How can administrative assistants gain visibility with senior executives?

The best way to gain visibility is to not care about being visible. Instead, care about doing good work. Care about helping your executive achieve their goals. Care about leading your executive by managing their calendar vs letting their calendar manage you. Care about the organization succeeding. Do the above, and you will gain visibility, respect, and opportunities.

Your visibility hinges on the calibre of your work. Strive for excellence ensuring your work speaks in an authentic, remarkable and delightful way. Proactively support your team by staying ahead. As you accumulate knowledge, empower yourself to autonomously tackle tasks, anticipating needs. Infuse authenticity into your approach; let your genuine perspective fuel outstanding work. Whether your motivation lies in the mission or the people, aligning with a purpose drives authenticity and excellence. Consider your visibility. Is it impressively positive, pleasantly overwhelming, or regrettably negative? Take a moment to assess your current standing and initiate a strategic campaign to enhance or transform how you are perceived.

This all comes down to "solving problems" & "lifting loads" & many times Senior executives can be enlightened by your problem solving skills & might even value your own analytical input towards problems. So do not be afraid to offer solutions or any kind of forward thinking if the opportunity presents itself.

As an experienced #EA, the following three are have always contributed to my administration management success: -Understanding Executive Priorities: I make it my goal to deeply understand the executives' priorities and align my work to support their strategic objectives, demonstrating my value beyond basic admin tasks. Strategic Networking: I actively network with key individuals, including other EAs and senior leaders, ensuring I'm a visible and engaged member of our organizational community as well as its partners and clients -Continuous Professional Development: I consistently seek out professional development opportunities, enhancing my skills and showing my commitment to growth and excellence in my role. Keep learning!

Executive assistants can enhance their visibility with senior executives by implementing several strategic approaches that highlight their skills, professionalism, and value to the organization. 1. Exceptional Performance 2. Proactive Communication 3. Develop a Strong Professional Relationship 4. Stay Informed 5. Take on Special Projects 6. Continuous Learning 7. Be Solutions-Oriented 8. Efficient Time Management 9. Confidentiality and Trustworthiness 10. Networking within the Organization 11. Utilize Technology 12. Effective Problem-Solving By combining these strategies, EAs increase their visibility with their executives, leading to greater recognition and potential career advancement opportunities within the organization.

It is important to also note that communication can never be too much. It's great to take initiative however it is amazing to communicate effectively about the progress of every tasks.

Be sure to act on the feedback you're given. Few things are as frustrating as letting someone know how they can grow, only to see them ignore your suggestions.

Be curious, ask questions, learn more about what your executive is doing, have an opinion, share your opinion with your executive - it will start a discussion during which you will learn more about each other and help your executive understand that you are committed and that you are able to analyze and draw a conclusion.

To further enhance visibility among senior executives, I actively seek feedback and embrace continuous improvement. Requesting feedback demonstrates your commitment to personal growth and your aim for excellence. When you ask for feedback, it shows you're committed to doing your best and becoming even more valuable to the team. After your next big internal event or project, try it - devise a Google form in the style of a feedback survey and see how you can improve.

Over the years I've managed to build rapport with senior management to gain visibility and also let them know I am available to assist if needed.

Visibility is often associated with being a dirty word, especially in the context of the workplace. Assistants are often advised to "do good work" and to not seek visibility and that mindset often puts assistants at a disadvantage. Not all "good work" is "visible work" and the impact of not being visible amongst certain work populations (particularly SLT, OT and C-level) can negatively impact an assistant's career growth and trajectory. Assistants who want to be more visible with executives should seek tasks and projects that rise to an executive-level and are executive-facing. Demonstrate an understanding of the company's goals/KPIs and seek out opportunities and challenges that are highly strategic and top-priority for the executive team.