You and Your Mindset / Guide to Building influence in the Assistant role / Working collaboratively with other Assistants
Chapter Five
Working collaboratively with other Assistants
Working collaboratively with other Assistants in your organisation will help build your influence, primarily if you work together as a team and share your knowledge and successes.
Networking is such an essential part of the Assistant role. We can work in such silos that the position can be very lonely without a network to support our endeavours.
Assistants are naturally good networks. You might not think it, but we are!
The nature of our role means we come in contact with many different people, companies and suppliers, and we are generally pretty helpful!
This chapter will examine how Assistants can build their network and widen their circle of influence. We will also share excellent tips on how to set up an internal Assistant network.
Before diving into this topic, we also have a comprehensive article on Building your Personal Brand and Network.
In this chapter, you will learn the following:
We don’t have the answers to everything (although often our organisations think we do!), but with other assistants’ help, we can rule the world! So how do we ensure our networks help us get stuff done? Here are a few tips:
Get to know your network
Assistants have access to many networks that can help with various aspects of the role. It is essential to get to know the people within the networks. If you can all put a face to a name, it helps. If you can get out and about, attend networking events and get to know other assistants, this helps. If you are more of a social network assistant, ensure you like, share and comment on further assistant’s posts. Simply getting to know your contacts will make it easier for you to help each other out.
Give and take – networks need to get stuff from you.
This is important. If someone in your network asks for help and you can help – do! If you have a great supplier that you can share with your network or any advice, training suggestions or something you have implemented that works sharing this knowledge, don’t hold back from sharing the information. Your network might not need that contact now, but it might be helpful again. Giving back is the number one rule to networking!
Don’t beat around the bush – get stuff done quickly.
We are busy, and I think most assistants would prefer a straightforward conversation. If you need help, ask for it upfront. This is one of the reasons we network in the first place! We get asked questions a billion times daily by colleagues, so we are used to sharing our knowledge and helping others. Don’t be shy! Your network will have the answers; if they don’t, they probably know someone who does!
Don’t rule people out – they have networks too!
Assistants deal with all issues, so our knowledge is widespread, and our networks can be massive. So don’t rule people out because you don’t think they will be able to help – you never know, and it is always worth asking the question. It is also well worth being a little creative with your networks. Try to network with people who might be able to help in certain areas. For example, I always found the postroom staff incredibly helpful when I needed details for a new supplier – they see parcels, packages and couriers bringing new products in and out of the office all day. They knew all kinds of stuff!
We all know that networking is essential for Assistants. There are plenty of external networking events, but the first place to start building your network is within your organisation.
You must know and gets on well with your team and your department, but it is equally crucial that you know as many staff members as possible and have contacts within other departments. A well-connected assistant will benefit their Executive immensely. They will know what is happening in other parts of the business. They can keep their Executive updated on any developments within the business. They will increase their overall awareness of the business objectives.
Here are a few of my tips on how to network with other departments.
Firstly, you have to take advantage of your position. You are an assistant to a senior member of staff, which means everyone will know who they are and, in turn, will know who you are. I’ve found this very helpful over the years because I haven’t had to explain my role in the organisation or which department I work in – everyone knows.
Being an Assistant to an Executive means, you often have to speak to other departments and arrange meetings with your Executive and colleagues. In those situations, always introduce yourself so that other staff members know who you are and what you look like.
The assistants are the first group of people within other departments who you should get to know. If you don’t remember every Assistant in your organisation, say hello next time you pass through their department or drop them a quick email to introduce yourself.
Socialise with people from other departments.
As I said, you should know all of the assistants in your organisation so start by inviting them to your department drinks and hopefully they will return the invitation. If you see someone from your organisation in a social setting, go over and introduce yourself, next time you see them in the office corridor, it will be easier to say hello and strike up a conversation.
Put yourself forward for cross-departmental projects. It is much easier to get to know someone if you are working on a project together. Make sure you contribute to the discussions and are proactive in your work during meetings. Once the project is complete, keep in touch with every team member, including those in other departments. Oh, and remember to organise a celebratory drink once the project is finished – getting to know other people in an informal setting is much better.
If your organisation has social groups, such as a sports team, book club, or poker night, make sure you go to one. It is a great way to get to know other people within your organisation and network with other departments.
Ensure you know what every other department in your organisation does. This information should be available on your intranet. It is much easier to network with other staff members if you know what they do and how they fit into the business.
In my recent blog on what I think Assistants can expect in 2013, I briefly discussed the relationship between assistants and how teamwork and support will become more critical this year. I thought I would go into more detail and give tips on collaboration.
