How do you plan ahead and anticipate your executive's needs and preferences?

1 Know your executive's goals and priorities

One of the first steps to plan ahead and anticipate your executive's needs and preferences is to understand their goals and priorities. What are their short-term and long-term objectives? What are their key projects and initiatives? What are their main challenges and opportunities? By knowing these, you can align your calendar management with their strategic direction and help them focus on what matters most. You can also proactively identify potential conflicts, gaps, or overlaps in their schedule and resolve them before they become issues.

2 Communicate regularly and clearly

Another essential step to plan ahead and anticipate your executive's needs and preferences is to communicate regularly and clearly with them. This means not only updating them on their calendar and confirming their availability, but also asking them for feedback and input on their preferences and expectations. For example, do they prefer morning or afternoon meetings? Do they like to have some buffer time between appointments? Do they need any specific information or materials for their meetings? Do they have any special requests or requirements for their travel arrangements? By communicating regularly and clearly, you can build trust and rapport with your executive and tailor your calendar management to their style and needs.

3 Use the right tools and systems

A third step to plan ahead and anticipate your executive's needs and preferences is to use the right tools and systems for your calendar management. This means choosing a reliable and user-friendly calendar app that syncs across devices and platforms, allows you to share and update calendars easily, and integrates with other apps and services that your executive uses. It also means creating and following a consistent and efficient system for organizing, labeling, and categorizing your executive's calendar entries, so that you can quickly find and access the relevant information and details. Additionally, it means using automation and delegation features to streamline and simplify your calendar management tasks, such as setting up recurring events, sending reminders, booking travel, and coordinating with other assistants.

4 Anticipate changes and contingencies

A fourth step to plan ahead and anticipate your executive's needs and preferences is to anticipate changes and contingencies that may affect their calendar. This means being aware of the external and internal factors that may cause delays, cancellations, rescheduling, or emergencies in your executive's schedule, such as weather, traffic, technical issues, health, or personal matters. It also means having a backup plan and a contingency plan for each scenario, so that you can quickly and smoothly adjust your executive's calendar and notify the relevant parties. Moreover, it means being flexible and adaptable to your executive's changing needs and preferences, and being ready to accommodate them as much as possible.

5 Prepare your executive for success

A fifth step to plan ahead and anticipate your executive's needs and preferences is to prepare them for success in their calendar events. This means providing them with the necessary information and resources that they need to perform well and achieve their desired outcomes in their meetings, presentations, negotiations, or other engagements. It also means reminding them of the key points, objectives, and action items that they need to address or follow up on in their calendar events. Furthermore, it means supporting them during and after their calendar events, by facilitating communication, resolving issues, taking notes, tracking progress, and celebrating achievements.

6 Learn and improve continuously

A sixth and final step to plan ahead and anticipate your executive's needs and preferences is to learn and improve continuously from your experience and feedback. This means reviewing your calendar management performance and results regularly, and identifying what worked well and what can be improved. It also means seeking feedback from your executive and other stakeholders on your calendar management skills and service, and implementing their suggestions and recommendations. Additionally, it means staying updated on the latest trends, best practices, and tools for calendar management, and investing in your professional development and learning.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?