- Reduce your stress
By reducing your stress, you are freeing your mind and let’s face it, it is your mind that you are being employed for! Knowing your EA is handling all your meetings, emails and deadlines does more than declutter your desk, it declutters your head space. Juggling a million balls all at once is a necessary part of the role, but on an ongoing basis, it can be debilitating. Put your mind at ease, especially during busy periods, by having your EA stay one step ahead, streamlining everything you need to get your job done and anticipating potential problems before they arise.
- Extra accountability
An exceptional EA will help keep you accountable when it comes to deadlines and meetings that simply cannot be negotiated. This can be especially important for non-moveable or previously rescheduled meetings, ensuring that you not only make the meeting but helping you save face by saving you the embarrassment of inconveniencing an even more time-pressed superior or VIP.
- Never miss a thing
Your trusted EA can manage your workload while you are in meetings or out of the office; answering questions from colleagues, signing paperwork or making decisions on your behalf if authorized to do so. A great EA knows how you will respond and can quickly action time-sensitive issues. He or she can also step in and represent you at any meetings you can’t make, reporting back on what you missed. Knowing how you would handle a situation or think on a matter can take time, but is invaluable when it is all running smoothly. It is almost like having two of you!
- Ears and Eyes
An exceptional EA will go above and beyond their official job description to ensure you have everything at your disposal to make informed decisions and stay abreast of everything that’s happening in the office. I recently wrote about how an EA can be invaluable when it comes to taking note of the little details that you just cannot always be across, like the body language of those in your meetings; how were they really feeling about the message? This sort of information can be crucial to your business and success.
- A trustworthy ally
If you need assistance with a sensitive topic, your EA can be trusted to keep it to themselves. More than that, a strong EA will be your vault and have your back, someone you can trust. At a senior level, your role can be lonely; your EA is your support and cheer squad. They believe in you and know you, often better than your team, colleagues or peers. Don’t be afraid to show your true self, this is how the best secret weapon relationships are formed!
- Your PR agent
Your EA will let you know when it is someone’s birthday, anniversary or if there has been a family emergency, illness or death. They will draft the message, buy the present, but it is you that delivers the gift or message and acknowledges said event. It is these little things that go a long way in making a good executive a great executive. Indeed, a 2015 Gallup study revealed that while managers are responsible for day-to-day engagement, employee engagement is increasingly being driven by CEOs or senior executives. Your super EA will also act as your PR agent, spinning any potentially negative situations into positive ones, managing perceptions and ensuring that you are always seen in the best possible light.