Maybe She's Born with It: The DNA of a Star Assistant

What are the qualities, attributes, attitudes and behaviors of star assistants? Why do certain assistants stand out and shine brighter than others? Are star assistants created? Or, do they have innate abilities that allow them to be stars? Are there certain qualities and traits a person needs to possess to be successful working at the top echelons in the company?

Answer: Stars are born.

After working with and studying administrative professionals for more than 36 years, I can respond with confidence. We have data that supports the theory that stars are born. Although this isn't the entire story, it is a breakthrough discovery and can help you be more selective in your career choices. This may very well change your entire future.

The Big Aha!

In January 2008, I was sitting in a room with 12 senior vice presidents and one president of a large company in Maryland. I was presenting a three-hour workshop called "Maximizing the Time and Talents of Your Assistant." I had worked with this company in the past and was brought back specifically to hold a private session with their top executives.

One of the top executives - who also co-owned the company - asked me, "Is there any formula you have figured out that makes for an outstanding assistant? Is it a certain number of years of experience or certain qualities? I need to hire a new executive assistant, and I've been disappointed in the past. They interviewed well but couldn't handle the job. I want to know what the makeup of a star assistant is."

This led to other comments by the vice presidents. They determined: "Just because an individual has the title "executive assistant" and reports to a vice president, it doesn't make him or her one. It's a set of competencies (skills, attitudes, behaviors and attributes) that make an individual an executive assistant to a vice president, president or CEO."

That's when the light bulb went off in my head; this was the "big aha!" I do have the answers, and they're based on research and facts - not just my opinion. I had been accumulating volumes of information for 18 years regarding administrative competencies; plus, I had 20 years of experience in the field before I launched Office Dynamics. I had interviewed hundreds of human resources professionals, learning and development professionals, CEOs, executives, and managers and business owners about this very subject.

I had talked to thousands of administrative professionals about the competencies they needed to be successful in their jobs. All of this information had been accumulating in my office since 1990. This is an integral part of creating training programs and developing content when teaching and coaching administrative professionals.

But, this was the moment in time that I could honestly say, "YES!" There is a formula! YES, there are specific skills, traits and abilities that make a person a Star Assistant^TM. This led to more research in 2008, and everything came together. I want to share with you the most important information I can give at this point in time. I will also be writing a white paper on this discovery, which will be published later this year.

World Class Assistant^TM Graduates Do the Homework

I decided to utilize the talents and brains of 111 topnotch administrative assistants from various industries and sized companies who made it through to Part 3 of my World Class Assistant^TM Certificate Program. Their pre-class assignment was to interview their immediate manager, the multiple managers they supported, or even other managers to get as much input as possible for the research. These are the questions they had to ask, along with a small sampling of the answers:

1. What five skills do you think are most important for an assistant to be successful in the workplace?

Answer: Organizational skills, ability to think ahead, planning, detail-oriented, interpersonal skills, time-management skills, communication skills, judgment skills, action-oriented, ability to anticipate, interpersonal savvy, understands priorities

2. What five top attributes or traits do you think a "star" assistant should possess?

Answer: Ability to know what their boss will need and be prepared with the answers/details, know who the key players are in their boss's world, ability to take a project and work through all of the details and keep the manager informed along the way, confidentiality, trust, partnership-building, highly productive, solution-oriented, flexible, good listener, self-sufficient, has the perspective to act as one team.

3. In all of your years in the workforce, what three to five attributes, traits or behaviors have you admired in administrative professionals?

Answer: Individuals who are well-connected, strong communication skills (written and oral), someone who can professionally represent the company and me, someone who has a strong "can-do" attitude about every assignment, professionalism, understanding team dynamics, "can-do" approach, initiative, comfort around higher management

Ahead of the Curve

The next part of the research was asking the administrative professionals these questions: Based on your work experience, why do certain administrative professionals stand out where others do not? Are Star Assistants^TM created? Or, is it their innate abilities that make them stars?

Ninety-five percent agreed that it's something within you; it's innate. An individual has natural talents or abilities in certain areas, develops them in strength, and increases their visibility. They leverage those talents to excel and then build their weaker areas.

