From Support to Strategy: Executive Assistants are Taking Their Seat at the Table

In the modern corporate workplace, the role of Executive Assistant has taken on a new meaning. No longer are they relegated behind their desk as just a general gopher. Their responsibilities put them at the centre of the action, often being the person that holds the most insight into how the company works. Think about it, who else has access to the correspondence between some of the highest-ranking staff in the company? Who else attends almost every important meeting, knows about every event, and coordinates reports, communications, and budgets? And this is true of an EA who serves just one Executive, imagine the breadth of knowledge that comes from those of you that serve more.

More and more people are looking to leverage this knowledge and become more strategic within their role, utilising their unique position to enable them to move into a position of greater responsibility, decision making and leadership.

So how do you make the transition between being the one who´s setting up the table to making sure you have a seat at it?

Unfortunately there is no one surefire route. I can´t just say do X,Y,Z and as if by magic you´ll be promoted. There are a few things to think about here. The first being, are you looking for a promotion, are you hoping to get to the chief of staff role, or OM, or are you simply looking to be given a more strategic role within your current position as EA? Once you know what it is that you want, then you can start strategizing on how to get there.

So what´s the best Strategy?

One of the best ways to achieve your goals is to look at what you want and work your way backwards to see what steps you have to take to get there. There are different skills necessary to nurture depending on which direction you´re looking to go in (although there will of course be some overlap), so it´s fundamental to figure out the end goal in order to guide your next moves.

Once you know where you want to be, look at the skills necessary to get there. Maybe you´re fantastically detail orientated, but struggle with communication? Perhaps, you´re a pro at verbal communication but need help to be more pro active? Figure out where your skill set could use some attention and do the work to get yourself where you want to be. There are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of courses, conferences, books and videos that can help you in any of the areas in which you´re looking to improve (we´ve provided a list of recommended reading below). So don´t be afraid to go out there and make the effort to improve yourself.  Remember though to be strategic. I´m always one to encourage learning to everyone, I truly believe that there is no such thing as wasted education (although there is some debate to be had on my effort to learn to crochet. I now believe this skill to be witchcraft and I won´t be taking any questions on it) but it´s REALLY important to make sure you´re gearing yourself towards the right things. It will only lead to frustration and expense if you are concentrating on things that won´t help you.

Communicate your goals

As an important aside, don´t be shy about it. Whilst you may not get the funding for training from your company, don´t be afraid to let them know that you´re doing the work that will make you better.  The only way that you can make sure that you are moving in the right direction is by having honest conversations about where you´d like to be. Now this isn´t to say that you´ll necessarily receive instantaneous support, but it´s important to know from within your organisation on the steps that they feel you need to take to move into the position your looking for. Maybe you´re fortunate and have a robust HR and L&D department where you are, but if not, then that´s important to know too. Whether there is or isn´t the scope to manoeuvre within your  position, knowing as soon as possible can only help you figure out your strategy.

There is a place for you at the table, you just need to know what space you want that to be, and what table you want to be sitting at. Whether it´s COS, CEO, or simply a more strategic version of your current role, figure out what you want, figure out how you can get there and then DO THE WORK. Your future is in your hands.

List of recommended reading for you

Bet on Yourself by Ann Hiatt

The Leader Assistant: Four Pillars of a Confident, Game-Changing Assistant by Jeremy Burrows

The Founder & The Force Multiplier: How Entrepreneurs and Executive Assistants Achieve More Together by Adam Hergenrother and Hallie Warner