Building a Strategic Business Partnership
with your Executive

The Strategic Business Partner Online Course

The Strategic Business Partner Online Course is designed to explicitly teach Assistants, step by step, how to create a strong partnership with their Executive.

The course will give you the skills and insights needed to build an effective relationship with your Executive, develop business acumen that prepares you for future challenges in the Assistant role, and change your perspective to become confident in your decision-making.

1:1 Meeting Template

The template you need to maximise the time spent with your Executive.

​The template gives you the steps to ensure that when you have a one-to-one meeting with your Executive, you get through all the work you need to cover and maximise your time together.

Five ways to improve your leadership skills

You may not manage a team but work in a management role.

You manage your Executive, work with and support the leadership team, and see yourself as a role model for other staff members within your organisation.

With all that being said, there are plenty of ways to boost your managerial presence, and we have five ways to improve your leadership skills.

Always keep learning

We see this all the time in great leaders – they are still curious.

You should always keep learning as much as you can about the business, the people around you and your strengths and weaknesses.

Take the initiative when it comes to your learning, put yourself forward for work that will challenge you, look at the areas you can improve, and then take some training or read some self-improvement books.

Take action

This is something that leaders have to do.

They have to take the initiative, make things happen and take responsibility for driving the business forward.

Even if you are not in a management role, you can act like a leader and take action.

Make decisions that are in the best interest of your business and put yourself forward for work that will get you noticed (sometimes that means taking on tasks that nobody else wants to do.)

Ask for feedback

During your one-to-one meetings with your Executive (that are about your personal development), you should ask for input on the skills that make you a leader, such as taking the initiative, understanding how the business works, motivating others, and taking responsibility for your work and the company’s success.

There are many leadership skills that you can acquire, and it would be good to get feedback on what areas you can improve. If you work with teams or project groups, you should also ask for feedback after finishing the project.

Have those difficult conversations

Difficult conversations are always hard to have, but when you think about it often when you have these difficult conversations, something positive comes out.

Authentic leaders can initiate these types of discussions and structure them to make them worthwhile.

Understand your strengths and weaknesses
Having self-awareness is an excellent strength for Assistants to have in general, but for leaders being aware of their strengths and weakness is essential.

If you can, complete a survey like Insights Discovery or Myers Briggs to see where your strengths and weaknesses lie as a leader, and then you will have a good understanding of the areas you can work on.

What does it mean to be a collaborative Assistant?

Every business and organisation needs employees to work together, move projects forward and reach common goals.

Collaboration is an essential skill for everyone.

However, for Assistants, collaboration is vital. We must work with other staff members on projects and reach common goals.

We also have to build a fantastic relationship with our Executives, which is heavily based on collaboration, trust and cooperation. To succeed as an Assistant, we need to be collaborative.

There are so many ways that Assistants can be collaborative and showcase their skills in this area.

I will list all the different areas that I think will showcase a collaborative Assistant.

1. Understanding the mission: You need to know what your work means and how it fits into the scheme. You can be much more collaborative if you know the goals and strategies of the business.
2. Understanding what is expected of you: What does your Executive expect? How do your work and what you do make a difference? Understanding the expectations of those around you – and of course, living up to the expectations will help you be seen as a team player and someone who collaborates.
3. Sharing the responsibility: When you are a collaborative Assistant, you know what your work means and are responsible for the delivery of the work. Make sure you hit deadlines and present good-quality work. Share the responsibility of getting the goals completed and moving the business forward.
4. Asking for feedback: When working collaboratively with your Executive and colleagues, you need clarity around your goals and objectives. You need to ask for feedback – are you on the right track? Is there anything you can change so that your work adds value?
5. Knowing your strengths and building on your weaknesses: Collaborative Assistants understand what they are good at and showcase their talents. They put their hands up for projects they know they can ace and help drive the business forward. They also know which areas they can work on and develop. A collaborative Assistant can play to their strengths and help support their team.
6. Going to the meetings: If you want to collaborate and feel part of the team (or in a team with your Executive), you must attend the meetings. Find out what happens at the meetings (not afterwards or through the grapevine). Go to the meetings.
7. Having a ‘can-do’ attitude: When everyone is working towards achieving something, a ‘can-do’ attitude can help overcome obstacles and reach the result. For Assistants, a positive can-do attitude will get you far. It can also lead to innovation and finding new ways of working.
8. Communicating all the time: We all know that Assistants need to have very effective communication skills. These skills shine when you also collaborate effectively. The traits of a collaborative Assistant include learning how to communicate so that your message is heard and actively listening to your Executive so that you truly understand what is required of you. You should never withhold information that will move the business forward. Never be scared to share your perspective.
9. Emotionally intelligent: Collaboration is essential for a successful Assistant / Executive partnership. To get to a point where you can collaborate quickly and efficiently, you have to get to know each other on an emotional level. Assistants have to understand how their executives operate and what drives them. If they are snappy and irritable, why is that? What is the bigger picture, and what can you do to help get them back on an even keel? Collaboration is often about assessing the team’s mood and helping others with their challenges. This requires detaching yourself from your feelings and emotions, remaining calm and seeing the bigger picture.
10. Respecting other people’s perspectives: There will be many different opinions when working towards a common goal. Recognising everyone’s perspective and thinking process will help you collaborate more effectively. Collaborative Assistants are open-minded and willing to listen to others to achieve a consensus.

How should Assistants represent their Executive at a meeting?

