Hello Ann

This month's newsletter is all about the relationship between the Executive and the Assistant. I'll be the first to step up and say "We've gone too far!" when it comes to reductions in administrative staff. There are too many Executives sharing Assistants - and too many junior leaders operating without any assistance.

I hope you enjoy my reflections on a recent HBR article that echoes my stand on the value of a powerful partnership between the Executive and the Assitant. 

Creating Powerful Partnerships

The Harvard Business Review recently published an article titled “The Case for Executive Assistants” that shed some light on the way that business structure has shifted with regard to executive assistants. The days of secretaries-a-plenty are gone. Today, as a result of cost-cutting and modern communication tools, executive assistants are “typically reserved for senior management.” However, it is a mistake to adopt the impression that assistants no longer have a role in the structure of modern business. Modern business has not eradicated the need for executive support. What’s changed is simply the way that the two parties interact. It is crucial that we shift our focus to improving the way that the assistant and execute interact in order to make the partnership as fruitful as possible.

Why the Assistant/Executive Relationship Matters

According to the Harvard Business Review, an executive assistant, at very senior levels, need only “make the executive 8% more productive than he or she would be working solo.” This quantifies to roughly five hours of saved time in a 60-hour workweek. I think it goes without saying that most assistants undoubtedly save their execs much more time than this as they aid in coordination, preparation, and implementation during their day-to-day work.

How to Improve the Partnership

How do you make the most of this collaborative partnership? In the end, it all comes down to collaboration, communication, and reciprocal faith and flexibility. An executive must be willing to delegate part of their workload to their assistant. This requires ample consideration as to the parts of an executive’s project that can be completed by their assistant. This action also requires that the executive recognize their assistant’s strengths and have faith in their assistant’s competency.

The second key factor in strengthening the relationship between exec and assistant is the assistant’s willingness to take on new and unfamiliar tasks that may cause them to stretch and learn. In order to aid in the productivity of an executive, an assistant must be prepared to learn new skills, try new things, and ask questions. For this relationship to work, communication must be open and mutually supportive.

When the right balance is discovered, the result is a less stressful, more productive, and shorter work week—how would your life be different if you could be Home by 5 everyday?

Interested in learning more about how to strengthen the relationship between executive and assistant? Contact me today to start seeing a positive change!

Social Style Tip of the Day:

Most of us would agree that there is always room for improvement. And the room for improvement in your social style is found in the “growth action” of each style. The growth action is what each style “tends to overlook, ignore, or avoid in his or her interactions with others.”

Imagine a work situation where the Executive has a Driving style and the Assistant has an Amiable style. The growth action for the Driving style is to listen. The growth action for the Amiable style is to initiate. Can you see that these two Styles are polar opposites?

Tips for a Driving-style Executive working with an Amiable-style Assistant:

• Remember that personal security is important to your Amiable Assistant and that the relationship with you could be just as important to this person as the task.
• Slow down your pace.
• Allow for some level of informality in the interaction.
• Allow this person to share their feelings.

Tips for an Amiable-style Assistant working with a Driving-style Executive:

• Pick up the pace when interacting with your Executive.
• Be task-oriented.
• De-emphasize feelings.
• Be clear about goals and plans.
• Use less small talk and get to the point.

©The TRACOM Corporation

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What Are People Saying?

As a result of working with Ann, I am able to understand and recognize my value as a leader in my company. I find that I am much more fulfilled and excited by my career, and I’m also more candid in my conversations with colleagues. My work has become a journey (rather than a destination) filled with consistency, challenge, introspection, and progressive improvement. Co-workers and family frequently comment on the positive changes I’ve made in my approach to life and work.

Kent Stuart
Executive Director Business Development
Global Logistics Company

About Ann

With more than 20 years of experience as a corporate leader, Ann brings an integrated-systems perspective to any discussion or situation and a straightforward, practical approach to coaching and consulting. Ann's unique and varied career and educational experiences allow her to quickly identify and communicate interrelationships among issues, people, and complex organizational systems. Her positive outlook, energy, and participative leadership style enable her to inspire, motivate, and develop leadership in others.