While pursuing our goals, we will experience high points and low points. The high points are those times when everything is going forward in the right direction and smooth as expected. The low points on the other hand are those times when things seem to be standing still...or even worse, moving backwards.
As a Team Leader with a hard working team and some high goals, it’s going to be a good idea to have a good Executive Assistant (A Good EA) on your team during both the high and low points to help keep your balance.
During the high points, A Good EA will help keep you level headed. Sometimes when things are going really well, we Team Leaders will make decisions that are not inline with our goals because we’re distracted by the positive momentum. A Good EA knows how to keep the Team Leader focused on the goals while properly benefiting from the momentum.
When the Team is going through a low point, A Good EA will help keep you motivated. Most Leaders hate losing, so when they reach a low point, they’ll sometimes take it too hard and spiral out of control. a good EA will know how to keep you motivated during these times, A Good EA will also feel the need to help find a solution to the situation. During the low points is when a Good EA is most needed.
A Good Executive Assistant will be goal orientated, so you’d better have a vision, a plan, and some realistic goals otherwise your relationship with your EA isn’t going to last too long. A Good EA is going to be ready to work and get the job done, so don’t waste their time by not being upfront about what challenges you may be facing in the business.
In time, A Good EA will learn what’s good and bad for the company. They know what’s going on so you’ll want to hear them out when they have something to say. A Good EA will typically be able to spot situations in advance before they become problems, and they’ll come to you with a solution...so pay attention!
I’ve found that I like playing the role of the Good EA over being Team Leader. One reason is because I have more patience as an Executive Assistant than I do as a Team Leader. Another reason is that I simply like to help people; An EA that doesn’t have a natural inclination toward helping people can never be very good. Keep that in mind before you hire one.
I was listening to the motivational speaker Eric Thomas, and he spoke about not being happy with being average. In his example, he talked about how passionate he was to learn how his wife washed clothes, since she had forbade him from washing. She said his clothes didn’t smell as fresh as hers when he was done, and he realized that he was below average. He became determined to learn how to perform the task the right way, practicing every chance he got until he could “Assist” his wife where she needed assistance; he wanted to be “A Good EA”.
Listen to the story, I hope that you enjoy it! This week the blog will focus on The Executive Assistant “A Good EA”. I’m looking forward to receiving a lot of interaction with this because some great things are happening around us and we’re all going to need A Good EA, and in some cases we’re going to need to BE A Good EA to someone! Let’s get it team, and let’s make it a great day!
~Matthew