Suppose your organisation is anything like the organisations I used to work for. In that case, you will also have Assistants spread out across different units, floors, offices and Countries, reporting to different managers with varying degrees of seniority. It is now sporadic for a pool of assistants to work together to say to one manager. With this structure, it isn’t easy to see yourself as part of a team of assistants, mainly as we have different priorities; however, I believe it benefits us all if Assistants work together. So how do we do this?
Bond over shared experiences
Do you know all of the assistants in your office? Do you only email each other or speak briefly on the phone when you need something? If this is the case, trust me, you are not the only one, as it can be hard to get to know people at work when you are so busy.
Nevertheless, getting to know your fellow assistants is worth organising for all of you to go out for a few drinks after work or get everyone together for lunch. Knowing the other assistants by their name and face is so helpful, so once you are all together, trust me, the conversation will flow as you all have so much in common!
Team meetings
Hold a regular team meeting for all of the assistants. Once a month is more than enough, but it is worthwhile. You can put together an agenda so that the meeting isn’t just there for people to vent but about best practices, improvements in the office, frustrations, and achievements.
Suppliers can be invited along to discuss the company’s requirements. You could even ask your colleagues to come in and present their business area so that all the assistants know what happens in other departments. You can do so much at these meetings, and I highly recommend having them.
Support each other
How often do you think to yourself, ‘my colleagues have no idea what I do and what I have to put up with in this role?’ Well, guess what? Other Assistants in your company know exactly what you go through because they are going through the same thing every day.
Try to be supportive of each other. If an assistant looks unwell or stressed or just run off their feet, send a supportive email, ask if they need help, or take a cup of tea. We don’t have much support because we usually work independently and don’t often get asked how we are (especially if your manager isn’t inclined), so do look out for each other.
Provide cover for them
You know that feeling when you come back from annual leave, and you know you have hundreds of emails, umpteen voicemails, and goodness knows what left on your desk to deal with? How great would it be if you had one of your assistants covering your work while you were away so that you didn’t have all of that waiting for you?
Providing cover is the best thing assistants can do for each other. Yes, the assistant covering will be busier for a week or two. Still, when they go away, they will have a much more excellent break knowing their manager is being looked after and won’t call in a panic when they should be drinking margaritas by the pool!
The basic rules are that you try to do as much of the work you need before you leave, give the covering assistant outstanding notes to follow, and buy them something lovely as a thank-you gift.
So I hope you see the benefits of working as a team with your fellow assistants and supporting each other. I have found this a great help over the last few years, and I hope you have too… if not, try to implement some of my ideas; it does make a big difference.
It can be tough juggling your job and another assistant’s tasks. You have the demands of your work and figure out how to work with another team or one on one with another Executive. It is not easy, but if you have a few ground rules before starting the cover, it *should* be smooth sailing.
Here are my top 5 questions you can ask before you take on another assistant’s work:
- What is coming up while the Assistant is out of the office?
Sit down with the Assistant a few days before them leaving the office and go through everything that could crop up during that time. It could be anything from important meetings, expected visitors, trips, appointments etc. Please make sure you are aware of everything in the diary to plan your day accordingly; hopefully, it will save you from surprises. Ensure you have access to the calendars and emails for everyone you assist, even if they are highly senior. It is much harder to anticipate their needs if you don’t know what is happening during their day.
- What is the Executive like?
Or possibly the better question to ask is, what does the Executive like? This question needs to be answered honestly by your colleague. Are they demanding, or are they unorganised? Will they delegate anything to you? Depending on your relationship with the other Assistant, you may know what the boss is like and what you are getting yourself into. However, I would still get the low down from your colleague because you never know what quirks and foibles these senior managers have until you work for them.
- What is expected of you?
So you know what is coming up while your colleague is out of the office, but do you know how much you must be involved? Are you expected to be a full-time assistant, or should you keep the office ticking until the other assistant returns?
It is so important because, from the outset, you will know how much work to expect. How much will your workload expand, and if you must stay in the office longer than usual? Can you deal with the extra work, or should you be taking the cover at all? If you have to attend meetings with the manager, manage all of their emails and appointments or take on any project work, this could be too much, or it could be a great challenge that you are happy to do. At least you will know from the outset.
- How long will you be covering for?
Covering for a day is easy, a week not so bad, a fortnight is a juggling act, maternity leave could see you looking after two directors full time… forever! Find out and find out fast!
- What is your manager thinking?
This is probably the most critical question to ask. Is your manager okay with dividing your time between them and someone else? If you are EA to the CEO, is it feasible for you to help someone else when you are in high demand in the first place? If you are happy to cover for another assistant, ask your manager first and look at what they have coming up before you commit to anything. If it is a quiet period for your manager, it will probably be fine for you to take on extra work but do double-check.