I can remember the first meeting I went to instead of my manager was terrifying.

It was a last-minute decision because she was running late and I didn’t have time to prepare myself properly. As a result, I didn’t do anything in the meeting except take a few notes and agree to report to my manager later that day. I was so annoyed at myself because I knew exactly what was being discussed once I was in the meeting. I knew I could contribute, but I didn’t feel confident voicing my opinion because I was so unprepared.

After a bad start, I decided I wanted to be involved in meetings and enjoy making decisions on behalf of my manager. So, I devised a plan that would help me represent my manager at the drop of a hat and confidently. How should Assistants represent their boss at a meeting? Here is that plan.

Have regular meetings with your manager

Regular meetings with your manager help Assistants stay on top of everything that is happening.

In your catch-up meetings, review your manager’s diary that day and also for the week ahead.

It would be best if you discussed what each meeting is for, what the objectives are, who is attending, and what your Executive hopes to achieve during the meeting.

Hopefully, you will know most of these answers because you have arranged the meeting, but make sure all areas are covered, so if you have to step in for your manager, you already know what to expect.

Consistent catch-up meetings with your Executive will help you understand the overall business better and increase your awareness of your Executives role within the organisation.

If you have been asked to attend a meeting on behalf of your boss and have been given some prior notice, then schedule a specific catch-up meeting to get a brief from your Executive.

Find out how they want you to feedback on the meeting outcomes.

Attend meetings with your Executive

As part of your development programme, ask your Executive if you can attend meetings with them to see how they operate during the meeting, who they are meeting with and how they go about making decisions.

You will find with time that your boss will ask your opinion more and more, and they will confide in you too, just because most people want to share what they are thinking.

After a while, you will become a regular fixture at meetings, so when you represent your Executive on your own most of your colleagues will be used to seeing you there.

Attend meetings without your Executive

As you take on more work and become involved in more projects, you will inevitably attend more meetings.

In those meetings, always say something. Have an opinion and voice it.

This will improve your confidence, and your colleagues will see that you are worth listening to. The essential task for Assistants in meetings is to take the minutes, but this doesn’t mean you can’t voice your opinion. You have as much right to share your thoughts as anyone else in the meeting.

You want to be part of the meeting and offer your other skills.

Again, stepping out of your comfort zone will help your confidence.

Get to know your colleagues

Get to know all of your colleagues and how they interact with each other.

It is impossible to know everyone in a big organisation, but you should know all the departments heading up each department, how big the teams are, and what each part of the business does.

This should be easily accessible on your intranet or via HR, so do study up.

If you represent your Executive at a meeting, you may not know who the people in the room are personally, but you should understand what they do and what they want from your Executive.

Making big decisions

As tempting as it is to agree that the company should close early every Friday, your Executive will not be pleased if you agree with something that isn’t in the organisation’s best interest.

Remember that you can have opinions in meetings and certainly answer questions knowing that your manager would answer in the same way, but don’t say agree to anything if you are unsure.

It is okay to say that you don’t know and must find the information after the meeting.

Working well under pressure

You will have to work under pressure at some point in your career, meet tight deadlines, and deal with stressful situations.

Although organisations should care for their employee’s well-being and strive to create a calm environment, this is not always achievable.

Sometimes, even for the most organised Executives and Assistants, you will encounter working under pressure. Learning to cope with the demand and dealing with stress is essential for Assistants and, of course, keeping yourself healthy during these intense periods.

Here are five tips on how to work well under pressure:

Flip your thinking

It can be easy to feel anxious when working under pressure with looming deadlines, urgent requests and a long to-do list.

When working in this environment, you must see this period as a challenge you will win.

Assistants are good at working under pressure. We are creative thinkers and problem-solvers, so whenever you are working under pressure, the first thing to tell yourself is you will get through this and you are going to succeed.

Organise and prioritise

When working under pressure, try to stay in the here and now. You have much to get through, but focusing on future deadlines isn’t getting the work done. So instead, take a step back.

Every task can be broken down into smaller parts. Prioritise what needs to be done now, today.

Organise your workspace to have everything at your fingertips, and try to keep the space around you calm and tidy.

What are you doing with your time?

If you find that you regularly work under pressure, you will need to consider the reasons for this.

What are you doing with your time? How are you spending it? Are you procrastinating? How can you reclaim your time so that you are meeting deadlines and finishing projects?

If you are working under pressure because you are saying yes to every task that comes your way, you will also evaluate this position. You can’t be everything to everyone in the office. No matter how hard you try, some things have to give!

Plan ahead

There will be times when the work ramps up in every organisation, and everyone is under pressure to complete specific projects.

Assistants will undoubtedly be heavily involved in these periods. Therefore, you should plan to make sure that you are in an excellent position to care for yourself during these periods and handle the pressure.

Ensure you have cleared much of your work or put it on hold until the stressful time has passed. You know what is important to you and your Executive. Everything else can wait.

Reward yourself

When you have been through a highly pressured period, reward yourself.

When you are in the middle of the work and can’t see the endpoint, you can at least think about the excellent reward you are giving yourself at the end! Rewarding yourself and reflecting on what you have achieved is essential.

Everyone deserves a reward for their hard work, and you should never deny yourself something that makes you feel good about yourself.

Bridging the interpersonal gap between staff and a busy boss

A considerable part of an Executive’s job is to lead their staff, motivate and encourage them.

