Turn your assistant into your secret weapon
Melanie, one of our clients’ executive assistants, is tough. She fiercely guards her executive’s calendar. She meticulously tracks vendor activities and expenses. She knows everything that is going on in the organization and how it all fits together. In short, she’s a huge asset to the executive and the company.
Unfortunately, executive support roles are poorly understood in many organizations, leaving them chronically undervalued and underutilized. It’s a senseless waste.
Instead, when effectively leveraged, executive assistants serve as perhaps the most important stewards of an organization’s most precious resource—time. Imagine if your executive assistant masterfully managed your calendar such that the following was true:
- You knew the purpose of every meeting you were scheduled to attend
- You had adequate preparation time for any meetings that required it and easy access to the pre-read material
- Your role in each meeting was clear and worthy of your time
- Meetings were clustered in blocks, as was focus time, so that you weren’t constantly switching from one type of task to another
- Out-of-office time was held sacred so that when you were “off the clock” you were truly disconnected
This is not a fantasy world. By investing in building a strong working partnership with your assistant, you can make it your everyday reality.
Follow these four steps to turn your assistant into your secret weapon:
1. MAKE SURE YOUR ASSISTANT UNDERSTANDS THE VALUE ENGINE OF YOUR COMPANY
Often, leaders are frustrated because the team around them “lacks judgment.” What we have found is that they lack context on what activities drive value for the business.
In a biotech organization, for example, the speed of clinical trials is one major driver of success. Thus anything related to potential delays should be a top priority for executives. When assistants are educated about what matters to the business, they can make significantly better trade-off decisions about priorities.
2. MEET WEEKLY TO REVIEW THE CALENDAR AND ESTABLISH PRIORITIES
Make a habit of meeting weekly to review the calendar and establish priorities for the week. We recommend an end-of-day Friday review that is both a look forward and a look back.
How did this week go in terms of time, energy, and achievement? Are there any lessons learned that would change the calendar strategy going forward? What are the biggest priorities for next week? How much working time does the executive need to accomplish their goals?
3. PROVIDE REAL-TIME CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK
When something goes wrong—and it always does—talk through the error right away. Don’t assume, as our brains prefer to do, that your assistant’s mistake was due to laziness or lack of commitment. Start with curiosity and invite them to reflect on why it happened and what both of you can do differently in the future to ensure you are both successful.
4. TREAT YOUR ASSISTANT LIKE A TRUSTED PARTNER
Invest the time to get to know them personally and let them know you too. Check in and support their broader career aspirations. Are they interested in eventually moving into project management, human resources, or another area of your company? Help them find mentors and gain exposure to other functions. Your reputation as an advocate will serve you well in attracting the best of the best administrative talent.
For too long, executives have missed out on the leverage a well-informed executive assistant can provide. Do yourself the favor of investing now for a big return on your time.