If you work at a company that encourages assistants to work together as a team, you must cover each other now and again. It isn’t always fun or easy, and the extra work can be stressful. There is a positive side in that you will be exposed to other business areas. You might be covering for a more senior manager than you currently do, and this is great for your reputation and experience; you might pick up new skills and meet new people. Oh, and you might be rewarded too!
During the Virtual Summit in October 2017, we had the amazing Simone White, Executive Assistant and Global Chair of GAIN – Administrative Professionals Network at BlackRock, train our attendees to start their own internal network for Assistants. Today we are pleased that we can share the video with you.
It is helpful advice on where to start if you want to create your internal network for Assistants, cope with the challenges of organising a network, and look at all the benefits.
I often hear Assistants say, we have an internal network, but it isn’t beneficial. That sucks! It is such an achievement to get a network up and running, and it is such a shame if it isn’t working to benefit the group of Assistants working in the organisation. Well, that is about to change today. Here are ten tips and tricks to help you work collectively and share best practices in your EA network.
Effective Meeting Management is the first step to ensuring productive network meetings. You have to manage the meetings like a board or committee meeting. Make sure you have an agenda at each meeting, always have a chairperson (this could be consistent, or you could change it each month), write down actions and outcomes and stick to the subjects in the agenda and the timing of the meeting.
What are the common issues?
Every network should have some common ground. If you haven’t had a chance to write down your common problems formally, this is a task for the next meeting. Once you realise how consistent and similar your issues are, you can resolve the problems (and often, the problems are identical despite the fact you all work in different teams and departments).
Have a social aspect, but don’t make it all about socialising!
Ensure you organise regular drinks and get-togethers for all of the Assistants in the network. You all bond; the best way to do this is in an informal setting. Also, ensure you have constructive get-togethers with a training and educational element.
I spoke a few years ago at the BlackRock Assistant network. They had organised a presentation from a senior member of staff, an external trainer, and asked each Assistant to invite another Assistant from one of their client’s organisations. It was such a brilliant idea and showed the senior members of staff the power of the Assistant network. Of course, there were drinks and nibbles and a goodie bag too!
How can you be more efficient as a team of Assistants?
Again this should be part of every networking session. What can you do as a group of employees to drive the business forward and add to the bottom line? At the start of every year, set objectives for the network, and work on a joint project that your network owns. What can you be doing to integrate your network into the business? Bobbie Saxon, EA at Diageo, shares a great example of this. Her Assistant team trains other staff members on how to be more productive, use the IT systems correctly and work with them on their time management. What a great way to use their skills and move the business forward.
Ask your colleagues to attend the meetings.
This is a great way to improve the overall business acumen of the Assistants. Ask them to present what they are doing in their team or department so that all the Assistants understand what everyone else is doing and how they fit into the organisation’s structure.
Contact your suppliers.
Let your suppliers know that you have an internal Assistant network and again ask them to come along and talk about how the system or product works. In one of my internal networks, we asked the travel management company to come in, and we talked through the problems we had with their online booking tool and one of the IT team. We got them to make adjustments for us, solving some of our issues.
Pull together the standard procedures and create a process manual for your organisation’s Assistants.
This doesn’t have to be done during the meeting. You can set up a Slack channel, OneNote document, or Google Doc (whatever works best for your organisation). Ask everyone to add their best tips and tricks for handling procedures in your organisation and how they work best in the role.
Make sure everyone is involved.
You should ask each member of the network to update what is happening in their area, ask all new hires to come along as soon as they start their job, and assign tasks and responsibilities so that all the Assistants feel like they have a stake in the network.
This can be challenging if your network is currently where most people come to gripe about the job.
If you have this issue, an excellent way to tackle it is to have a discussion section during each meeting to vent. But make sure you time it well, so the venting doesn’t take up the whole session. Make sure you have an action point after each section to be done about the issue being discussed. It is incredible how many people stop moaning about something when asked to start resolving the problem!
You are stronger together
I’ve had the pleasure of talking with Assistants who have set up internal networks which have gone on to change policy and enhance the role of the Assistants across the entire organisation. It can be done. You are much stronger together. An internal network shows that you are taking your role seriously, and everyone else in the organisation should too. Make sure this message is frequently communicated in the network so that you share a common purpose.
Networking as an Assistant is crucial – we need those circles of support to be the best we can be in our roles. We are great at networking, as it is a role which allows us to come in contact with many different people. Therefore, getting connected and broadening our circle of influence can be advantageous for all parties involved.
In this chapter, we explored how Assistants can gain more networks and increase their influence and some terrific tips for setting up internal Assistant networks. Indeed now you have read about networking and its importance for Assistants, it’s time to take action and instantly prioritise improving your network! Why don’t you start by enrolling on the Assistant Mindset Online Course today? With this valuable knowledge, you will become unstoppable!
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