However, this isn’t always the case. Many Executives are too busy or under too much pressure to manage their staff effectively. Some executives are very good at what they do but don’t have the interpersonal skills to lead or motivate the team around them.

This lack of leadership can have a tangible impact on the office culture and morale of the staff. Assistants, of course, will also be affected by this lack of leadership and interpersonal skills. Of course, we must be managed as much as any other staff member. But, this is a problem in the office that we can help to solve.

We can add value when working with an Executive who struggles to manage their team.

Here is why.

Part of our role is to represent the best interests of our Executives to make them successful. So we can see the areas that they find challenging, be it time management, organisation or, in this case, people management, and we can support them with these issues.

Let’s look at how Assistants can bridge the interpersonal gap between staff and a busy boss.

First, this is not a comfortable place to find yourself as an Assistant.

Working with an Executive who doesn’t manage very well is challenging. First, you must determine why they are not great at motivating or managing. Are they too busy, are they under pressure, or do they lack interpersonal skills? Do they struggle to connect with people?

Whatever it happens to be, once you work out the reason, you need to ask yourself if you can still work with this Executive. They must also open up to you and trust you enough to help them manage their staff if they are happy to delegate this responsibility so that they can concentrate on their objectives. Great! This makes your role here much more manageable.

If they don’t see their lack of leadership as a problem, that is a problem, and you need to consider your position.

Okay, so let’s assume they want you to help bridge the gap.

Where do you start?

Here are a few strategies you can implement to help your Executive manage their team effectively and make your team much happier in the workplace.

Communication

Management’s lack of communication is the number one reason people get frustrated in their roles and lack motivation. How can you feel empowered when you don’t know what is happening? Assistants can add value here. Weekly communication with the team about your Executive’s activities will keep everyone up to date and in the loop.

Ask each of your Executive’s direct reports to send a similar email to you so that you can put that into a report for your Executive to read over on a Friday afternoon. As a warning, you need to be very involved in your Executive’s day, so you know what you can communicate and what is confidential.

1-2-1 meetings

Ensure your Executive has a 1-2-1 session with their direct reports at least once per month.

These 1-2-1 meetings must stay in the diary, so try not to move them.

Before the meeting, ensure the direct report submits an agenda they can work through together. This is essential because you don’t want your Executive to feel like the meeting was a waste of time and cancel the appointments.

Office culture

When working with an Executive who struggles to motivate their team, you can be sure this will affect the office culture and have a knock-on effect throughout the business.

You can turn the office culture around depending on how much scope you are given to oversee staff management. There are a few questions you can ask yourself that will start this process:

• How can we make the team feel valued?
• How can the team give feedback?
• What are the organisation’s goals, values, and mission statement, and how does this affect our team?
• What can we do to make work fun?
• How do we show gratitude for their hard work?

Social events

There should be a social aspect in every organisation. Your team should be able to bond in a less formal environment and get to know each other on a personal level. It will be up to you to organise social events for your team. Make sure your

Executive gives you a budget each month for team drinks or team-bonding activities. If this is impossible, organise something cheap and cheerful monthly for your team to pay for themselves.

Making your team feel comfortable

In the past, I’ve worked with incredibly formidable executives who can be completely unapproachable. I’ve worked for executives who never leave their office and sit scowling at their screens all day.

I sat outside their office and watched as their team members built the courage to go into the office and speak to them.

It is horrible to see, and no one should have to work like that, but it happens every day in offices worldwide. If you are working with a tough Executive, be the happy, approachable person your colleagues see before they speak with your Executive.

Make them feel at ease, let them know what mood your Executive is in and give them a head’s up if specific topics aren’t going to fly today.

Inspiring trust

Assistants must gain their Executive’s confidence.

It is even more critical when working with an Executive who struggles to motivate their team. They will rely so heavily on you that the only way for the relationship to work is if they can trust you with their team.

You also have to inspire trust in your colleagues; you are the bridge between the top-level Executive and the rest of the employees, so they must trust that you know what you are doing.

If they don’t, you will find they go straight to the Executive rather than coming to you first. This can cause no end of headaches for you. So, inspiring trust in terms of keeping confidence and inspiring others to trust your skills. Getting this right will make your job a whole lot easier.

20 Ways to Impress Your Executive

The worksheet gives you 20 ideas to elevate you in the Assistant role.

It’s expertly designed to help you establish a strategic partnership with your Executive, enhancing collaboration and mutual success.

Effective Communication between an Assistant and their Executive

Communication between an Assistant and their Executive is everything! It is so vital that you communicate regularly and face to face! Again this is a two-way thing and should be consistent throughout your work with your manager. So, naturally, set up regular meetings to discuss workloads and diaries and be there for them when they need to talk about something.

Check-in with them throughout the day, even if it is to say where you are going. If you communicate with them effectively, you won’t be blindsided by unexpected problems.

A continual dialogue is so important

Don’t make the mistake that you and your manager are on the same page! It’s hard enough being on the same page with your friends and family, let alone your work colleagues!

The only way to ensure you understand what your boss wants from you is to continuously communicate with them and have an open and honest dialogue. Understanding their priorities and aligning your goals with theirs is in your best interest.

Communication – when and how

Understanding when and how to communicate is also essential. You have to communicate effectively and strategically to get the most out of every interaction.

Before attempting any communication, think about what you are trying to convey. Organise this in your mind and stick to the key points. If you need to, write these key points down so that you can refer back if the topic runs away from you. This should be used in any form of communication, from emailing someone to meeting them face-to-face.

