gossip club”. Often bosses will share professional and personal information and use you as a sounding board, so you need to be trustworthy and mature in these communications. Managing to stay apart from office politics is an important path to tread.
• Being courageous
As you have such a close and trusting professional relationship with your boss, it is important to be able to speak your mind and give advice if you have a view of what needs to be actioned.
• Learning to read the company culture
High emotional and social intelligence is key to reading the culture of the organisation. A tuned-in EA can provide their boss with a sense of what is happening at employee level that they may not be aware of.
Professional Development for Executive Assistants
Behind Closed Doors runs Professional Development, Mentoring and Networking programs for EAs nationally, providing an invaluable support group to discuss challenges, receive guidance, build confidence, and focus on strategies to ensure they continue to add value.
For information on our Professional Development, Mentoring and Networking programs for Executive Assistants click here.
We would like to hear from you.
• Is your boss utilising your EA skills extensively?
• Do you have the confidence to provide advice (strategic or otherwise) to your boss?
• Does your boss or other executives spend time doing their own emails, booking appointments?
Happy Administrative Professionals’ Day - 24 April!
Donny
Behind Closed Doors is an invitation only program exclusively for executive women and business owners designed to further the professional development of its members in an intimate and confidential environment. We offer five programs to meet the diverse needs of women today, including: executive women and CEOs; executives of the future; business owners and entrepreneurs; executive and personal assistants; and an in-house program for senior women within organisations.
