Who's the Real Boss?: Tea or coffee? The inconsistencies of the modern day Executive Assistant role

We’re looking for a SUPER STAR EA to come and work for us alongside our COO. You will be super organised, intelligent, well-educated and greatly efficient with fantastic time management skills. You will be the glue that holds our team together and nothing will leave the COOs office without it being checked by you. Quality and assurance is key in your skill set. You will be able to make decisions unaided and be able to work autonomously and within a dynamic and young team. You will be the face of your Executive, represent him in his absence, but also be his solid gate keeper. You will provide additional assistance to his direct report team, assist with company events, manage the entertainment budget and expenses, and assist with personal errands etc. etc.

Your dream role! You’ve been dying to work for that company forever! So you spend time polishing your CV and submitting your application and send it through with fingers crossed. You receive a call and pass the initial screening, only then to embark upon the lengthy interview process where you will be scrutinised within an inch of your life and absolutely put through the ringer. With interview after interview, you meet every HR business partner, get grilled by other EAs and finally meet the Executive you will support. As they sell the role to you, you feel excited about all the new opportunities you will have. Then the final phones call with the exciting news that you’ve secured the role! Not before long your first day comes around, accompanied by those expected first day jitters, and in no time you've settled in to your new routine.

All sound familiar so far? And does it sound familiar that after your first month in the job, you start to realise that you have not in fact been employed to be the glue that holds the team together, but instead you are 'the glue' that ensures the food and beverage needs are met for your boss and fellow team? The intelligent, well educated EA they were looking for was just a sell; all they needed was for someone to get the coffees. I’ve heard this story too many times. Your manager or team has little regard for your opinion, your ideas or the quality you can bring to your role. Their concern rather is ensuring they have their coffee in hand by 8.30am each day.

Not many of us set out to become an EA, and maybe because no one wants to be the one whose job it is to get the coffee. In more cases than not we just end up being one. Whether it be a stepping stone to another role, or an entry in to a company you really want to work for, there are very few of us out there that went to university or TAFE to study how to be an EA. And although there are courses out there that claim to qualify you to work as a senior Executive Assistant, in my opinion being that organised and being able to selflessly manage another person’s life is not something that can be taught in a classroom. You either have the personality and skill set for it, or you don’t - plain and simple. That is why you will quickly learn whether being an EA is something you are cut out to do, or if it isn’t. But even if you never intended to be an EA, some of us, like me, end up sticking with it, climbing our way up the chain.

Throughout my fifteen year career I have had the pleasure of working with some of the best Assistants in Australia, all of which I made sure to spend time with in hope their ‘fabulous-ness’ would rub off on me. To me that is how we truly learn, from the experience of others. Whether it is through mentoring, watching or sharing experiences with fellow EAs, this is how we develop our skills and become the multi-skilled organising machines that we are! Unfortunately on the flip side however, I too have worked with some of the worst EAs, all of which, I’m sure, are no longer ‘practising’. Now when I say worst, I mean those that think all it takes to be a great EA is to ensure you have the best tailored blazer and latest pencil skirt from Zara (with matching pumps of course) along with the highly skilled ability to be able to colour coordinate their outlook calendar and write their to-do list in the prettiest metallic pink pen they could find. The problem is however, that too many girls land these roles based on their youth, looks, outfits and complementing university degree (in whatever discipline they may have studied). And whilst a good education and good presentation are elements that contribute to being a good EA candidate, most roles don’t require a qualification in Business Administration, meaning the roles are usually handed out to the best dressed and best educated. Now there is nothing wrong with this at all, however just because you’ve done double degree in Commerce and Arts does not necessarily mean you’re organised and efficient. Sure, you might have a great sense of business acumen, or perhaps you’re highly personable, or even overly intelligent, but once you land that EA role you’ll quickly learn that the art of being a good EA actually entails a whole lot more!

But whether you’re a career EA like me, or whether you’re in it for other reasons, the trouble with EA roles in the modern day is the inconsistency from one role to the next. If you become an Accountant for example, you will know what is required of you and what your job entails each and every day. But as an EA your role will usually be determined by the expectations of your boss. Yes there is always the daily hygiene of an EA role - diary, inbox, gatekeeping, office management etc. but the real crux of your job will be what is set out for you by your boss. Take it from me though, each and every Executive out there in the business world are all entirely different. Each of the Executives I’ve supported over the last 15 years has differed completely, all with their own ideas of what an EA is responsible for. As you mature and gain more experience, you in turn will bring your own developed skill set to each role, influencing your Executive and showing them what you are capable of. Some Execs will push you to the limits of what you can do and some will be very light on, waiting for you to prove you are worthy of certain tasks. You may also encounter those Execs who are also developing in their own career and may not have had the privilege of having an assistant before, which can result in being a challenging experience for the both of you. All of these aspects can determine the quality and enjoyment of your role. Some say, and I tend to agree, your relationship with your boss can be looked upon as a ‘work marriage’. There is a saying in marriage, ‘happy wife, happy life’, and no truer word could be spoken for that of the relationship between an EA and their Executive. This is what we should strive for, as these are the EA/Boss relationships that truly work where there is happiness at both ends.

So how do we handle these inconsistencies that we are constantly up against in our roles? How do we manage the differing personalities and differing expectations of what our role entails? And most importantly, how do we manage the menial tasks that come with our role and balance them with the meaningful? How do we prove that we are more than a glorified tea lady, and that we are in fact that intelligent and outstanding individual that was sought after in the job ad. This is something that is a constant challenge for many EAs and something I hear a lot of noise about. Many will question if the rather insignificant task of getting the coffees is actually part of our role? On posing the question to fellow EAs some will stare down their nose with a definite no. But some in fact do say yes, and I tend to agree. As much as you want to curse under your breath when asked to do the morning coffee run, unfortunately the truth of the matter is someone has to do it! And after all, we are the ‘Assistant’, and unless you are one of the fortunate EAs in a large co-operation that has an Assistant of their own, the job will sit with us. But just because we may be at the bottom of the food chain doesn’t mean we can’t add value outside of feeding and watering our team. You must identify where you can speak up, where you can make improvements, and where you can be seen as that superstar that they had originally asked for. Push your positive attitude and energy into the places you can make a difference, because we all know we are more than just the coffee runners! Although I must admit, I did once work for one Managing Director who truly thought that all I was good for was getting his coffee and his lunch each day. Not considered as part of the team, I was not even worthy enough to sit in his leadership team meetings, which left me feeling very much on the outer. But lucky for me he did not last long in his own role. Soon I was looking after his replacement. He too enjoyed his daily cuppa, although that did not concern me. The sense of inclusiveness he gave me and the pedestal he elevated me to overrode any degrading feelings that I was there just to ensure he was nourished with his daily caffeine. It is those fantastic Executives who make you feel good about yourself that you need to seek out, for if you end up working for one of those, making them a tea or getting them a coffee will no longer be a chore, but just something that you do every day to make them happy. Always remember YOU are the creator of your own destiny in this role. Never should you be bored, unhappy, unchallenged or unmotivated as you have the power to change that by identifying projects and processes that you can work on to fulfil what it is that you might be lacking. And if you still hate your role (or your boss!) and can’t get past the menial stuff we must do, find solace in the fact that in this day and age companies do not stand still for more than 6 months at a time. With redundancies come change, and with change comes leadership change. Overnight you can find yourself supporting a different Executive, and perhaps one with a different attitude who considers you an equal and your working relationship that of an essential partnership.