What Makes An Exceptional Executive Assistant

So what makes a good Executive Assistant (EA)?

While no EA position is completely alike there are certain aspects of the job that you can master which will allow you to level up with your assisting game and stand out from the crowd in any role you take on.

1. Become an EXENSION of your Executive. You need to be their eyes, ears and most importantly, on occasion, their brain. A good EA will be able to preempt their Executive's needs before they even know themselves.

2. Be their biggest CHEERLEADER. You need to genuinely care about their success within the business.

3. Train yourself to be a CALENDAR GURU. You will need to truly master the art of the outlook calendar (or whatever calendar your company uses). This can be the chess game from hell if you let it. Learn to know what and who you can reschedule and it will make your life a whole lot easier.

4. Know who and when to PUSH BACK. A follow on from calendar management it is so important to know what particular meetings and who you can push back. This can buy your Executive some very valuable time. Just remember to be respectful and diplomatic when executing a push back.

5. Know how to READ THE ROOM. If you pop your head into your Executive's office know how to read the signs if they actually want to be bothered or not. Also helpful when colleagues swing by to sneak into your Executive without an appointment, knowing how to figure out quickly if its actually super important will assist you in being an excellent gate-keeper.

6. Identify the NEEDS of the business. Keep your eyes open for unidentified needs of the business whether its a better document management system or that the paper in the photocopier isn't cutting the mustard you are in a prime position recognise and business needs that aren't being met.

7. Have your EXECUTIVES back. From time to time you will encounter people who want to throw shade on your Executive or who will want to try and fish for information from you. Be on your guard and always have your Executive's back.

8. Be FLEXIBLE with your time and priorities. The majority of your job will be reactive and you need to be prepared to be flexible from time to time.

9. Do not underestimate the power of scheduling LUNCH for your Executive. Honestly, its worth repeating do not underestimate scheduling lunch or down time for your Executive. They are humans not machines and occasionally they need reminding of that.

10. Guard their CONFIDENTIAL details like you are a member of the Secret Service. As an EA you will be privy to an abundance of confidential information about your Executive. It might seem like a no-brainer, its not as if you could consciously give out anyone else’s information but you need to be hyper aware of social engineering when it comes to other people’s information. This can range from their keeping their credit card details safe to making personal appointments in their calendar private so that they are invisible from prying eyes.