Remember that communication is a two-way street.

Don’t let your manager get away with vague instructions.

This is so important because it is so easy for them to do. You are there to support them, so they may spend less time explaining what they need from you than they would with your colleagues. Always define the specifics to your manager (either with a follow-up email or during the initial project conversation). With long-term tasks, such as a diary or email management, do the same thing, define exactly how they want you to manage their correspondence and calendar.

Again have this conversation immediately if you haven’t already – how else do you know if you are meeting their expectations?

If you have been working with your manager for a while, it is always worth having a review meeting to suggest new working methods and any best practices you have picked up from colleagues or previous roles. Suggest this to your manager and work in ways to ask precisely what their expectations are!

Managing Expectations

In this video, Nicky Christmas, the Founder and Editor of Practically Perfect PA, explains how important it is for Assistants to manage expectations and communicate openly and honestly with their Executives.

How to build trust with your Executive

One of the most common challenges I hear from Assistants who want to push their careers forward is that their Executives do not trust them enough to hand over exciting projects and tasks.

This is generally because the Executive struggles to delegate and likes to control their work, or they don’t quite get the Assistant role.

It rarely has anything to do with the Assistant not being competent enough to do the job. If you find yourself in this situation, it can be frustrating. But it is something that you can change. It is a long road that takes a lot of patience, but you can get your Executive to give you challenging work.

Let’s start that journey by looking at how to build trust with your Executive.

First, you must tell yourself that you are in charge of the relationship with your Executive. You are responsible for making the partnership work and making them see what you are capable of.

You are there to save them time, and in an ideal world, you will be doing all of the work that takes them away from driving the business forward.

This is easier said than done.

Many executives feel like they do the work better, want to control everything, and struggle to delegate. It’s not personal.

They don’t think you are not doing a good job; they want to do everything themselves. I’ve got a lot of experience with this, firstly as an Assistant working with a COO who tried to do everything himself and now as a business owner who struggles to delegate!

From experience, trust is the emotion that helps in this scenario. Your Executive must trust that you will do as good a job as they, and trust will relieve their anxiety.

How do you build that trust?

Here are a few areas that will help build trust between an Assistant and their Executive.

Accountability

This is the first step to being trusted.

Have a look at all of the day-to-day tasks that are assigned to you. I bet there are loads. However, these are the tasks that you should have complete control over. They may be minor things like picking up the post every morning to more significant tasks like managing your Executive’s schedule.

For every task you have complete control over, think to yourself: How can I make every job a complete success? What can I do to ensure the process attached to each task runs smoothly and is working well? Then, list these tasks and spend some time making them more efficient.

You are accountable for these tasks and should take responsibility for their success.

Consistently communicate with your Executive

Communication is so important when building trust.

Ensure your Executive knows everything you do and how well you do. You have to blow your own trumpet so that your Executive knows what you are capable of. If you receive excellent feedback from colleagues, pass it on to your Executive. Champion yourself!

You also need to ask the right questions.

Make sure you have a one-to-one meeting with your Executive, and during the meeting, ask lots of questions about their workload and what you can do to help.

Your Executive will know that they need to give you challenging work. It is harder to ignore that fact if you consistently ask for work and offer to do things.

Consistent in your behaviour

When building trust, you need to be consistent in your behaviour.

This can be tough if you are having a shitty day, but you should always try to have a smile on your face. Be willing to do lots of different tasks and act as a positive presence in the workplace.

If you are consistent in how you work with your Executive, they will know what to expect every day, and they can rely on you.

Grace under fire is my favourite competency for Assistants because Executives respect this in Assistants, which is essential when building trust with business leaders.

Discretion

Keeping your Executive’s confidence is vital for many reasons, not least because you need to trust each other explicitly for the partnership to work.

Don’t ever drop the ball on this one. If you want your Executive to trust you, you can not gossip or share sensitive information with anyone in your organisation.

Trust is built and maintained through everyday actions. If you feel trust is lacking in your relationship with your Executive, you can work on this today and every day going forward.

It takes time, but you can make a change to be trusted to do more challenging work.

What meetings should you have with your Executive?

We all know that communication with your Executive is critical to a successful working relationship. I’ve found that the more access an Assistant has to their Executive, the more they are seen as a vital asset.

But, when you work with a busy Executive, it can be challenging to get time with them. I know how difficult it can be, especially if they travel frequently or work remotely.

However – I want to repeat this. If you have access to your Executive, if they let you into their inner circle, you will be a better Assistant, and in turn, they will be a better Executive and Leader.

It is that simple.

Communication is vital, and meeting and talking regularly is essential for the relationship. How do you do this?

Like anything, you, along with your Executive, must first decide that this is how you will work together and second, you must make it a habit. You have to organise your Executive’s schedule to meet and talk often and stick to the schedule.

Once you start to follow the plan, you will notice that you both (but more importantly, your Executive) rely on this regular communication. I want to share how exactly you should plan the meetings with your Executive, including the frequency and what you should cover.

Daily catch up

You should meet or speak for, at the very least, 15 minutes per day. Most Assistants will spend more time with their Executives, so this is the minimum amount of time.

I worked with an incredibly busy Executive who packed her day full of meetings, and for us, 15 minutes at the beginning of the day worked well with a 15-minute catch-up at the end of the day. Sometimes the 15 minutes was a walking/talking conversation, but it gave me enough time to ask those few vital questions and for my Executive to feel my presence during the day.

