5 Ways to Showcase Your Value as an EA

As an Executive Assistant (EA), you’re in one of the most commonly misunderstood roles in the corporate world. Plenty of people have heard of the EA role but they don’t know what you really do day-to-day. This can make it easy for your colleagues, and even your boss, to underestimate the breadth and complexity of what you do, meaning you don’t always get the recognition you deserve. 

According to a recent Global Assistant survey, 70% of EAs feel undervalued and overlooked by their peers and colleagues. After speaking with many administrative professionals (APs) and through our own work aiming to make your lives easier through meeting and travel planning, we want to explore this challenge and offer some personalized support. 

How to showcase your value as an Executive Assistant

Here are five ways to showcase your EA skills and build value in your role, across teams, and in your company.

1. Document your accomplishments

It is a useful practice to keep a record of your accomplishments and wins. Whether that’s saving a glowing email from a client or executive, noting when your quick thinking avoids a disaster, or generally keeping a record of things that you’re proud of. If you’re consistent with keeping these records updated, you should end up with a list of achievements that can help showcase your value, prove the complexities of individual tasks, and use as support for promotions and pay rises. Unsure of where to start? Use this accomplishment tracker from ASAP.

Remember to include the details when making notes of these accomplishments rather than just the shiny end result. For example, organizing an in-person meeting for a dispersed workforce can be overlooked as an “easy” task. Still, it’s only when you factor in all the individual components that people see how much skill it takes—and how much trouble they’d be in without you! A great way to do this is to show and track metrics. You can do this by knowing the answers to the below questions:

• How much time have you saved through your initiatives, skills or accomplishments?
•  How much money have you saved your company through your organization and initiative?
•  How many tasks have you automated in your work processes to further save time and build efficiencies? 

Statistics are a fool-proof way to prove your worth. Be sure to track your KPIs as well to highlight your contributions and use this data to support your career advancement.

To do this well, however, you need to overcome the fear or embarrassment of self-PR. Being an EA especially, often the only way to show your value is to make it known, so don’t be afraid to make some noise when you do something impressive. 

2. Take initiative in your career progression & growth 

We know you don’t need any more work on your plate, but taking some responsibility for your career advancement can be a great way to climb the ladder and show initiative. 

As you know, executives are notoriously busy, so driving conversations of their direct reports’ career progression can often fall lower on the list of to-dos. Not to mention, if you work in a dispersed workforce, it can be hard to build a relationship with your manager and understand all of their needs if you don’t see them day-to-day. By being proactive in initiating important conversations with your boss around expectations and direct feedback, you will pave your path to success. 

Here are a few options on how you can take initiative in your career growth: 

• Find out if your company has a job-leveling framework from your Human Resources and People teams. If not, create a unique framework for your role. 
• List expected responsibilities and skills for your role level today, and then for progressing levels. 
• Try to anticipate your manager's needs and align your goals with the company’s goals. Create a list of strengths, weaknesses, and general feedback within the template. 
• Book time with your manager to review the framework and ask them to fill in the gaps. Give them ample notice before the meeting so they are prepared to give live feedback on the call. 

With these resources, you’ll have a clear path of what your manager expects from you today and what skills you need to move to the next level. You’ll also showcase how important your role and their opinion is to you. And just like that, with minimal time and effort from your manager, you are building trust and creating your trajectory for improvement, with a focus on tangible results that you can show to your boss at your next career catch-up. 

3. Build your network

Having a strong network - both inside and outside of your immediate workplace - is one of the best ways to showcase your individual value as an EA. Your network, after all, is unique to you. Relationships cannot be replaced or emulated, so the better and more useful your contact list, the more invaluable you are as an EA. Many professionals tend to think of networking as a nice thing to do and perhaps not the biggest priority, but, in reality, your network can be a huge influence on your job security and employability.  

Finding yourself a mentor - a specific person who has extensive experiences and skills that you can learn from - is a particularly impactful way to network. By developing a close, ongoing relationship where you feel able to ask questions, celebrate wins, walk through work scenarios, and voice concerns with a trusted advisor, you’re able to fast-track your own learning and confidence. 

It’s also important to remember that networking isn’t only about attending events—you can also build lasting connections through social media, company communications, virtual coffee chats, community forums, and more. 

4. Become the go-to person in your company

Being the ‘go-to person’ means being the team member everyone comes to when they want to push your company forward—to future-proof it or make it a better place to work. By making an effort to be forward-thinking, ahead of the curve, and ‘the doer’, you naturally showcase your value to your colleagues. 

To become that person, if you aren’t already, be proactive in researching and testing new technologies or ways of working that can be useful to multiple teams. Share your knowledge and processes. Go out of your way to support team members when they have questions or need an extra hand. Take action without having to be asked or told. For example, if your leadership team wants to create a more open and inclusive workplace, look into mental health support programs, cultural awareness training, or Diversity and Inclusion initiatives. 

Remember that it’s not only the willingness and care to improve the company that matters here, it’s also the positive attitude you bring to each new challenge that gets you noticed. By being a trailblazer for modern ways of working and communicating, your value becomes tied to the company’s success in these endeavors. It’s win-win!

5. Seek out new skills

In order to be that invaluable go-to person, you may need to seek out particular skill sets, certifications, or connections. In life you should never stop learning—and that is especially true in your career. 

The ever-changing technical landscape requires all professionals to stay up to date with the latest trends and skills, including experience with AI. While there is lots of information out there about these new tools, regularly using them is the best way to become an expert. If there is a technology that you are interested in working with but don’t have access to, here are some tips on how to get it approved by your boss (including an email template). Proactively learning new technical skills not only makes you more effective and efficient at your job, it also demonstrates initiative and a commitment to driving positive change within your company.

Are there any direct or transferable skills that can help you improve as an EA or as a general professional? If so, seek out webinars, events, guides, courses, certifications, communities, and discussions around the skills you want to learn. There are plenty of free resources online, or you can see if your company has a learning and development budget you can utilize.

We’ve found many insightful and supportive Executive Assistant and admin professionals communities including The Leader Assistant, EA How To, ASAP, and The Assist. These kinds of groups have a wealth of knowledge about the best tools, tips, skills and tech to boost your efficiency. 

Your eagerness and action on learning new skills will be sure to get noticed by your colleagues and boss. They also will help build your resume for future opportunities.

Ready to showcase your value as an EA?

Showcasing your value as an EA takes organization, effort, and a bit of self-congratulation to get there. In a role where your skills are often overlooked, it’s crucial that you have the confidence to promote your achievements—and have the results handy to back yourself up. 

Editor’s Note: This post has been updated for accuracy and current best practices.