As the role of the Executive Assistant (EA) continues to evolve, mastering a diverse range of skills has become increasingly important. One of the most valuable skill sets for modern EAs is project management. While EAs may not always manage large-scale, business-critical projects themselves, having a solid understanding of project management principles can significantly enhance their ability to support their executives, particularly in their role as a liaison between the executive and project teams.
In many organisations, the executive acts as the project sponsor, setting strategic objectives, approving budgets, and providing the authority for major initiatives. However, the day-to-day management of a project, particularly one that is business-critical, is often the responsibility of a full-time project manager or even a project director. These roles require constant attention to detail, coordination across multiple teams, and a significant amount of time dedicated to decision-making processes.
This is where an EA with project management knowledge can step in and provide invaluable support, saving their executive time and allowing them to focus on higher-level strategic decisions.
The Role of EAs in Supporting Project Management
EAs frequently manage tasks and initiatives that could be considered "projects", such as coordinating events, organising travel, or ensuring that key operational goals are met. While these smaller-scale tasks benefit from project management techniques, the primary advantage of understanding formal project management for EAs lies in supporting their executive with larger organisational projects.
By acquiring project management skills, EAs can act as an essential bridge between the executive and the project team in the following ways:
Acting as Liaison Between the Executive and the Project Team
One of the key roles an EA can play is to act as the liaison between the executive, who may be the project sponsor, and the project manager or team. This ensures that the executive stays informed without needing to be involved in every detail. EAs can attend project meetings on behalf of the executive, communicate progress updates, and ensure that any questions or concerns from the team are addressed promptly. This keeps the executive engaged at a strategic level without being overwhelmed by operational details.
Attending Meetings and Making Decisions on Behalf of the Executive
When the executive is unable to attend a project meeting, a knowledgeable EA can step in to represent their interests and ensure that the executive's vision and priorities are upheld. By understanding the project’s goals, timelines, and constraints, an EA can make informed decisions within a pre-defined scope. This delegation of authority not only saves time but also ensures that the project continues to progress without unnecessary delays.
Providing Strategic Updates to the Executive
In any project, regular updates are crucial. An EA with project management knowledge can curate these updates, focusing on the strategic issues that require the executive’s attention while filtering out less important details. This saves the executive time and ensures that they receive the necessary information to make high-level decisions without getting bogged down in operational matters.
Why Project Management is a Full-Time Role
While EAs can provide invaluable support in managing the interface between the executive and project teams, it is important to recognise that project management is a specialised, full-time role for most business-critical projects. Project managers are responsible for:
Detailed Planning and Scheduling: This includes creating project timelines, coordinating resources, and ensuring that each phase of the project is aligned with the overall objectives.
Risk Management: Project managers must continuously identify, assess, and mitigate risks that could potentially derail the project.
Stakeholder Engagement: They are tasked with ensuring that all stakeholders, from team members to senior leaders, are aligned and informed throughout the project’s lifecycle.
Budget and Resource Management: Project managers monitor the financial and human resources required to successfully complete the project.
These responsibilities require full-time attention, expertise, and leadership, which is why large-scale projects have dedicated project managers or directors in place. However, the EA’s role is pivotal in ensuring that the executive has the insight and information they need to support the project while avoiding executive burnout.
How EAs Can Add Value Without Being Full-Time Project Managers
Understanding the fundamentals of project management allows EAs to add significant value without needing to take on the full-time responsibility of managing a project. Several practical ways exist for EAs to leverage their project management knowledge in order to effectively support their executives:
Task Tracking and Follow-Up: EAs can help track deliverables, ensuring that project tasks assigned to their executive are completed on time, while following up with other team members to ensure alignment.
Managing Communication: By filtering project communications, EAs can ensure that only relevant and strategic updates reach the executive, while responding to less critical queries on their behalf.
Resource Coordination: EAs can assist in organising resources, such as arranging meetings, coordinating schedules, and ensuring the right people are available at the right time.
Benefits Realisation. By understanding how to track and measure the expected outcomes of a project, EAs can ensure that the project delivers its intended benefits. This includes monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) and providing regular updates to the executive, enabling them to make informed decisions about resource allocation, project adjustments, and prioritisation of future initiatives.
Decision-Making Support: With a clear understanding of the project’s scope and the executive’s strategic priorities, an EA can make small but impactful decisions, alleviating the need for the executive to be involved in every operational detail.
Leveraging Project Management to Elevate the EA Role
While project management is typically a full-time role for those running complex, business-critical projects, EAs who develop project management skills can become indispensable partners to their executives. By acting as a bridge between the executive and the project team, attending meetings on their executive’s behalf, making decisions within an agreed-upon scope, and monitoring and reporting on project benefits, EAs can save their executive valuable time while ensuring the success of critical initiatives.
Ultimately, an EA with a strong grasp of project management principles can help ensure that projects remain on track, the executive remains focused on strategic objectives, and the organisation runs more efficiently.
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About the Author: Richard Arnott, BA, FInatAM, FIToL, is a Director of BMTG (UK) Ltd, and the author and lead presenter of the groundbreaking, globally recognised Advanced Certificate for the Executive Assistant: ACEA® program. Richard also sits on the editorial board of Lucy Brazier OBE Executive Support Magazine.
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