With Executive’s with a smaller workload, half an hour at their desk every day worked well.

For many executives, these meetings will feel like breathing space. They can re-focus on what they want to achieve and delegate work to help them achieve it – which feels good!

During your daily catch-ups, you should cover the necessary information that you both need to move your day forward.

If your Executive is travelling, you should send a ‘touch-base’ email covering everything you would typically cover in your catch-up meeting.

A weekly catch-up meetings

You need a slightly longer weekly catch-up with your Executive to plan the schedule, deal with the paperwork, and look at where you are with goals and objectives, ongoing projects, and the to-do list.

If your Executive is in the office, Friday afternoon works well. The office tends to be quieter, you can plan the week, and most people are a bit more relaxed on a Friday afternoon so that you can enjoy half an hour together.

During these weekly catch-up meetings, this is the time for Assistants to discover the why behind the what. Why are we doing these tasks? What is the bigger picture here? These meetings motivate us as much as we can move the work along for our Executive.

Monthly goal and objective planning

The monthly goal and objective planning will help you plan out your Executive’s calendar for the month and the tasks you both need to focus on.

These meetings are helpful because they give you the understanding you need to make decisions on your Executive’s behalf.

When colleagues want your Executive’s time or ask you to do things that fit the strategy, these meetings and the knowledge you gain will give you the confidence to say no (or not now) to specific requests. So what should you cover in these meetings?

Treat them as you would any project planning meeting. Follow an agenda, for example:

• What are the objectives for this month?
• Update on where we are with goals/objectives
• What are the roadblocks and risks?
• What are the deadlines and milestones?

Quarterly strategic reviews

If you want to be seen as a strategic business partner, you must know the strategy! Attend meetings with your Executive that drive the strategy forward, so you don’t have to hear through the grapevine what is happening. Schedule quarterly strategic reviews with your Executive to ensure their time is spent on the right things. Again in these meetings, you should have the schedule open. You should be discussing goals and objectives for the quarter and spend this time getting to grips with what is going on in your Executive’s world. If your Executive is short on time, it might be worth integrating your quarterly strategic review with your team.

Daily Checklist for Assistants

Use this checklist to ensure every task you have is managed and executed flawlessly.

Our daily checklist for Executive Assistants is designed to streamline your workflow and ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

The challenges

Okay, so if these are the areas that the role is moving into and the characteristics of a strategic business partner, what are the challenges?

Why aren’t all Assistants there yet? Here are a few examples of the challenges Assistants face:

• Finding the time to be strategic
• Having the confidence
• Moving from a reactive to a proactive assistant
• Having the backing of your Executive
• What steps do Assistants have to take?

I think the first thing to say is that you will all be at different points along the road to being a strategic business partner.

Unfortunately, there is no road map for this because our career paths are so varied, and we all have such different experiences in the role that change from job to job, company to company, so a lot of this work you will have to do on your own.

But.

You’ve got to do it!

The thought leaders are elevating the role to this level, which means recruitment companies use this jargon in their job descriptions. This is what ultimately businesses are going to want in their staff.

To ensure that you future proof your career and that you are ready for the next five years, this level of interaction within your business is imperative.

It’s getting to be as vital as it was 15 years ago to know how to use Microsoft.

Also, it’s worth noting that the strategic work is also where the reward and recognition lives; this is how you get yourself noticed.

This is your career, and you have to put yourself out there if you want the rewards and the gratification that really can come from being an Assistant.

Strategic thinking, proactivity, and adding value as an Assistant is more important than ever.

What is strategy, and where does it come from?

The first thing we have to do is define what we mean by strategic because, as I said, this is what drives the business forward.

It is the plan that all employees follow to make the business successful.

The CEO and board members make the strategy, and we follow it.

So how does a strategic business partner fit into that process?

For me, strategy covers a lot, and people say it when they don’t know what they mean. All of the examples I gave above could be considered strategic, but for me, this is what I mean when I talk about PAs being strategic.

Strategy is the art of adding value

This applies to Assistants because we are very much there to add value to the organisation but save our Executive’s time (and now also working on projects and tasks outside of the traditional Assistant role).

Okay, now we know what we mean by strategy. Let’s look at the steps you can follow to get there.

In his book, David Sinek talks about the idea of starting with why and understanding your organisation’s purpose.

Start with the why

• Why does your organisation do what it does?
• Not what it does or how it does it, but why?
• What is the purpose of your organisation?

And then within that – why does your Executive or Executives do what they do? What are their core beliefs and values? Why do they work in a certain way, and what makes them tick?

Once you start to think about the why of things, you will begin to understand what the bigger picture is – in other words, why something has to be done rather than just getting on and doing it.

Live and breathe the company strategy

Assistants have to live and breathe the company strategy.

You have to be 100% involved in it.

You have to understand it, and you have to activate all of your work based on the overall objectives of the organisation and then the goals of your Executive.

Here are some solid tips on how you start to understand the strategy of the business.

#1 Never Stop Learning

Attend training in areas that you can improve – business strategy, finance, marketing, whatever it is. Where can you add value?

Where is there a gap in expertise – can you fill that gap?

Graduate programmes

In house training

Shadow others in your PA network, your colleagues, members of the board etc.

Get a mentor – is there a PA in your office who is a strategic business partner, what did they do, how did they get there?

There is a lot to learn!

