Executive Administrators (EA’s) are typically a very important resource for consultants. They can provide (or prevent) access to busy executive schedules, to conference room facilities and all sorts of otherwise “hidden goodies” that can make the consulting experience smoother and more effective. (“This is where the special coffee is kept!”)
Many of the client engagements I’ve done over the years open with the need to conduct a series of executive interviews. I always dread this phase – I love the interviews and the hypothesis formulation that precedes them, but I hate the scheduling nightmare – often with 3 or 4 consultants, each with their own calendar constraints and travel idiosyncrasies, trying to coordinate schedules with 20 or more busy executives across many locations and timezones (and countries, in many cases!) This is one of the many activities where a highly competent and tenacious EA can make a world of difference!
What Executive Administrators Tell You About a Company
Over many years, I’ve come to recognize that in addition to the need to make friends with the EA’s you will depend upon, you learn a great deal about a consulting client from their EA’s. No, I don’t mean they tell you secrets (though they can let things slip that you might not pick up otherwise!) No, I mean you can tell to what degree a company “has its act together” by the quality of its EA’s. This is certainly not surprising (cultures run deep and wide) but reinforces how one or two relatively minor interactions can provide an early barometer for the observant consultant (or other outsider).
Of course, EA quality tends to vary by the level of executive they support. The EA experience on the executive wing of the corporate office will typically be quite different from that in the sales office, or down in the bowels of an IT organization. But even given this leveling issue, I find that good companies (successful, efficient, courteous, focused, good people to work with, etc.) have good EA’s and bad companies don’t. Dysfunctional companies tend to have EA’s that are disorganized, improperly trained, and who really don’t care about supporting an outsider (me, the consultant).
There are many signs that consultants come to recognize that provide clues about a company and its culture. The security personnel who staff the security checkpoints or reception desks are a prime example. Some make signing in, showing identification, having a security photo taken, having a bag searched, feel like a privilege – thorough but polite and courteous. Others can make a simple “sign the register” feel like being admitted to a prison to serve a long sentence for an unspeakable crime! (Note, I’m using my imagination here!)
What do your EA’s tell about your company?
(BTW, lest the EA’s at my current consulting clients come across this post, “You are the good guys! You’ve been very helpful and efficient, and reflect well on your employers – thank you!”)
Photo (Lois Maxwell as James Bond’s Miss Moneypenny) courtesy of d332.com
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Filed under: General Tagged: | business performance, executive administrator
Vaughan – I definitely subscribe to the “EA can be your best friend” line of thinking, so I pay close attention to that as well. Of course, one of the things that we have all found is the decreasing number of EAs available to help execs, especially mid-level VPs and directors. In terms of the health and culture of a company, other things I watch for are: (1) what happens when you call the main phone number? (2) if you get a voice mail/automated attendant, how does the voice sound? (3) how long does it take or how hard is it to get a real human being on the phone? (4) if you leave a message in a voice mail, how long does it take for you to get a call back? DO YOU get a call back? Same point for if you send an e-mail. It’s the little things like this that make for a big impression.
I agree with your points, Steve. As I said, “cultures run deep and wide.” As go the small stuff, goes the big stuff!
BTW, when I saw a comment on this post from Christina on Facebook this am, I realized an unintended consequence of my post – I was not referring to my EA, but realized it could be taken that way!
Well, I screwed up! I got a comment on Facebook (my posts get republished there) from a former EA I worked with some years back (she actually was not my EA, but was one of the most competent I have ever known!)
Anyway, she wrote: “Although I agree with your conclusion, some of your examples reflect a key challenge faced by high-performing EAs — how to get the EA role viewed as a professional one. As long as their value in part is perceived as knowing where the special coffee is kept, they will continue to be under appreciated for the true value they bring to the executive team.”
She is absolutely correct, and I owe all EA’s a sincere apology. In a weak and cheap attempt at humor, I reinforced the very stereotypes I was trying to negate. An EA’s competence has nothing to do with trivia such as knowing where the best coffee is hidden. My sincere apologies!
Vaughan, I enjoyed your insight into this subject and enjoyed this blog since I am an executive assistant. Now you have my curiosity up though as to what your opinion was of the EA’s with our company compared to others you deal with? The one thing I have to admit though about dealing with outside clients and vendors is that somet imes is almost comical at what a client will go through to get through the “gate keeper.” Some are genuinely nice, but I can from all of my years of experience see right through some potential vendors in the “fake nice” tactics that they will use to get in to see the boss. If I had a dollar for every funny story that I could tell on this subject, I could retire as a millionaire tomorrow (smile).
Jamie, I was absolutely thrilled to see your comment! A couple of things:
1). You were one of those, typical of many “executive suite” EA’s who was superb at the role. You were helpful to me many times – without the need or expectation for “kibitzing.” I recognized that your role was to protect your boss’s calendar, and with that understood you executed that role with fairness and class.
2). I will also say that my experience with some of the other EA’s to the next level down was not bad, but not great either. There were several times when I would travel to the offices to find that a meeting that had been confirmed had been rescheduled, without my being told! (I was with Roy Youngman today, and we discussed this issue, and he thinks I’m being a little harsh!)
3). You also raise a great point – good behavior begets good behavior. I would love to think that one of the reasons I found you so helpful to me, was that I did not abuse the relationship, “fake nice”, or disrespect the role you had to fill and the way you filled it. What goes around, comes around. I can only imagine some of the characters you had to deal with from the outside world who would do anything to get into your boss’s office for a few minutes – lying and cheating was just part of the game! You should tell some of those funny stories! Want to do a guest blog? We can make it anonymous!
Thanks again for the comment. I hope you and your boss are well, and that our paths will cross again before too long!
Thanks for the feedback….you are too kind! I seriously wanted feedback from an outside client’s view as one never knows how one comes across to other clients, and my goal is to always do 100%!
I’ve regrettably had that same issue too here with some of the EA’s both here and at other companies with scheduling issues, and I apologize that you too experienced it with one of our EA’s. That is never good to arrive at a meeting to find out that it was moved, etc. We are actually hiring a few new ones to hopefully improve upon those issues. I’m also going to mentor one of them (she approached me) so I’m looking forward to seeing if that will be effective.
My boss and I are both doing very well and I hope you are too, and that our paths cross again. Take care, and thanks again for your insight into this subject!