Whilst we have, to date, only held one conference in this series, both the Canberra and Brisbane programs are out and taking registrations, and we have the Melbourne program well into production. Both Melbourne and Perth are taking registrations at the heavily discounted Advance Notice rate.

At the time of writing our Canberra and Brisbane programs are well ahead of normal registration patterns so we are very excited about these conferences. But that really shouldn’t be a big surprise given the wonderful feedback we received from Sydney where 31 attendees gave us testimonials (see below).

So what is the main highlight of the program this year? We would have to argue that it is the same great format, with strong EA and Executive panels, plus a couple of other key features.

Two of those are the sessions with key takeaways from EAN that we have developed for this year, mainly in the form of handouts that relate to your role, how you can perceive it and ways you can better understand the value of what you deliver for your executive and organisation.

Included in these are two documents that are specifically related to EA and PA performance assessment and include outcomes from sessions at the previous series of conferences.

Another key highlight this year is a joint EA and Executive presentation. In Sydney this was exceptionally well received and we are confident it will be elsewhere around the country, albeit with different speakers.

The main focus of the program in this series is ‘Creating Invaluable Partnerships’, and we have sensed that this is resonating not just with our members, but also with executives when we talk to them.

In addition to the highlights detailed above, key reasons to attend this series include:

• Unlock the keys to developing invaluable partnerships between EAs/PAs and senior executives

• Learn the secrets to building honest confident, two-way communication

• Examine how you can draw on EAN’s EA Partnership Model in your own partnership

• Find your true, authentic and most confident voice and be heard by all those you work with

• Beyond job descriptions: learn how to continually assess your own value and worth within your role

• Take control of your own destiny: learn how to find the focus, courage and determination to shape your own future

• Refine the art of reasoning and critical thinking to think like a business executive in everything you do

• Hear from experts on just how far you should go in developing your breadth of corporate knowledge & business acumen

• Analyse how to leverage creative thinking within your analytical and critical reasoning strategies

• Learn how to plan and manage resources and multiple projects

• Develop better corporate governance aware ness and understanding

• Examine how to approach event and travel planning with a strategic objectives mindset

This is in our minds one of the best conferences we have produced. In many ways it brings to a conclusion ideas and thoughts we have been working on for many years, ever since the series that heralded the production of our ‘The EA and PA Skills Tasks and Levels Matrices’. It has been a really great journey getting to this point and we know attendees will appreciate the content and program.

Check out what some attendees at Sydney in March 2016 had to say about this series.

'I really struggled to think of a way to sum up the EA Conference, because there was so many great aspects so I thought I would sum my thoughts up with one statement; An awesome experience and essential professional development opportunity for any PA/EA!!!!' Emma Kable, Housing Plus

'As a result of the positive feedback and learnings from my first EAN Congress in 2015 and the changes that occurred in how I work with my CEO, the annual EAN event is a part of my ongoing professional development. I cannot recommend this event and exhibition highly enough. I am very much in a happy place. Thank you EAN'. Angelica Luck, Lovatts Media Group

'Having been to other PA Conferences, I was happily surprised at the value I received from this conference. I came away feeling inspired and empowered in my role, and can't wait for next year!' Ashleigh Lovett, IAG

'The speakers and panels were all very engaging and interesting. I came away with many new ideas, and a renewed positivity.' Dolores Langdon, Sydney Catholic Schools

'It was a fantastic two days! Topics were relevant and speakers great. Great insight into the changing role of EAs and witnessed the amazing relationship between Margaret Rae and Rev Dr Keith Garner.' Tresmarie Fullman, The College of Law

'I found the EA Panels incredible valuable and got some great insights from this session on Day 1.' Phoebe Cruckshank, IAG

'Really enjoyed the speakers.' Abbie, SLHD RPA Drug Health Services

'A very good learning experience and overview of what is out there.' Susan Redgate, Koppers Australia

'Great conference, great speakers, great venue, great people, great, great, great!' Dayle English, UTS

'The chosen presenters were very relevant to role of EAs and PAs today, at the same time looking at what the role will be like in the future.' Alyson Segrott, Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle

'The Expo was awesome & well worth the visits. The Executive Panel, in particular, the CEO panel, was very informative & insightful.' Jules Holmesby, Warners Bay Private Hospital

'A great confirmation that I'm doing all the right things. As I have no mentor or anyone to benchmark against at my company, I depend on this forum of professionals to compare notes and re-confirm that I'm on the right path!' Cindy Stock, Amgen Australia

'It was a very full two days, with lots of new learnings, and interesting presenters. After many years of attending courses I was still able to take away new ways of working and thinking.' Christine Pender, Tabcorp

'This conference has given me the confidence and material to make some valuable changes within our organisation.' Vicki Mackay, University of Newcastle

'Great speakers with loads of experience and good opportunity to network within an enjoyable environment.' Claire Sandercock, Oakhill College