Suppose you have an Executive that doesn’t appreciate what you do or what you can do. They will find that you’ve left in 5 years and found someone who does get what an EA can offer, and they’ll be stuck trying to work out how to use AI to schedule a meeting with their new millennial boss!

#2 Never stop networking

Networking is the foundation to good overall business acumen and understanding the direction of the business.

Networking for PAs is essential for so many reasons, but it will significantly improve your knowledge in terms of business acumen.

And here is why.

When you network, you find out about stuff! So go to networking events (which are quite often free or a small fee), meet with other PAs, attend the training sessions that go along with networking events, meet with suppliers. Go to team drinks, go to departmental beverages, go to your organisation’s networking events and talk to people!

One of the cheapest ways to find out about the organisation is to talk to people and ask what they do!

As an Assistant, you are automatically given a level of trust that other people within the organisation are not, so take advantage of that. Always ask, ‘what is happening with you?’

People want to get on well with Assistants. They know that Assistants are worth knowing and have a lot of information, so you use this to your advantage to build your knowledge of the company and what is going on. As I said before, be curious!

If you don’t already, it is well worth setting up an internal network for all of the Assistants within the organisation.

If you have an internal network to share business information and have speakers from the business come and talk to you about the strategic direction, you will increase the visibility of the Assistants within the organisation.

And, again, this doesn’t cost your company too much money!

#3 Read Everything

This might seem obvious to some of you, but I’ve met Assistants who don’t do this, and it is this. READ everything!

And I mean everything!

Read your Executive’s emails – both their inbox and sent items. Read their reports, read their memos, files, past emails – everything!

Does your manager subscribe to business magazines?

If they do, this is great because you open their post and can read the magazines before giving it to them! Not only does this help with your business knowledge, but it also gives you something to talk to your boss about. This is excellent when you build rapport and find common ground, which is vital to being a strategic business partner.

Reading doesn’t stop there.

Make sure you read everything put up on your internal communication systems – intranet, collaborative tools such as Slack or Trello and briefing documents. I always found the intranet a weird and wonderful place to get lots of information about the organisation.

I highly highly recommend that you read lots of career and personal development books. I love getting lost in a good book and will always find time to read fiction, so I make sure that I will read one non-fiction book that will develop me professionally with every two fiction books I read.

Feedly is my app of choice.

When it comes to reading, prioritise what to read. Business-related and boss related stuff comes first.

Then create some time to read everything else. As I said, I love a good book, so I have the routine of reading one non-fiction to every two trashy fiction or celebrity autobiographies that I love but don’t feed the brain!

#4 Listen to Everything

Because this is how you find out how your Executive operates and the people they surround themselves with.

Do you take minutes at meetings?

Again this is another fantastic way to increase your business awareness. In a previous role, I managed 12 Committees, all of which had a particular interest in different areas of accountancy.

I attended all of the Committee meetings and took all of the minutes. During the meetings, I would listen to what everyone was saying and take notes on anything I didn’t understand to research it later. I would also talk to the members during refreshment breaks and read all of the supporting documents and regular newsletters.

By the end of the four years I worked in that role, my knowledge of accountancy was extraordinary!

So while you are reading everything, also listen to everything too!

Listen to what is going on around, what your colleagues are talking about over lunch or during post-work drinks. You don’t need to divulge this information to anyone, but being business savvy isn’t just about the nuts and bolts of the business. It is also about the mood and feel of the office.

People make businesses, so make sure you also have a good understanding of what is happening with your colleagues and the organisation’s culture.

#5 Attend Meetings

Do you attend meetings with your manager?

If you don’t, you need to. You must be privy to the same information as your manager. Okay, there will be times that you don’t attend meetings – 1.2.1s with other members of staff, but you should be attending client meetings, board meetings, team meetings and project meetings.

Attending meetings will bring you into contact with the company’s decision-makers, and you will be privy to their conversations and how they come to make decisions.

Ensure you listen to these people. If you know why decisions are made in the company, you can start making choices about your everyday work following the same strategy as the executive team.

Even after 1.2.1 meetings, you should probably get an update on any actions from that session. I will come on to this in more detail, so let’s stick with listening for a second.

When you are in these meetings, you are an active participant. Be part of the meeting. As your Executive’s Assistant and as a member of the organisation, you have every right to be there.

For me, I used to get nervous in meetings, and I would sweat if I know I had to present something, and I had to force myself to speak up.

To get over my nerves, I started to over-prepare, and although this tactic is quite clearly a lack of confidence (I doubt my male colleagues were doing the same). I would rehearse what I had to talk about, think about questions I might be asked, and read everything that was happening around the meeting, so I felt more prepared. It wasn’t necessary half the time, but it helped me feel more confident to speak up.

I want to read you this excerpt from a LinkedIn article written by Adam Hergenrother, the CEO of his own global business.

Your Assistant works WITH you, not FOR you. Hallie reads all of my emails, attends the majority of my classes & trainings, listens on calls, and sits in on meetings. She is more effective when she knows what I know, knows how I think, how I solve problems, and what I have decided and promised (so she can follow-up and deliver). Do not keep your Assistant on the periphery, assigning tasks that have no context or meaning. They will be far more invested in your success when they are a part of the entire process, and eventually part of the decision making or even making decisions on your behalf. When you bring your assistant into your inner circle – everyone wins.

#6 Push your boundaries

You have to push your business boundaries.

