Why executive assistants need more power in the office
A strong executive/EA team can “move mountains” in the workplace. Experts share how each side can get the most out of the partnership.
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A good executive assistant can be an executive’s secret weapon in the corporate world, but too few know how to leverage that partnership to its full potential.
Whether they are micromanagers unable to delegate, assume they can replace their EA with technology or worry about sharing their power, some bosses shut them out and pass up the myriad benefits they can offer.
OFFICE Dynamics Adelaide founding director Catherine Middleton said smart executives included their EA in meetings and made them part of the management team or secretary to the board.
“It’s all about understanding the business and the day-to-day of what’s going on,” she said.
“If you cut them off at a certain level, how can they take calls and know the importance of things? How can they feed up information if they don’t know who they are dealing with?
“It’s not just tea and typing anymore; they are becoming a strategic partner to their boss.”
Mrs Middleton said some executives worried giving their EA such access would hand them too much power and take away from their own authority, but she argued they were a team and that was the only way to successfully operate.
She said other executives liked to micromanage themselves rather than delegating tasks to their EA or keeping them in the loop, making them less effective.
“It’s about respecting each other, not just the EA respecting the executive but it works both ways,” she said.
“When things go wrong, it takes a strong relationship to get things up and running again.
“When you build those strong relationships, you can move mountains.”
Barossa Hills Fleurieu Local Health Network chief executive Rebecca Graham has been working with her EA, Lyn Pascoe, for just over a year and described their dynamic as “exceptional”.
Ms Graham is one of six speakers scheduled for OFFICE Dynamics Adelaide’s The Executive Suite’s Secret Weapon Seminar at Mercure Grosvenor Hotel Adelaide on October 30.
“How a CEO performs and is seen by others is highly dependent on a good EA dynamic,” she said.
“To be successful, that dynamic needs to be very much a two-way street; it is a partnership. Seeking and providing feedback to each other in an environment of trust should be a continuous process.
“Be open in your communication with each other and be clear about expectations.
“Understand your creative and reactive tendencies and talk about what each of you need to be at your best.”
Ms Graham said the most important appointment made by a CEO was their EA, and while there were many skills to look out for when choosing the right one, aligned values should top the list.
Ms Pascoe had been an EA for four other executives before Ms Graham and said each one differed in their management style, the way they liked their diaries run and the level of support they required.
“Rebecca and I work well together because we have a trusting relationship, but can also have some fun,” she said.
Hays Jobs Report for January to June listed executive and personal assistants as the most in-demand office-support worker, followed by team assistants, project administrators, legal secretaries and corporate receptionists.
It found employers were looking for EAs and PAs who could make quick decisions, prioritise tasks, remain calm under pressure, and upskill in new technologies.
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Originally published as Why executive assistants need more power in the office