How to make sure your Executive champions your success
One of your primary goals as an Assistant is to support and assist your Executive in their role. However, ensuring that your Executive actively champions your success, recognises your contributions, and supports your professional growth is equally important.
How do you ensure your Executive is also invested and supportive of YOUR success?
In this article, we will discuss different methods of how to make sure your Executive champions your success and how you can take control of crafting the narrative around your professional career path.
Understand your Executive’s goals and priorities
To gain the support of your Executive, it’s crucial to have a deep understanding of their goals and priorities. Take the time to communicate with your Executive about their vision, objectives, and expectations. Ask for regular feedback and seek clarification on any areas that may be unclear. This ensures that you provide services tailored to your Executive’s needs and expectations.
By engaging with your Executive this way, you will establish yourself as an essential asset to their success. When they can trust that you are acting in line with their intentions, they can feel confident delegating tasks to you without needing to check them over first. Additionally, being able to provide timely solutions or solutions outside of usual protocols will further strengthen this bond of trust between yourself and your Executive.
Listening and acting upon what your Executive has said is also important. Demonstrating an understanding of their needs by adapting your work style accordingly is a surefire way to gain the support of your Executive.
Keep track of short-term actions such as deadlines and long-term ones like establishing new systems or processes which could help improve overall efficiency or reduce stress for other team members. By remaining organised and efficient, you show that you can anticipate the changing needs within the business environment – which Executives value highly when looking for potential staff members or project members who show promise.
Don’t forget that keeping abreast of trends in your industry is also beneficial; it allows you to offer perspective from both inside and outside the company, which will help you build rapport and understanding with your Executive. If you understand the broader context of what they want to achieve within the business, they will see you as a serious asset.
Be proactive and go above and beyond
Don’t simply wait for tasks to be assigned to you; take the initiative to anticipate your Executive’s needs and proactively offer assistance. Look for ways to add value and contribute beyond your regular responsibilities. This could include taking on additional projects, identifying and resolving issues, or providing creative solutions to challenges. Staying up-to-date on industry trends and news within the business will help inform your decision-making when contributing new ideas or projects. Going beyond the parameters of your role as an Assistant whenever you can also helps ensure that you remain visible within your department or function; this allows your Executive to recognise how valuable you are as an asset.
Utilising available resources and technology to help improve workflow efficiency is an area where Assistants can proactively add value. This could mean using project management tools like Monday.com or Trello for task tracking or utilising services such as Slack for quick communication between teams without having face-to-face meetings.
Finally, never underestimate the importance of communication – check in regularly with your Executive about their goals, successes and struggles they may have been dealing with recently – keeping them informed of any updates will help build a strong relationship grounded in mutual trust and respect.
Communicate your achievements
Keep your Executive updated on your achievements and contributions. This can include completed tasks, successful projects, or positive feedback from colleagues or clients. Be sure to highlight the impact of your work and how it aligns with your Executive’s goals; this is an important step in proving that you are an asset to their team and understand the needs of the organisation as a whole. Not only will this help demonstrate that you are taking responsibility for your role and making a significant contribution, but it will also be beneficial in helping to secure future opportunities for advancement or involvement with other high-profile projects.
Regularly highlighting successes also allows Executives to see tangible results from the time they invest in championing you within the organisation. It should also lead to more recognition within the organisation, promotion opportunities and an increase in your Assistant salary.
Keeping them informed of progress early on will also help keep projects on track while ensuring they don’t feel blindsided by any sudden problems which may arise.
Lastly, be sure to share any additional ideas or improvements you have identified to aid further progress towards achieving your shared objectives – these do not necessarily need to be grand gestures, but small changes can also often make a big difference in demonstrating commitment and understanding in your role. Keeping Executives regularly updated with accomplishments alongside fresh insights can show them what kind of asset you can truly be!
Seek feedback and act on it
Regularly seek feedback from your Executive on your performance, strengths, and areas for improvement. Feedback can be a great way to enhance your skillset as well as gain valuable insight about the organisation and its goals – use it as an opportunity to improve in areas you need more work in and also look for trends in their responses that could help inform your future decision-making. Show your Executive you are receptive to their advice by taking action; this may involve implementing small changes quickly or setting yourself new targets depending on the feedback you receive.