Put yourself out there, ask questions. If you don’t know the answer to something, go and find out. Research and investigate things. Ask to be part of a cross-departmental project. One tip is always to offer to organise events. You will find out a lot of stuff when you organise an event for your business.

You will work with different colleagues, and if you sit at the registration desk, you will meet different people.

Be visible at all times.

Getting ahead doesn’t just start with how competent you are, which sucks for women in business; it also has a lot to do with confidence. You can be the most qualified person in the room, but if there is somebody with more confidence, they will be heard first.

So you have to be confident, and I hope you can feel like you can get yourself to a strategic business partner level.

Also, when you get back, and you start following these steps, you will feel more confident to sit with your Executive and show them that you understand the company’s strategy and that you are implementing it into your work by thinking strategically.

This depth of knowledge will be impressive because they might not think you consider the bigger picture.

#7 Finding the time to think

Lastly, like your manager, you have to have the time to think strategically

It is so standard for assistants to dive into work, get things done, and shift through tons of work. We are the go-to person.

When you need to think strategically, you need to slow down and think through your options. Some of the great Executive Assistants that I have met take time out of the office to plan and prepare for the month ahead.

Putting it into Practice

Each month pick a topic that you would like to develop.

During that month, find some time, over lunch, during your commute, or if you can, take some personal development time during your working hours to dedicate to developing your strategic knowledge. Remember, if you read and listen to everything around you, you will be continually improving your business knowledge. Still, it is also essential to take time to dedicate it too.

Let your Executive know that you want to improve your business savvy and ask for their input in this – get them involved and interested in your development. Lastly, make this part of your overall objectives for the year. If this is part of your career development plan, you are actually allowed to dedicate time within your working hours to this! It is the only way you will show strategic thinking, proactivity and adding value as an Assistant.

Developing your business acumen

I like this definition of business acumen. It is from the Financial Times Lexicon:

In practice, people with business acumen are thought of as having business ‘sense’ or business ‘smarts’. They are able to obtain essential information about a situation, focus on the key objectives, recognise the relevant options available for a solution, select an appropriate course of action and set in motion an implementation plan to get the job done.

Developing business acumen takes time. It has to be achieved through learning and training, and ultimately it has to be part of your ongoing development plan. Expanding your business awareness has to be constant.

Having strong business sense isn’t easy to develop, but it is incredibly vital for an assistant. We support people that have solid business acumen.

They wouldn’t be in the position they are in without it! How can we help them if we do not understand their business, their strategic objectives and the pressures they face daily?

The difficulty is that many organisations don’t understand this need and do not offer assistants the opportunity to attend training courses or take time out of their day to build their business acumen.

Many bosses do not see the potential in their assistants or the bonus of having an assistant with a good knowledge of the business and what that means in terms of the extra support they would receive.

In this video, Nicky will discuss all the different methods she has employed to improve her business acumen as an Executive Assistant and business owner.Strategic thinking, proactivity and adding value as an Assistant.

Resources to increase your business acumen

It goes without saying that for an Assistant to be successful in the role, they need to have strong business acumen. I’ve written about this skill a lot over the years, and I have presented on the topic at various events.

It is a topic close to my heart because I genuinely think once Assistants develop business awareness and get a good grasp of the organisation they work in and the industry, they will open up their career to lots of fantastic opportunities and more reward and recognition.

Understanding the business makes you a better Assistant. You are part of the organisation and team rather than someone who works separately from everyone else. You can make informed decisions based on the strategy and objectives of the business.

I have two resources from Practically Perfect PA to share with you before we delve into more resources to increase your business acumen.

There is are also two fantastic blog posts on All Things Admin that I would highly recommend you read, called Developing Your Business Acumen: You Must Read to Succeed and 5 Ways to Develop Your Admin Business Acumen.

Strong Business acumen starts with an understanding of how your organisation makes money. As an Assistant, you have access to a lot of information that will show you how your organisation makes money.

Understanding your organisation’s financials

I always say that Assistants should read everything that passes their desk, but specifically, you should read:

Financial Statements (the Annual Report is generally made available to staff). What do the leaders say is vital to your business? What metrics do they use to measure success? Where does the company make and spend money?

• Client proposals
• Project charters (that your Executive is involved in)
• Internal newsletters and updates
• The organisation’s website – specifically the press releases, company structure and value statements.

Once you understand how your organisation makes money, you will begin to know how your business fits into the overall industry and the bigger picture.

If you are not sure about the financial jargon that comes with every financial document, I would highly recommend you read What the CEO wants you to Know.

Overall awareness of your business’s financials, if they have had a good year, won clients, or if they have had setbacks is crucial for your business acumen, and it will help you build a partnership with your Executive.

Understanding your industry

Getting to grips with the industry you work in can be pretty overwhelming, mainly if you work in a very technical industry.

But you’ve got to try and understand what your business does and how it fits in with the industry. If you work for a global organisation, say a financial institution or a large conglomerate. You should understand the bigger picture, of course, but then concentrate on what your department does and how it fits into the overall business structure.

There will be a lot of resources available for you to read up on your industry, and I would suggest you start with:

• Trade journals and magazines that you can pick up in your office or are sent to your Executive
• Follow leading industry experts on social media
• In-house courses on your industry (Introduction to Insurance, for example)
• Research the competition

Again this will develop your business acumen and give you something to discuss with your colleagues and your Executive. You will understand the climate in which your business operates and start to grasp the company’s objectives.

