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From ‘Personal Secretary’ to ‘PA’ then ‘Renaissance EA’ and beyond – a journey towards professionalism and strategic awareness

Jonathan McIlroy, Director, Executive Assistant Network

Overview• Understanding the EA role in an historical context• Your knowledge, skills and education – copying what your executives are learning • Understanding or even measuring your Strategic Value• Personality versus rationality• The EA Value Spectrum – tools to understand the EA / Executive relationship• Understanding the tools you have at your disposal – education and ….?• Developing a commitment to lifelong learning

Understanding the EA Role in An Historical Context• The changing business and management theory landscape

– The 80s, the 90s and the 2000s– The IT revolution– Theories of organisational structure– Corporate Governance & Environmentalism– Rationality & Accountability

• Staff as assets rather than expenses• Individual value• EAN Survey Results, past conference outcomes and interviews with members

Knowledge, skills and education – copying what your executives are studying

• What are rational executives looking for in an assistant?• The basics – why it is essential you cover these off first• Keeping up with your executive – if you don’t understand where they are going you can’t

assist them to the full

Understanding, portraying and even measuring (?) your strategic value

• How is your value understood in a rational business context• The truth – most organisations, and most executives within these, don't know how to

measure your true value to the organisation

Personality versus rationality

• The notion of rationality – limited and not all pervading• The reality – many executives still ego driven and focussed on personality• Why portraying your value is totally subjective if your relationship is based on personality• Why even a conversation about value will change how you are perceived by your executive

– removes objectivity from his or her appraisal

Strategic Value Spectrum(remember – reality is a spectrum defined by a myriad of factors AND – there are no finite

positions rather continual evolution)

Low Strategic Value

High Level Exec Control

Low Level EA Knowledge & Skills

Medium Strategic Value

Medium Level Exec Control

Medium Level EA Knowledge & Skills

High Strategic Value

Low Level Exec Control

High Level EA Knowledge & Skills

EA / Executive Development & Value Graph

Understanding the tools you have at your disposal to advance your career

• Focus on what you can control not what you can’t – don't waste time investing in a relationship that will never change

• Focus on your own technical and business knowledge and skills• Focus on your own self awareness and set goals that you know will make you happy• Glass Ceilings Are Only For Those Who Believe In Them

A commitment to lifelong learning

• “I don't think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.” – Abraham Lincoln

• “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.” – Henry Ford• “The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing

as we continue to live.” – Mortimer Adler

A commitment to lifelong learning

“The man who is too old to learn was probably always too old to learn.” – Henry Haskins

Conclusions

• What rational, smart and savvy executive wouldn’t want an EA who can add measurable and understood value to their lives?

• Aim to minimise the effect of personality and subjective assessment of your position by discussing value – NEVER be afraid to have a discussion about value irrespective of what you may hear

• Embrace your lifelong journey along the value spectrum – remember this will ebb and flow depending on a myriad of factors

Conclusions cont.

• Control the things you can control• Develop a lifelong commitment to learning• REAL partnership• Encourage the discontinuation of the term personal assistant – it is unnecessarily

subservient and automatically ascribes personal ownership to the executive