Are UK assistants indeed business partners to their leaders?

This blog I have held back for a long time and releasing with trepidation, as I am acutely aware of the backlash I might receive. EPAA is a UK association, not international, so this blog is very much intended for the UK market.

Over the last decade there has been much made, in fact almost a national obsession in some quarters, that the assistant role is a 'business partner' to their executive/director/boss.

To put it mildly, I am baffled and always have been…

In the first instance, I refer you to Adam Fidler’s LinkedIn Blog about what an assistant-executive partnership actually entails, but I also want to add to this and come at it from a slightly different angle.

Incidentally, Adam Fidler, when asked for his views very recently said "I have trained more EAs than any other training provider and can categorically state, none of them, in my 13 years of training and coaching EAs are called Business Partners. They have Assistant in their title for a reason. Yes, EAs need to work in partnership, but that is not the same as thinking you are a business partner".

I have over 20 years of experience in assistant roles, across multiple sectors and industries. I never, ever saw myself as equal to my bosses. I was aware of the level that I operated at, the positional power and influence that came with some of the roles I undertook, but I also knew my place and was happy with this. I understand perfectly that we had to have a 'working partnership', that goes without saying, but I wasn’t the director/chair/CEO – they were.

Of course, you are an extension of their brand and I have represented some of my past bosses at certain meetings, but there are certain meetings it would not have been appropriate for me to be there as substitute in his/her or their place.

If I wanted to be the executive, I would have chartered a different career path to become a director instead.

It struck me that whilst we may celebrate and embrace the highs of leadership with our executives, how many assistants take the lows and failures of their leaders too? How many of you have had involvement with the latter?

Since the 2008 global financial recession, we have seen many corporate and public sector failings, never more prevalent than the recent Post Office scandal, of which is already showing significant failed leadership and breathtaking lies.?

This level and style of leadership has cost people their lives, sent others to prisons for crimes they did not commit and left others financially destitute. ?You would be hard pushed not to get very emotional at ITVs Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

There have been multiple public inquiries and trials over the last 15 years or so, none so big as the current inquiry, but nonetheless, I find it intriguing that there has only been 1 instance of an assistant to an executive being called to give evidence and indeed looking at a perjury charge, relating to a charge their executive was up in court for.? Fortunately, the assistant was cleared, but it was a huge wake up call for those of us operating as assistants at that time.

The assistant in question stated at the time, that they did what they were told to do and didn’t question it. ?The judge didn’t find this entirely palatable...

By the way, this assistant was working at the very highest of levels.

Playing devil’s advocate, if assistants are at the same level and true business partners to their bosses, then surely in turn we would expect to see them being called to provide evidence at an inquiry and indeed at any criminal trials that may take place?

Indeed, my research found that in some countries across the world, it is very commonplace for the assistant to be called to give evidence or to be facing charges alongside their bosses, so there is a caveat to this of course, but I am specifically talking about the UK for this blog.

The gap between an assistant’s salary in comparison to their executives is huge in 98% of cases.? Not to mention bonuses, pensions and general benefits. Most UK assistants struggle to get support for their onward learning and development...

I would fully accept that perhaps 2% of the profession in the UK could very well be earning in the sphere of the dizzy heights of their bosses, but for the vast majority this isn’t the case.

The truth be known, is that most UK assistants would not be happy to be called to give evidence at an inquiry or indeed any criminal trial and would certainly not expect to be facing charges with their executive.? You would be thinking, why the hell am I here, I am the assistant… and therein lies the case in point.

We have spent a significant amount of time in our industry going on and on about how we are 'true business partners' and on an equal footing, especially over the last decade.? I have seen presentation after presentation on this. In part this is due to the ongoing battle to receive greater respect and recognition, but I have never believed this was the right way to go about it.

I shared a story in the EPAA Facebook Group of a FTSE CEOs PA, whereby her CEOs expenses were known to be dodgy as hell to all in that HQ. I kept on at her to better protect herself and not put these through. I challenged her and asked her what would happen if the relevant authorities got wind of this? What would she do?? She simply stated to me “I am just a PA, doing what I was told to do”. So, happy for the kudos of being the CEOs assistant, but when the proverbial hits the fan, the good old trusty “I am just a PA” comes in handy, does it not?!

I was inspired to see a smattering of assistants who responded to my post about this and all the above, about how they had strong values and would not put themselves in this position, but are they in a minority?? Would you speak up, whistleblow or refuse to do a piece of work if it broke process or the law?? I would hope this to be the case, but with confidence levels across the UK at an all time low, you do have to ask the question??

I have often said to UK assistants you need to better protect yourselves, and I have often been laughed at by said assistants.? But ask yourself this, will you be able to cope with the high levels of stress that come with giving evidence in court or at an inquiry? ?

If you are equal to your bosses, as indeed many of you suggest you are, would you be happy to face the same levels of punishments as them?

How many assistants have been coerced into signing NDAs when they have seen wrongdoing at a company or organisation?? It will be a heck of a lot more than you think.

I was very happy with the level I operated at as an assistant. I didn’t abuse the positional power I had, but I also knew the buck stopped with them.? I didn’t stand up for myself against every single leader I worked for, some indeed did walk all over me and furthermore put me in horrendous situations that went against all my values.? Better the devil you know and with more experience I gained more confidence…but still some executives did try to test my values and boundaries.

For those of you who have never experienced working for a bad and unethical leader, then count yourselves lucky, because they are out there and can be very manipulative.

Make no mistake that the current scandal will be a watershed moment in terms of leadership in the UK. I suspect when we come to the end of this long and tragic inquiry, that governance and indeed some business laws will need to change.

In the meantime, for UK assistants at large, please do protect yourself, your boundaries and indeed your values...

For those who want to be at the level your executive currently is, then why not go and do it?? Given the current state of leadership today in many British organisations and businesses, the simple truth is, that many assistants would make better and more ethical leaders than some of the people they support…

Victoria Wratten, Founder of EPAA

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