Richard
Arnott, co-author of the highly popular and unique Advanced Certificate for the
Executive Personal Assistant (ACEPAtm) looks at what makes an Executive
Personal Assistant effective in the eyes of their Executive.
ARNOTT
The
role of the Executive Personal Assistant is growing exponentially. From humble beginnings
the Executive Personal Assistant is now normally university qualified and required
to perform demanding roles on behalf of their boss such as preparing executive reports,
making presentations, attending and even making strategic contributions during executive
board meetings etc. Executive Personal Assistants have a highly visible and
demanding role in blue chip corporations and government organisations. So what
makes an Executive Personal Assistant effective in the eyes of their Boss?
1
Understanding the business strategy
Fundamental
to the role of senior executives in any organisation is the formation and
delivery of the business strategy. These senior executives need the support of
a high quality team around them if success is to come. The Executive Personal
Assistant is at the core of this team and needs to be able to speak the
language of the senior management team or Board. The old adage “Once you know
why, you’ll figure out how” applies to the role of the Executive Personal
Assistant. Executives and Senior Managers who enable their Executive Personal Assistant
to gain this understanding get the significantly enhanced performance.
2
Understanding the wider business issues
The
Executive Personal Assistant is the eyes and ears of their boss. The ability to
listen and to communicate across the organization is a key skill that should be
encouraged and learned. It is not so much as having the ear to the ground but
it is more about being able to separate the wheat from the chaff. A clear
understanding of the priorities, motivations and issues of others across the
organization is invaluable to the Executive Personal Assistant in the daily
tasks.
3
Operating efficiently and effectively
Senior
Executives are busy people and need to rely on the Executive Personal Assistant
to provide support not only efficiently but also effectively. Efficiently in terms
of the Executive Personal Assistant’s time and effort but also ensuring that
their Boss is operating efficiently. They say that efficiency is about getting
the job done on time and effectiveness is about getting the job done correctly.
Some would say that it’s not “what you do” but “how you do” it but I tend to
disagree. It’s about both. There is no point hammering out a 20-page report for
your boss in 30 minutes if it is full of errors. Conversely there is little
point issuing the same report three days late with no errors. The Executive
Personal Assistant should aim to deliver the report on time with no errors.
That is being both effective and efficient.
4 Being a natural problem solver
I may challenge the use of the word
“natural” as problem solving is a skill that can be learnt. Some people do have
a natural tendency in this regard but if they do not the effective Executive Personal
Assistant can benefit significantly by attending Problem Solving training and applying
these tips and tricks in their daily routine. It can be as simple as asking
Why? Enough times to get to the real root cause of an issue. However,
fundamentally it is realizing that finding the solution does not have to come from
yourself but will come more easily from involving others that differentiates a
great problem solver from a good problem solver.
5 Being a Rigorous Planner
“People don’t plan to fail; they fail to
plan.” This applies not only to the Effective Personal Assistant’s role of
course but is one of its most critical aspects. The Executive Personal Assistant
is not just planning their own work but is to all extents and purposes planning
their boss’s. Efficient planning is not normally a solitary task. The effective
project manager does not plan in isolation – they include their team. The
Executive Personal Assistant does not normally have this luxury. The Boss is always
too busy to sit down and get involved in the planning but still naturally
expects it to go smoothly. Therefore rigorous planning is essential – but so is
insisting that the boss does at least review his plans with you.
6 Being a Strong influencer
Not all
Executive Personal Assistants work for the top person in the organization. The majorities
operates at executive or senior management level and have to influence not only
downwards but across and upwards. Being enable to recognize when to use some or
all of the seven key influencing tactics of Consultation, Rational Persuasion,
Exchange, Ingratiation, Coalition, Upward Appeals and last but not least
Pressure is a skill that can be learned and one that delivers excellent
results. The Executive Personal Assistant who tries to influence using the
Boss’s position of power (the pressure tactic) may find it difficult to get an
effective response and is more than likely to experience passive resistance.
Whilst the pressure tactic has its place the effective influencer
uses all the tools available to them.
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