Unlocking the Potential of Executive Assistants

In February of 2021, I generated five polls via the company’s LinkedIn page looking to gain insight to generate this article. So many believe they live on an island in their role. I wanted to offer my followers, and stop-by readers, something visually entertaining to help them remember they are not alone.  The polls ran for 3 days. Below you will find screenshots of the questions, the results, and my two cents.

Does my contribution make an impact?

This question meant a lot to me, so I’ll start with this one first.

I was very happy to see 140 professionals offered insight. I was also very happy to learn that a majority of this group believes the work they do does have an impact. For the other elections, I’m able to share that I learn through my numerous touch points each day, many rely on others to give them a sense of assurance that their work is making a difference vs. looking outside-in.

Ex: A meeting to finalize a merger and acquisition was possible because of your contribution. The current initiative for a rebranding effort requires many meetings and because of you, your executive(s) was prepared, therefore, the needle moved forward. Your everyday actions have an impact (though it may not always be the size of a mountain).

Do I have the right title?

I had fun digging into the elections given in this poll. I looked over the 110 profiles that provided insight. I wanted to learn what their “title” was on LinkedIn and see how they elected to see if they matched. Several had an Executive Assistant title but voted that Office Manager was a better fit and a few had Administrative Assistant titles but voted  Executive Assistant was a better fit. I was inspired by a few of the elections, so I reached out to the contributors. I sent a note on LinkedIn asking for 2 to 3 sentences on why their election was overall a better fit. One of the contributors elected, Traffic Controller. Here’s what she had to say:

“I chose traffic controller remembering working in an open office and needing to flag coworkers away and be careful of what projects landed on my desk!” - Katie

I also reached out to another contributor for her reasoning. She picked Chief of Staff but her title is Executive Assistant. Here’s what she had to say:

“Personally, my role aligns with the Chief of Staff title more than anything else. My role is to be the sounding board and help my executive make sound decisions that he doesn't always have the time to do. While in my mind, the title Chief of Staff and Executive Assistant are extremely parallel, I personally believe that the title Chief of Staff aligns more accurately with the mission of where my executive wants to go. A Chief of Staff is required to be more strategy-based vs administrative or task-based.” - Becky

Another contributor gave feedback that Executive Assistant was better and that’s her current title. Here’s what she had to say:

“A highly skilled Executive Assistant can mean the difference between simply keeping up and charging ahead. Most EA’s are the right arm of their Executive and can often represent him or her while they are absent from the office. EA’s are the face and voice of the department and can regularly be trusted to make a few decisions without pre approval, i.e. minor purchases, meeting requests, etc.. More than, let’s say, an Office Manager, who may not be dedicated to any one Executive. I was an Office Manager early in my career, so I am speaking from experience.” - Stephanie

Just an Assistant.

This one gets a lot of people fired up, and I’m one of those people.

When I do speaking engagements with leaders, I break down the administrative profession into different categories: Secretary, Receptionist, Administrative or Executive Assistant, Office Manager, and as of 2019, I’ve added Chief of Staff. I do know there are a few other titles out there, but for this article, I’ll leave it to these commonly known titles. I do this exercise with the leaders to help them recognize the days of a secretary, basic, “just” core responsibilities, are in the rearview mirror.

The biggest hurdle leaders face in the administrative profession is they haven’t evolved with the profession. I learn many are stuck in a prior timeline on the perception of this profession. (Think the TV show, Mad Men).

I loved seeing these results. It’s great to learn so many have access to their executive’s inboxes. This is the best place to be so you can springboard from “just” being tactical in your role to being strategic.

How many personal tasks do you handle?

I had little expectations of what elections would be for this question.

It was awesome to learn that a large number of 79 professionals handle 0% of personal tasks for their executive(s). I find often that too many personal tasks for an executive can bog down productivity, moving you away from the strategic demands. When I work with executive clients, they often ask for permission (yes, it’s cute when they don’t know what they are doing) if an assistant can help them with personal demands. I tell them that a low percentage is acceptable and then I ask them, “Do you want work to pile up because you want your assistant running errands all day?” (The answers to the left were about right in line with my wisdom to executive clients). 

I can be found saying, if you do a large portion of work and personal tasks, then a part of your brand becomes cloudy. 

Favorite tasks you handle.

I’m closing on this poll because it means a lot to me that we highlight the great things about your role.

Meeting coordination: When you get to operate in both a tactical and strategic fashion. The tasks associated with meetings help you shine. Asking, “Why am I doing this task?”, helps you deliver above-average results.

Calendar: The game of Tetris played with the calendar frustrates you often, but you know you love it. (#wink)

Travel: 2020 whipped that right out of our lives. 2021 has promise for an uptick, but will it ever go back to 2019? We shall wait and see. I can report here in 2023, it’s 99.9% back to 2019 levels.

Expense reports: If you’ve heard the podcast episode, 20 Questions with Hilani, you already know it’s my least favorite task as an assistant, but it’s part of the role. I know I have partners in crime on this feeling. I wasn’t surprised to see this having the least number of elections.

Launch Pad: 

1. You are not living on an island alone. You are part of a much bigger picture.

2. Your contributions DO make an impact, daily.

3. Understand your title and make sure it’s the right fit for the job.

4. Don’t forget to remember the great things about your role and what you love doing the most.

I very much enjoyed putting these polls together and digging deeper, with real life feedback, on how people think and perceive their role/career. Looking for more insight, check out this great episode from the EA Podcast.