What your boss isn’t telling you.
There are all sorts of underlying expectations of an Executive Assistant. The most common one is your Executive expects you to read they mind! I am sure that one’s not surprising to you.
Your Executive forgets to mention plans are changing or fails to copy you on a request, yet they expects you to anticipate changes and adapt to them quickly.
To earn your Executives’ respect and appreciation, you must know your underlying expectations that your Executive will never say.
Here is what your Executive is thinking and what you can do in response:
Be loyal to me: make your Executive feel that you are their most prominent advocate. You believe in their work and the direction of their leadership. When your Executive believes you are loyal, they are more likely to reciprocate in return.
One key component of this rule is never to leak confidential information. Be the gatekeeper and never abuse your power.
Make me look good in EVERYTHING you do: yes, they want to look good in everything you do. For example, in your interactions with external vendors or clients, to internal stakeholders and employees. Keep things organized, communicate in a professional manner, dress professionally, and handle interruption respectfully because everything you do reflects on your Executive.
An excellent example of this rule: disagreeing with your Executive in front of their direct report(s), higher-ups, or the team won’t cast you or your Executive in a good light.
I expect perfection: even though your Executive may not be perfect, they expect you to be. Do that by being ten steps ahead of them. If they are late for meetings, keep them on schedule. If their office is disorganized, you are the neat freak.
One example of this rule: if they forget to review or sign documents or return calls, set reminders for them in their schedule, including blocks of time in their calendar to do those tasks.
I am nervous when I walk into a room/event to speak: be aware that your Executive may be worried about delivering a tough message or trying to solicit audience buy-in for a project or new idea, even when they act self-assured. Look for ways to help and show your support.
Example of how you could help: maybe help gather as many facts, details, or information as possible to support the Executive feel more confident when presenting. Follow up with individuals/resources needed to collect the required information to allow the Executive time to prepare and practice before their speaking engagement.
Yes (does not always mean Yes): your Executive may agree to things/ideas etc., but it does not always mean a confirmed yes. That’s why you need to choose the time and day to discuss the critical items/tasks you would like to accomplish. What was agreeable verbally might be a no when it’s on paper.
One way to manage this situation: gather all the facts, and detail the advantages & disadvantages, costs, benefits, and expected results on paper. Provide a copy to the Executive and book a time to discuss and obtain the ‘yes’ you hoped.
Let’s look at this in a couple of weeks: this means they are not in the mood to deal with the current task, they are looking for a break, and they want you to postpone this for them until they are either in the mood or ready to deal with it.
An example is when the Executive is not up to meeting with someone or wants to plan an Executive dinner. You can help by pushing the dates further out to give the Executive a break. Come up with a creative excuse on behalf of the Executive to buy them time.
Can you get the phone or respond to this email: you are probably thinking, why can’t they answer their own phone when they are in the office? Or how come they don’t want to respond to this email? It’s because they are avoiding either talking to or committing to something or a person.
One way to help: the best action to take is to do as they said. Take the call or respond to the email on their behalf. It’s one of those intangible requirements of the job to protect their space, and you will help them save face.
Let’s do something nice this year for a team event or an Executive event: what they mean is for you to be creative and come up with something to impress and please the audience (costs may not be an issue here). Your Executive may be looking to compete with a past ghost (a tradition or predecessor perhaps), and they feel they need to brand (a.k.a. ‘prove’) themselves as better to top whatever was done in the past!
One thought on this rule: don’t resist or worry about costs. Get creative and present your new ideas to get their approval and agreement before proceeding!
I don’t have an ego: it’s totally the opposite, as many may have an ego at one point or another. After all, confidence and egos are how most of them got to the top! Watch out for when the moments of the ‘over-ego’ arise. Your role is to understand the behavior and identify what’s important to them and what they are fighting for.
Some thoughts: your job is not to point out to the Executive they have an ego at play here. Your job is to support them with what is important to them and help them balance between taming their egos and getting what they want when they want it.
You have done great stuff, but there is always room for improvement: this means you are great, and I am happy with your work, but I want more to be done, and also, I’m not too clear about what you’ve accomplished recently. Help bring clarity to this by providing bullet points of tasks, projects, and items accomplished throughout the year. Most times, the Executive will forget what other tasks an Executive Assistant does, aside from the obvious core duties of calendar management, expenses, and travel booking.
Additional note on this: highlight and identify the big projects you’ve been involved in or led and contributed to their successful completion.
Why don’t you come up with a list of how you see your (EA) role evolve in the future: this means the Executive is putting the ownership on you to improve or develop your role. For the most part, they can’t think of areas of growth, learning, or expansion in mind for your role. This could be due to the fact the Executive lacks a far-sighted picture of the role, especially if the role is viewed as a junior level or the Executive is new to his senior role.
How to manage this: take advantage of the opportunity to make a business case to convince them how your role can evolve in helping them become more productive, balance personal & work schedules, and help support and drive accelerated business operations, specifically in process and efficiencies. Your goal is to show your Executive how you can be a strategic partner and an office management/team leader.
I hope you found these points valuable. Let me know if you have more of your own to add.