If they offer any suggestions regarding additional resources or training that can be used to develop specific skills, take it upon yourself to find these sources and ensure you take them up. This demonstrates both commitments to professional development and responsibility, which can contribute towards long-term career growth and positively reflect on Executives who have invested in you as an asset.
Do not forget that feedback is a two-way street – if there are any questions you want to know the answers to, then don’t hesitate to ask them! This will show your Executive that you value their opinion and actively seek opportunities to learn from their experiences.
Build a trusting relationship
Building a trusting relationship with your Executive is essential for gaining their support and endorsement. It’s important to be reliable and dependable to ensure deadlines are met, and work is delivered within specified timescales. In addition, when working on confidential or sensitive matters, it is essential to have the trust of Executives that you will handle such tasks with professionalism, confidentiality, and integrity.
Another way of building rapport involves showing genuine interest in their opinions and perspectives on certain topics; this can be done by asking insightful questions which relate to their previous experiences or current workload. This can also be beneficial in helping you to understand the underlying motivations driving their decision-making.
Not only will this help create a foundation of mutual respect and trust between both you as the Assistant and your Executive, but it could also lead to the establishment of positive relationships with other departments within the organisation – something which Executives are likely to champion due to the impact this will have on the overall success of the organisation. Finally, don’t forget that celebrating small successes along the way is important, too – success breeds success, so take some time out every now and then to enjoy what you have achieved!
Communicate your career goals
Be open and transparent with your Executive regarding your career aspirations. Discuss long-term goals and express genuine interest in growing professionally; this could range from wanting to take on additional responsibility within the organisation or even exploring opportunities for gaining qualifications directly or through external courses. Ask questions and seek their guidance regarding which approach would be most suitable and beneficial to your future career endeavours.
As Assistants, we work closely with Executives. They can provide invaluable insights, mentorship, and even access to unique opportunities that may help you reach your desired destinations faster than other colleagues. Communication is key – by opening up about what you want to achieve, you demonstrate determination, self-awareness and commitment towards success, all of which are qualities Executives should value highly when considering potential candidates for advancement.
In cases where unforeseen circumstances arise, such as family commitments or changes in roles within the business, maintain an open dialogue with Executives so they know what is happening – if any adjustments need to be made, then it’s likely they will be accommodating, providing regular updates have been shared beforehand. Taking proactive steps towards discussing career goals at an early stage fosters a trusting relationship between both parties which can only lead to further success down the line!
Foster collaboration and teamwork
A collaborative and team-oriented mindset is essential for any successful Assistant and Executive partnership. Always be willing to collaborate on projects or initiatives – this shows your Executive that you’re open to different perspectives and enjoy working as part of a larger group. It also demonstrates a certain level of flexibility which allows you to adjust your approach when necessary to best suit the needs of your Executive and the wider team.
Demonstrate a positive attitude and professionalism
Your attitude and professionalism can have a significant impact on the way Executives perceive your performance.
In a work environment, it’s important to always maintain a positive attitude, especially in the face of challenging situations or conflict – handle such occurrences with grace and tact rather than letting emotions take control.
Additionally, ensure you are respectful and exhibit integrity in all interactions within and outside the organisation, as this will demonstrate to Executives that you take your job seriously.
Consistency is key – if you can consistently demonstrate a positive attitude and professionalism through every task you are presented with, then this will gain the respect of Executives, leading to further support down the line.
Earning the trust and support of an Executive is not always easy for Assistants. It takes two-way communication, working together to achieve success, promoting a strong understanding of each other’s roles, and mutual respect to ensure a successful partnership.
Ultimately, learning how to effectively navigate the relationship between yourself and your Executive will lead to your Executive championing your professional career growth. The keys are focus, clear communication and well-defined goals; if you strive for these elements in your relationship, you are setting yourself up for success. If this article has motivated you to gain more of an understanding of how to increase Executive engagement, then why not enrol on our Strategic Business Partner Online Course today? We guarantee that after completing the course, you will better understand how to position yourself as a Strategic Business Partner and move forward in achieving professional success through positive relationships with your Executives.
