Get Your Head Out of Your Inbox: How an Executive Assistant Can Free Up Your Time and Boost Your Efficiency

What is it that sets great leaders apart from the rest? Is it their natural abilities, or is there more to the picture? You may be surprised to learn that behind some of the most successful leaders is a hard-working and dedicated executive assistant. A good assistant might wake up in the morning thinking of ways to make their leader's life easier. But, their true value lies in enhancing the leader's capabilities, providing balance, and leading alongside them to achieve greater success. In this article, we'll explore the critical role of executive assistants in shaping the leadership of their counterparts and discover how they enable leaders to achieve their full potential.

As a leader, it is crucial to have a high level of flexibility, trust, and willingness to delegate leadership to your executive assistant. Similarly, an executive assistant should possess a great deal of flexibility, trustworthiness, and the ability to take charge and exhibit leadership until the leader is ready to step back in. It's a partnership based on mutual trust and the ability to work together seamlessly.

Let me share a fable with you. While this story is not real, it is similar to the stories that executives and assistants often encounter in their professional lives. In fact, some of it is inspired by my own story. The fable revolves around an executive named Mike and Pam, who is his executive assistant.

The Overworked Leader

Mike is a dedicated employee who excels in a medium-sized company. However, his increasing responsibility within the company translates to very few hours to answer emails, no dedicated lunch breaks, and often working after hours to catch up. With a family of three kids, a beautiful wife, and a rambunctious dog, Mike finds it hard to balance work and family life. He loves his job, and his employees think he is a great boss to work for. But, he is often distracted by emails during school activities and is late for their baseball games.

One evening, his wife expresses her frustration that the family has not seen him for weeks. Mike realizes that the situation is taking a toll on not just him but also his family. Feeling overwhelmed, he decides to talk to his boss about his concerns and struggles to fulfill his responsibilities. His boss values him and can't stand the thought of him leaving the company. So, the company hired an executive assistant for Mike to manage his email and reduce his workload.

Though Mike is a little leery of having an assistant, he feels that just having someone to manage his email would take a considerable load off his shoulders. The company has thought about hiring an assistant for some time, but every time, they chose to invest their resources in other ways. Mike is unaware of the positive changes that are about to come his way and how this decision would transform his work-life balance.

What Does the Data Say?

Did you know that according to a study conducted by the Harvard Business Review in 2006, executives spend about 24% of their time on emails? As someone who has witnessed this firsthand, I've seen leaders spend hours daily trying to keep up with their inboxes. Although most leaders are perfectly capable of managing their emails, they often get bogged down by the unnecessary emails and vendor connections that mix in with the important ones they need to respond to. With back-to-back meetings filling up most of their day, they end up with hundreds of unread emails that they either work long hours to stay on top of or neglect the important ones. Unfortunately, companies that don't invest in an assistant for their leaders will either cause the leader to burn out or prevent them from achieving their full potential. Not to undermine the crucial role of an assistant, but as someone who takes pride in removing obstacles from leaders, I understand the importance of allowing them to focus on the things that bring the most value to the organization. As an organization, it's crucial to remember why you hired your executives and to invest in the resources that enable them to do their jobs effectively. If you don't provide them with the necessary resources, you may have to adjust your expectations for what they can achieve.

The Collison: Learning How to Work Together

After conducting numerous interviews for the new executive assistant position, Pam was hired by the company. During the interview process, Pam had heard a lot about Mike, her new boss. She was excited to work with him, as those who had worked with him before thought he was a great leader, tough but fair. Pam was a seasoned assistant who had worked for her previous leader for a couple of years at a much smaller company. She was looking for a new opportunity to work more seamlessly with her new leader.

However, Mike's inexperience with having an assistant caused a rocky start with Pam. She was used to her old job and boss, and Mike struggled to delegate tasks to her outside of his email. Pam felt like she could do much more and was out to prove to Mike that she was a much more valuable resource than he thought was possible.

For months, Pam studied her new boss - how he processed ideas, his email responses, and even when he worked best. During this time, she managed his email with excellence and implemented processes to maximize Mike's time. She anticipated what he needed before meetings, meticulously planned his travel, and made sure he left work early to have dinner with his family. After months of consistent hard work and dedication, Mike recognized that he had been home for dinner every evening over the last month, only had a few emails to respond to, and that he had time in the office to work on strategy for his teams. Mike began to worry that since he had so much more time, he must be dropping the ball somewhere. 

The following morning, Mike decided to talk to Pam. As he shared his concerns, Pam shared the new processes she had set in motion, and what Mike was now experiencing was a direct result of Pam's expertise and Mike's flexibility. It took a bit of getting used to, but after finding the right assistant to complement his strengths, Mike finally started to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

The Partnership: The Leader Behind the Leader

Mike and Pam worked hard to establish a good working relationship. They had to have several important conversations, learn to be flexible, and trust each other. Their teamwork was so impressive that other leaders in the company wanted to know how they managed to work so well together. Their partnership was successful because they played to each other's strengths and were not afraid to have challenging conversations with each other. Mike was able to focus on his job, and Pam was doing well in supporting him. As a result of their teamwork, the company was experiencing greater momentum than they had anticipated.

When finding the ideal executive assistant to work alongside you, pairing with the right leader is essential to building a long-lasting and successful partnership. A good leader pairing can result in executives and assistants working together for a long time and often following each other through their careers. Just like a leader, an executive assistant brings their own strengths to the table, and it's crucial to evaluate what will best complement your leadership style to enhance it. However, the same is also true for the assistant. In the past, I have turned down opportunities because the leader pairing was not the right fit for me. Knowing the type of person, values, and strengths I work well with is critical to my success. Pairing myself with the wrong leader would have prevented me from being my best and enhancing the leadership of the person I served.

Understanding the working dynamic and the reasons behind having an assistant can be beneficial, even if you don't have one. Some companies may need more time to be ready for a full-time assistant and may instead opt to contract hourly, hire part-time, or even contract a fractional executive assistant. On average, executives are 15-20% more productive with an executive assistant. Not only will they make you more productive, but they will also anticipate your needs, rescue you from chaos, provide a confidant and a voice of reason when you need it most, and make you look good in the process. The executive assistant -- the leader behind the leader -- can be an invaluable resource for any executive.

If you are a leader who is still getting ready for a full-time assistant and need some guidance on how to make the most of your time, check out my article How to Maximize Your Day By Treating Your Calendar Like a Budget

Alternatively, if you're like Mike and have questions on how to find your ideal assistant or need advice on maximizing your current assistant's potential, I would be happy to connect with you, answer your questions, share my expertise, or even work with you.