In my own words: "A person is wired or not wired for certain things. It's in your DNA." For example, one assistant naturally has the talent to connect the dots when given abstract information while another does not. Or, one assistant is highly creative while another is not; one is great at pulling out all of the details while another is not.

The group synopsis:

• Overall, the Star Assistant's DNA must consist of soft skills, hard skills, and social and emotional intelligence. (There is a crossover; they're integrated.)
• Soft skills are emerging in importance over technical skills; they carry more weight. Soft skills are hard to teach, learn and change; technical skills are not.
• The main component of the DNA is that an individual has the innate talent and then builds some areas around and on top of their innate ability and core attributes.
• The fundamental skills are still important to be successful in this job. Then, add advanced competencies, such as negotiating, persuading, presenting, problem-solving, leading and mentoring.

And the Winners Are...

There are more than 250 skills, attitudes, behaviors and attributes. Below are the top winners in order of priority. The numbers next to each item represents the weight it carries, not the number of answers. So, the higher the number, the greater its importance. (I used the exact wording from the surveys.)

• Good communication skills (24)
• Organizational skills (21)
• Team player (17)
• Interpersonal communication skills (10)
• Detail-oriented (10)
• Positive, "can-do" attitude (10)
• Problem-solving (9)
• Flexible (8)
• Prioritize (8)
• Honest (7)
• Helpful (7)
• Accountable (7)
• Trustworthy (7)
• Personal accountability (5)
• Confident (5)
• Ability to remain calm under pressure (5)
• Interpersonal: general (5)
• Analytical, forward-thinking skills (4)
• Integrity (4)
• Proactive (4)
• Authenticity (4)
• Calendaring (4)
• Customer-service focused (4)
• Initiator (4)
• Time management (3)
• Customer focus (3)
• Works well under pressure (3)
• Good listener (3)
• Professional presence (3)
• Ability to prioritize (3)
• Keeping delicate information private (3)
• Focused (3)
• Political knowledge (3)
• Anticipation of needs (3)
• Know what the boss needs (3)
• Network (3)
• Proactive (3)
• Ethics (3)

What Does This Mean for You?

1. Don't stress when you struggle with certain aspects of your job. In other words, you can't put a square peg in a round hole. I'm a perfect example in that I don't like working with numbers, doing accounting, or managing legal information.

I never worked in those departments as an assistant. I chose to work in departments such as marketing, advertising and supporting high-level executives. Today, I work with numbers and legal language because I'm a business owner and need to pay attention to them. But, 85 percent of my work is doing things that I love and I'm good at. Yours should be, too.

2. Find your niche. Be selective. Figure out what works really well for you and position your career for those job opportunities or positions. You'll be a much happier person. Your inner talents will shine and you'll get promotions!

3. Be courageous and let your talents shine. Every person has a star inside; some just shine a little brighter. Dig deep to find your innate talents, and make them visible to those around you. I see too many assistants hide because they're afraid their peers might be jealous.

4. Stretch. You may have talents you don't even know exist because you don't stretch yourself outside your comfort zone. Take on new assignments or projects, volunteer, attend classes, or lead an administrative group.

5. Create opportunities that let your star shine. Your current work may not present you with situations where you can shine. What can you create that will display your attributes?

6. Look elsewhere, if appropriate. Does this mean you should give up on ever achieving a top position in your company? No! But you should consider the personality, working style, and thinking style of the CEO or President. You may not be the right fit in this organization, but you could be a great fit for another executive.

I know two topnotch executive assistants reporting to CEOs in Silicon Valley. They always tease each other by saying, "I could never work for your executive." And they're right! They're both where they need to be and, as a result, are very happy people.

Although we've seen that Star Assistants are mostly born and not made, you can develop certain skills that will make you shine a little brighter. I've discovered that at the core of a Star Assistant^TM is the passion to excel, a desire to learn and grow, and a commitment to the profession.

As a renowned author and administrative expert, Joan Burge has been a visionary for administrative training and development since 1990. One of the first to venture into the administrative-training industry, Joan has become an international administrative expert, trainer, author and consultant. Joan Burge is the founder and CEO of OfficeDynamics, Ltd.