Executive Assistants
Provide high level support to individual executives, teams of executives, Managers and Professionals in organisations.
A day in the chief executive's office
You are the executive assistant to the chief executive of a health network, managing her diary, communications and meetings. It is 8am. The chief executive is flying back from an interstate trip and lands at noon. In the meantime you are the first point of contact for anyone who needs her.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
The auditors have asked for a meeting today at two. It is quite important, and I know the chief executive's diary is full. Can you squeeze them in? They will only be here this afternoon.
Say yes and move another meeting without asking anyone, since the auditors are only here today
The auditors are happy, but the chair of the clinical committee arrives for a meeting that has been cancelled without a word. Moving other people's time takes more care.
Tell Lucy the diary is full and suggest next week
Lucy is disappointed and has to tell the auditors. The chief executive later says she would have made time for them. An assistant who says no too fast can cost the boss an opportunity.
Check what can move, ask the chief executive by message and propose a slot to Lucy
The chief executive replies from the airport: yes, move the internal catch-up. Everyone is told clearly. Knowing which meetings can move, and who to ask, is the heart of the work.
Please send the note to all department heads saying the new rostering system will start Monday. I know it's soon but it is decided. Send it as I wrote it. Thanks.
Send the note exactly as written, because she said it was decided and to send it that way
It goes out and two department heads reply that nobody told them. You did as asked, but you saw a likely problem and said nothing.
Reply that two heads may not have seen the plan, suggest a line and send once she agrees
She answers from the gate: yes, add it. The note goes out with a courtesy line and fewer complaints. You respect her decision and still give her what she needs to know.
Hold the note back until she lands at noon, so you do not bother her in the middle of her travel
She lands at noon, and the announcement sits unsent all morning while staff hear the news through rumour. A quick question would have been better than silence.
I left some papers on your printer yesterday. They were board papers, marked confidential. Did you happen to see them? I assume nobody read them.
Say you did not see them and assume they were thrown away
You do not know where they went, and you have given a guess as an answer. If they were seen, the board member needs to know.
Look for them now, tell her what you find and suggest secure print
They are found in the secure bin, unread. Dr Ellison is relieved and switches to secure printing. You turned a worry into a small improvement.
Check the printer, the shredding bin and with the cleaner, and report back honestly
You find them in the shredding bin, unread. It takes ten minutes, and Dr Ellison is reassured. The check was right, and the answer could also have included a reminder about the secure printing option.
How it went
The chief executive lands, the auditors are seen at two and the note has gone out in good order. An executive assistant sits close to power and is trusted with confidences, and often keeps the day running by judgement alone. Would you be comfortable being that quiet backbone?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The flight that was cancelled
A fictional case set in the executive office of a regional health network, supporting its chief executive.
The situation
Kemal was the executive assistant to the chief executive of a regional health network. On the night before a major board meeting, her flight to the city was cancelled because of a storm. The chief executive was due to present at nine the next morning, and the next flight was too late. Kemal had forty minutes before the airline's phone line would close for the night.
What they did
He rang the airline, then checked road and rail options and found that a late train arrived at six the next morning. He booked a seat and a hotel near the station as a back-up, and told the chair's office that the presentation might start fifteen minutes late. He forwarded the slides to a deputy in case they were needed, and sent the chief executive a short message setting out the options.
How it turned out
She took the train, arrived with an hour to spare and presented on time. The deputy did not need the slides. She asked Kemal to put together a short plan for what to do if travel failed, and it was used twice the next year.
What would you do?
- What would you have done in the first five minutes?
- Why did Kemal send the slides to the deputy even though he hoped not to need to?
- How much should an assistant decide, and how much should they ask first?