Confessions of an Executive Assistant

Afew days ago I was honored to have some great conversation over lunch with three women whom I respect very much: Linda Eggers, who is the executive assistant for author and speaker John Maxwell; Cina Gailey who assists Bob Funk, co-founder of Express Employment Professionals; and Diane Brown whom I’m honored to have as my executive assistant.

I wish I could have given these ladies microphones and a stage so people could learn the inside scoop about how to serve their leaders. I loved hearing their stories and insights into how they lead, so I wanted to share a few of our discussion topics and what I learned from our time together.

Leading Up

While their nature is to respectfully serve, each one of these leaders have learned to lead their boss very well. I say “boss” lightly because we all know who’s really the boss! Sometimes they lead humbly and quietly in the background, and sometimes they lead by approaching their boss with alternate ideas or insight.

Leadership Take Away: Executives (or anyone with an administrative assistant for that matter) should always be open to additional insight. Administrative assistants can offer a new perspective. It’s the leader’s responsibility to be available and approachable so they feel comfortable leading up. I know I don’t always have to agree with Diane’s opinion, but I’d be a fool not to hear her out. This is how we both learn.

Communication Needs

Communication is the most common challenge companies face, and it’s also a big frustration to teammates when things aren’t communicated. The same is true for these three executive assistants. Communication is crucial to them being able to be more efficient as they serve.

Leadership Take Away: Never assume your assistant doesn’t need to know something. When you allow your assistant to be “in” on everything from what your vision is to what you’ve agreed to do for a teammate, you enable him or her to coordinate and maneuver around a potential train wreck that you don’t see approaching.

Dealing with Change

We laughed about this topic because every one of their leaders was guilty of making last minute changes. What I loved to see was the attitude they have in dealing with change. They don’t really mind it. They accept it. They have adapted to their leader’s tendencies, so change isn’t a problem; it’s just part of the fun in serving. It was so neat to hear Linda Eggers say, “I don’t mind dealing with all the change that caring for John demands because he shows his appreciation for my extra work in adjusting. He cares, acknowledges, and apologizes for last minute changes. This makes me want to serve him all the more.” That’s POWERFUL!

Leadership Take Away: When you make last minute changes that may rock you assistant’s world, make sure to show your appreciation and understand that you’ve created additional work for this person outside of his or her already busy schedule. This idea seems so simple, but I know most of us can improve in this area.

It was really rewarding for me to learn from these three leaders, which brings me to some questions and a challenge for you. Who do you learn from? Do you intentionally learn from those who work for you or report to you? You may be the boss, but the insight of those who work in your wake can be very enlightening.