Improving your business knowledge

There are a lot of great resources available online that can help you improve your overall business knowledge. Here are just a few suggestions:

• Work it Daily (Blog)
• Forbes
• Harvard Business Review
• Business Insider
• Entrepreneur
• Leaders In Heels
• Management Blog
• Michael Hyatt

As I said at the beginning of the post developing your business acumen is so essential for Assistants. It does set you apart and will push your career forward.

The rewards are there if you take the time to develop this skill. The good news is that you can build your business acumen by delving into many free resources. You just need to make the time for it! It is so necessary when building your strategic thinking, proactivity and adding value as an Assistant.

Getting to grips with your organisation’s strategy

For Assistants, it has become more apparent that the way forward in our profession is to work as a strategic business partner with our Executive. To introduce strategic thinking, proactivity and adding value as an Assistant.

We have written about this a lot over here on Practically Perfect PA and something I have advocated for many years. The role of the Assistant isn’t going anywhere, despite the developments in AI, but it is changing and will continue to change at a rapid pace.

The changes have mostly come in how we work and the skills we have developed and must continue to grow. We are much more aligned with our organisation’s goals, and our work adds to the bottom line.

What does all this mean practically?

Well, we should work more strategically and make decisions based on the strategy of the organisation. But, strategy is such an overarching word and means different things to different people, so how do we get to grips with our organisation’s strategy and think more strategically. How do we introduce strategic thinking, proactivity and adding value as an Assistant?

There are many resources available to Assistants on how to think and work as a strategic business partner. I would push you in the direction of Melba Duncan and her work on this topic, starting with her incredible and ground-breaking article in the Harvard Business Review – The Case for the Executive Assistant.

Understanding your organisation’s strategy

There will be many documents that you can read to help you understand your organisation’s strategy. They should be on your intranet or knowledge database but if not, ask your Executive for a copy (or look through their emails). For starters, try to read the following:

• Vision / Mission statements
• Growth strategies
• Goals and objectives
• Executive summaries
• SWOT analysis
• Key Performance Indicators
• Customer profiles
• Industry analysis
• Marketing plans
• Organisational charts and structures

Try also to gain an understanding of how your organisation makes money. As an Assistant, you have access to a lot of information that will show you how your organisation makes money.

Getting to the top of the industry will be the ultimate strategy for your organisation, so it is essential to understand how they plan to do that and, if they are already at the top, how they plan to stay there!

Improving your strategic thinking

Along with understanding the business you work in, Assistants need to think more strategically and make decisions based on the organisation’s strategy.

How do you go about doing this?

Like your Executive, you have to have the time to think strategically. Giving yourself time helps develop strategic thinking, proactivity and adding value as an Assistant.

It is so standard for assistants to dive into work, get things done, and shift through tons of work.

We are the go-to person.

When you need to think strategically, you need to slow down, find the time and think through your options. Here are just a few resources that can help you to think more strategically:

Four ways to improve your strategic thinking

The Manager’s Guide to Understanding Strategy: Getting Started

How to Master Strategic Thinking

Eight books for strategic Assistants

The trait that I admire most in exceptional leaders (think Oprah Winfrey and Brene Brown) is the time they dedicate to learning new things.

I love that they read, take on new ideas and concepts and never stop growing.

This is something that I always try to find time for, and I think it is essential for Assistants to do the same. I get how hard it is to find a space in your business schedule for career development. But taking the time is the only way to understand strategic thinking, proactivity and adding value as an Assistant.

Let’s face it, picking up a career book probably isn’t top of your priority list when you have some downtime. But, there are so many great resources out there that can propel your career forward. I’ve put together a list of eight great business books for strategic Assistants.

If you want to take your job to the next level and work as a business asset and strategic partner – these are the books that will help you get there!

So good they can’t ignore you by Cal Newport

Favourite quote: “Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before. In other words, what you do for a living is much less important than how you do it.”

Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges by Amy Cuddy

Favourite quote: “Powerful people initiate speech more often, talk more overall, and make more eye contact while they’re speaking than powerless people do. When we feel powerful, we speak more slowly and take more time. We don’t rush. We’re not afraid to pause. We feel entitled to the time we’re using.”

Refuse to Choose!: Use All of Your Interests, Passions, and Hobbies to Create the Life and Career of Your Dreams by Barbara Sher

Favourite quote: “You can waste a perfectly good life trying to meet the standards of someone who thinks you’re not good enough because they can’t understand who you are.”

Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman

Favourite quote: “People’s emotions are rarely put into words, far more often they are expressed through other cues.

the key to intuiting another’s feelings is in the ability to read nonverbal channels, tone of voice, gesture, facial expression and the like.”

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink

Favourite quote: “People can have two different mindsets, she says. Those with a “fixed mindset” believe that their talents and abilities are carved in stone. Those with a “growth mindset” believe that their talents and abilities can be developed. Fixed mindsets see every encounter as a test of their worthiness. Growth mindsets see the same encounters as opportunities to improve.”

Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi

Favourite quote: “I’ve come to believe that connecting is one of the most important business—and life—skill sets you’ll ever learn. Why? Because, flat out, people do business with people they know and like. Careers—in every imaginable fieldwork, the same”

Give & Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant

Favourite quote: “This is what I find most magnetic about successful givers: they get to the top without cutting others down, finding ways of expanding the pie that benefit themselves and the people around them. Whereas success is zero-sum in a group of takers, in groups of givers, it may be true that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”