Do you desire to be seen as a true business partner to your executive or leadership team? What steps are you currently taking to be viewed as such?
If your goal is to be considered as more to the team than a “task and do” assistant, then proving yourself worthy of that title and consideration will take effort on your part. No one is going to wake up one day, walk into the office and proclaim that you are now a strategic business partner! It will take a bit more than keen filing skills, building structured procedures manuals or excellent PowerPoint and Excel abilities.
It takes a solid 360-degree view, an understanding of what’s going on around you beyond your desk or office, a strong industry knowledge base and an understanding of emotional intelligence and the confidence to execute those skills effectively. In the article “It’s No Longer a ‘Tell-and-Do’ Game; Elevating the Executive Assistant Role to Strategic Business Partnership”, Sherry Parsons, Executive Assistant to Paula Hansen, Vice President, GES West – Cisco, does a wonderful job of outlining the skills necessary to becoming that superior business partner.