The Power of an Assistant Network - The World at Your Fingertips

So, we´ve all heard the saying “It takes a village to raise a child” and as anyone who´s had, or frankly been near children can attest- they should upgrade the village to city. It´s not just that it´s nice to have people fighting in your corner, although it definitely is, it´s that we need it.

The same is true of every aspect of our lives, and we prove it every day. How regularly do you make an important decision without consulting anyone else for their opinion? When we have a personal choice to make, we talk to our friends and family, when we need a professional choice made, we speak to an expert. More often than not, we´ll speak to both. If you were to build a house, you´d start with what you know and what you want to achieve, then you´d speak to an architect to see if it can be done, then find a builder who can do it, then a decorator to help you finish it. And for every professional you hired, you´d speak to a dozen people to see whom they´d recommend (or a thousand - thank you Yelp!) Such is the power of other peoples personal experience that entire industries have been built on just that premise. So, what does this have to do with you expanding your network? People power. By expanding your circle, not only will you have the opportunity to meet people that you genuinely like (and this is important, no one wants to meet Gordon Gekko), you´ll find an army of people with information and abilities that you may not have.

So where do I start?

I get it (truly). The struggle with networking as an administrative professional is that you´re part of a circle and at the same time not. You may work in the marketing department, but you´re not in the marketing department. More often than not, especially now, the chances are that you have more than one executive that you work for, so where do you fit in? It´s hard to know where to look for a network when it feels like you work in a silo. There are a few options though, and it will depend on the sort of organisation you work to determine which option is best (in an ideal world you can do both!).

Internal Assistant Networks

An internal network can be an absolute goldmine. If there already is one, join it. If there isn´t, start one. Human Resources will become your new best friend but you´ll need to go prepared. Remember, it´s important to be able to explain the benefits to the company of an internal network (It sounds strange for adults to go around saying we want new friends, regardless of how true that may be). This study has shown that a robust internal network can reduce employee turnover by up to 140%. That´s huge. This Gallup study shows that the average US turnover rate in 2017 was 26.3%, meaning that an organisation with around 100 employees on a median salary of $50,000 could be spending over $660,000 per year replacing staff. As a starting point.

So now you have their attention, explain what you´d like to build. I wouldn´t go in with requests for funding just yet (although hopefully they´ll offer) but something as simple as a having HR send an email to all of the administrative circle can be a start. I cannot begin to tell you the amount of help and support that you´ll have available within your very organisation that you had no idea was there. I can guarantee you that somewhere there will be a person that knows the absolute ins and outs of how every single thing is run within your company, and it won´t be your CEO, but it may well be their EA. Reach out to them, share best practices, find or become a mentor. SHARE the talent and knowledge that you´ve all developed and everyone benefits. Remember, the stronger the roots, the better the tree.

External Networks

OK, so you have an internal network, but what about an external one? It´s not often that the administrative staff get to mingle at the races handing out business cards (It´s not terribly often that we´re invited), so how exactly can we meet our cohorts? The benefits to it are obvious. Imagine you´ve been asked to organise a trip for your executive to New Orleans. You could spend hours trying to find a great hotel, a few great restaurants, safe neighbourhoods to stay bla, bla, bla. Or you could call your contact working at Accenture over there and ask for their recommendations. They will have done this a thousand times. You just say the word C-Suite and they´ll give you the name and number of the Maître´D. Now expand this across the world. If you could have a contact in every major (and minor) city in the world, why wouldn´t you? Now to find them.

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There are, and I say this with no exaggeration, a HUGE number of ways to expand your professional network. LinkedIn is obviously a great one, but there´s a tendency for communication there to be minimal, and it´s less likely that you´ll remember where people are from and where they´re working if you´ve never actually had a conversation with them. So, what would be my recommendations?

• Obviously I´m going to start by saying our forum. Yes, we´re currently small, but that´s part of the appeal. You can help build the worldwide community from the ground up.

• Live Conferences- There are live conferences held in every continent specifically aimed at administrative professionals. I could list them all here but you´d be reading forever. In the US specifically, look at IAAP, APC, ASAP. Basically, throw an acronym in the air and you´re likely to hit an administrative conference. Seriously though, a quick rifle through Google should give you some options for this year and beyond. And remember, whilst it´s unlikely that you´ll meet someone from Japan at a conference in Alabama, the chances are you´ll meet a lot of people working for multinationals. Their contacts can be your contacts.

• Online Courses - Yes, they´re less fun than in person, but you can actually meet people from all over the world without leaving your living room AND, the benefit is that you´ll tend to meet people that are looking to improve in the same areas you are. Nothing like an ally.

• Existing Networks - Don´t discount existing networks in your vicinity. Yes, they will primarily consist of people local to you, but that´s part of the appeal. Not only will you have the opportunity to get some really insightful local knowledge, you´ll have the opportunity to actually make friends.

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In conclusion, the journey of building and nurturing an assistant network is more than a professional endeavour; it's a pathway to personal growth and broader horizons. By fostering connections both within and beyond our immediate environments, we unlock a world of possibilities. Remember, every interaction is an opportunity to learn, share, and contribute to a thriving community of professionals. So, take that step, reach out, and be an integral part of this transformative network. Your future self will thank you for it.