Recognising executive burnout

As an EA, you probably see more of your Executive than anyone else. You know their personality, normal style of working and otherwise undetectable nuances. That puts you in prime position to be the first person to notice signs of executive burnout.

Typically signs include:

• Difference in personality or demeanour.

• Problems with family or personal relationships.

• Lack of drive or self-esteem.

While burnout often inherently lies with flaws in organisational culture or the Executive's natural tendencies to job dedication, you can do some things to minimise the potential.

• Manage their diary effectively.

• Find menial tasks to offload to other colleagues.

• Promote their wellbeing by encouraging them to end their day on time.

• Give them room to vent.

Remember, burnout doesn't happen overnight. It takes a sustained period of stress to cause burnout so keep an eye on your Executive's workload over the long term.

Preparing for stress-free annual leave

Unfortunately, many of us find the days leading up to well-deserved annual leave are more stressful than we'd like. We're often expected to ensure our usual responsibilities are dealt with ahead of time so that our Executive's lives run smoothly during our absence.

How do you do this within normal working hours?

1) Preparation is key. If you're taking significant leave, it will have to be planned in advance. Ask early on who will take responsibility for key tasks and start training them early, allowing time for them to complete the task on their own.

2) Minimise the number of big meetings your Executive has during your absence so you have less paperwork to prepare before you leave.

3) Pre-empt sources of stress during your absence and provide colleagues with an FAQ or helpsheet. This can include dates you've scheduled delivery of your Executive's favourite coffee through to where to find details of an upcoming event.

4) Notify everyone in advance, including external parties. Use your email signature as a way to get the message out quickly.

5) Update your out-of-office and voicemail so that anyone contacting you while you're away knows who else to speak to in order to resolve their problem.

With some planning ahead, you can switch off and enjoy your well-deserved holiday.

The power of negotiation

Negotiation is about compromise and balance. It's inevitable that work colleagues have different priorities and perspectives, but these differences have to be resolved if you're going to get your job done. Negotiation is an essential skill, and may be required between you and your Executive, or with others on behalf of your Executive. Being a good negotiator prevents longer than necessary meetings and gets you an agreeable outcome quickly.

Make negotiation a walk in the park by remembering these three tips:

1) Come prepared: There's nothing worse than a meeting that doesn't resolve anything because no one came prepared. Know what you want to achieve, how that impacts your work and how it affects other people. That way you can pre-empt questions, provide a solution and move on.

2) Do make sure you listen: Despite preparation, you may not have thought of everything. Remind yourself to listen to what others are saying, rather than allowing them to say their piece and then repeating what you already said in response. By listening, you may discover another perspective that actually helps you.

3) Compromise: We tend to think of negotiation as something we have to win. Actually, it's about working out the best solution for everyone involved and supporting each other. Especially when you all work for the same company.

Try out these tactics at your next meeting.

What additional qualifications are available for EAs?

Professional development doesn't have to come from a formal qualification, but if you do undertake certified study, it makes it easy to prove your achievements when it comes to promotions or new opportunities. Broadly speaking, you'll be looking at either a diploma or short course, and you should select according to your career ambitions and motivations.

Diplomas:

Composed over several units you complete over time, diplomas cover a number of skills and areas of knowledge you need to be successful in your role. They might focus on business management skills, or look more closely at your day-to-day, such as the office management diploma. You'll learn via online or in-person tutorials and can sometimes tailor the level of your qualification according to your experience to date.

Short courses:

Business and administration short courses focus on a specific skill. The aim is for you to leave proficient in that particular task, not necessarily gain a more broad overview of your role like you get with a diploma. Short course topics include IT, project management, event planning, presentation skills and business writing.

Short courses usually take one or two days to complete, or may be available to complete in your own time.

Don't sit still as an EA. There's also room to upskill and add to your resume.

Should you have a mentor at work?

A mentor is someone who can help you develop as a professional. As an EA, it makes sense for this to be someone who is a more experienced PA or used to be an EA and has since been promoted into another role. But there are no rules on who you connect with. Anyone who can provide advice, support and another perspective when you're unsure how to proceed can make an excellent mentor.

What are the benefits?

• A fresh take on a problem, or experience in having solved the problem.

• A more thorough understanding of how the business works and what it takes to move up the ladder.

• An outlet to let off steam in a way that won't compromise your closer working relationships.

• Access to other contacts and wider professional networks.

• A sense of belonging as you develop a working relationship with someone you don't work closely with every day.

Mentors aren't necessarily about having someone help you with specific tasks, but rather look at your long-term professional development. With the right person, you can learn a lot and really enhance your prospects.

Tips for effective networking

We tend to think of networking as simply getting to know other people in a professional capacity. In some ways that's an accurate description. However, simply getting to know new people isn't an effective use of your time. Your networking activities should provide career progression opportunities, help your day-to-day responsibilities or open doors for change and improvement. Here's how to network effectively.

1) Attend industry or career specific events to improve you chance of making a useful connection. Many of us have had chance meetings in a coffee shop or on a train that have lead to unexpected opportunities. However, attending events within your industry or career area put you in a room full of people who understand your difficulties, ways of working and are also aiming to find better or new ways to work.

2) Connect with professional contact details. Sometimes Facebook or Twitter is relevant, but you're more likely to find useful information about what someone's business is up to if you exchange LinkedIn details, arrange a separate meeting or send each other applicable information by email or post.

3) Ask useful questions that can help you assess what this person can do for you, or vice versa, as quickly as possible. Ask what brought them along to the event, who they work for, how long they've been a PA, instead of how they like the coffee.

4) Follow up with your contacts even if you don't need them right now. This puts you right at the front of their mind and ensures you have a way in when you do eventually need their services.

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