A beautifully choreographed pas de deux encapsulates each dancer’s strengths and unique traits. They move through a space, one balancing the other in harmony with the orchestra. They work together with controlled movements before each can shine in a solo, with the performance culminating in a show of virtuosity.
Business partnerships between the CEO and EA could learn a thing or two from how dancers work together. To develop a strategic business partnership, both the EA and the CEO need to read the other, give them the creative freedom needed to excel and support their virtuoso performance as they achieve the business’s mission together.
So, what are the specific skills and steps needed for the intricate dance of a strategic partnership for each partner to be able to lead, follow and balance the other towards success?
The first step we need to take is to understand that the Administrative Profession is not ‘just a job’ – it is a career. When we shift the focus and look at roles in the profession as careers, we change our perception of what these positions can achieve.
Gone are the days of Executive Assistants being ‘coffee makers and copy takers’. The world has moved on. And today, as Jeremy Burrows was quoted in the Huffington Post article What Executive Assistants really want you to know about their jobs “an assistant is actually a chaos tamer, a culture creator, a pulse taker. Assistants are inefficiency disruptors, strategic partners, fearless negotiators, game changers, relationship builders, time benders, operations experts.”
Businesses need to stop undervaluing the role of an Executive Assistant and give them a seat at the table as a leader. However, that position needs to be earned; Executive Assistants can’t expect to enter into a partnership with the CEO and be given the keys to the castle.
We’ve spoken to numerous CEOs and Executive Assistants about what they believe is required from the other to take a strategic partnership’s performance from ordinary to extraordinary.
Authenticity
‘Be authentic’ is easier said than done, but it is an essential quality in any relationship. If you are genuine, you are being true to yourself. You can be present and act with confidence and conviction. You become predictable and reliable because your ethics and morals never waver, and the people around you know what they will get.
For the CEO, this means they can trust that their EA will execute tasks or decisions consistently. They can rest comfortably knowing that their EA is trustworthy and honest; they don’t just ‘talk the talk’. They ‘walk the walk’. They put their money where their mouth is, which the CEO can rely upon.
For the EA, it means knowing where they stand with their CEO. They have the opportunity to learn and grow from someone that will intrinsically seek to add value to others. An authentic CEO will be more likely to make conscious decisions and create meaningful action that has positive outcomes for their team. An Authentic person is also more likely to accept new ideas, which means the EA has the chance to present considered solutions that contribute to the success of the CEO and business deliverables.
Mastery
Mastery means that the individual has attained a deep, secure, extensive, and adaptable understanding or skill in a role, activity, or business. To achieve this level, the individual must put in time in the trenches, have received training and worked to develop their skillset.
Partnering with an EA that is at, or willing to work towards, a Mastery level means that the CEO has someone who can be entrusted with the strategic tasks rather than the transactional tasks; the Global Skills Matrix helps us further understand these levels of support.
As an EA, you can leverage the comprehensive knowledge and expertise of a CEO at the Mastery level to develop your business acumen, which in turn supports your career development in the profession.
A Mastery level EA will be able to intuitively understand how to analyse critical factors that affect the business’s long-term success; the CEO has a strategic partner that is an extension of their brand and voice when they aren’t there. The EA has the opportunity to be a leader in their field.
And in today’s climate, with people changing roles more frequently than we change the bedsheets during ‘The Great Resignation’, a CEO that invests time in supporting their EA to attain a Mastery level may mean their strategic partnership will make it out of the ‘honeymoon phase and into a long-term collaboration.
Accountability
EAs and CEOs that demonstrate Accountability create a constructive atmosphere of responsibility. A partnership built on Accountability sets common expectations around the values and goals of the business or department and holds both parties responsible for realising them.
To balance this out, however, CEOs also need to give their EAs a little self-governance in their role so that they feel empowered to complete their deliverables and take ownership of their work. According to a Forbes article: “Senior leaders must create cultural experiences that support the necessary beliefs required for the team to take proactive action to get results.”
You need consistency and execution from the CEO and EA to weave Accountability into the culture of your business relationship. Being accountable for one’s actions will yield a high-performance partnership.
Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
A proclivity for emotional intelligence increases our leadership abilities; we can make sound decisions, manage stress, handle change and accomplish our goals more quickly. If an EA and a CEO both have strong measures of EQ, they are more likely to be receptive to subtle changes in the other party. Each will take time to understand different perspectives and, in doing so, will help the other to feel seen and heard.
The role of an EA is service-based and being perceptive of the needs of the CEO is crucial for understanding how you can create a path of least resistance for them to achieve their deliverables effectively and efficiently.
Understanding your partner’s non-verbal cues, whether you are the CEO or the EA, allows you to communicate successfully. You can address situations before they become problems and help ease more negative emotions around particular scenarios.
For example, if the CEO is heading into a meeting where they may be reprimanded because that quarter’s numbers weren’t great. The EA might schedule some breathing room on either side of that meeting to allow them time to prepare and space to reflect or debrief.
With both the CEO and EA displaying strong Emotional Intelligence, the partnership becomes one that encourages active listening, patience and empathy and is intuitive in nature.
Interestingly, it was the soft skills that took the spotlight when we spoke to CEOs and EAs about what they felt made a strong partnership and whilst the hard skills play an essential part in the whole; it would seem they are not the critical steps needed to give a virtuoso performance.
And just like in a pas de deux between two dancers, “The best leaders are also the best followers,” as Simon Sinek would say. If the EA and CEO can cultivate Authenticity, Mastery, Accountability and Emotional Intelligence, they will create a strategic partnership that goes from ordinary to extraordinary.