Early on I realized that if I wanted to achieve the levels of success I had envisioned, I would not be able to do it alone. I knew I needed help to achieve success, but the truth is that I didn’t really understand what type of help I needed. So in my second job as a Financial Controller, I did what I thought business leaders like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet do – I hired an assistant. Then asked her to do what I thought assistants did – get me coffee, filing, and faxing documents. Clearly, I had a lot to learn!
It wasn’t until I began my career in real estate that I really started to understand the importance of leveraging to a great assistant and my own leadership development. It wasn’t just handing off miscellaneous tasks, it was creating a mutually-beneficial relationship that would lead to immense growth for the company (and ultimately personal growth for the both of us as well – more on that below). While I focused on creating new relationships and generating sales, I had my assistant focus on her strengths: handling marketing, helping clients, and creating systems and processes to iron out the kinks in our day-to-day operations.
Something still wasn’t clicking though. Over the next four years, I went through several assistants, and none of them lasted longer than eight months. The problem was that I really didn’t understand how to properly attract and hire talent back then before focusing on leadership development, and I paid for it with high turnover. I was failing forward a lot, so when Hallie Warner (who is now my Chief of Staff) applied for a position in my company, I had a clearer understanding of the type of talent I needed in my world. Hallie started as a Marketing Assistant, and it quickly became clear to me that she was actually much better suited for the role of Executive Assistant.
After nine years of working with Hallie as my right hand, it’s abundantly clear to me that the smartest hire an Entrepreneur can make is a really talented Executive Assistant. It’s a company’s initial point of leverage. This hire allows the Executive to focus on the 20% of tasks that are going to make the most impact on the bottom line of the business while the Executive Assistant can focus on the 80% of the daily tasks that are going to keep moving the organization forward on a day-to-day basis. In fact, a great Executive Assistant should bring four times their annual salary in revenue to the business, and a great c-suite team becomes a powerful strategic partnership that grows an organization to new heights quickly. An Executive Assistant becomes a force within the organization helping the Executive accomplish the vision for the company – truly a Force Multiplier.
Whether you’re an Executive, Executive Assistant, or someone who is interested in learning about how businesses become successful, it’s hugely valuable to understand this key partnership. In short, here’s how having a really great strategic partnership enhances an organization.
INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY
Executives and Entrepreneurs, generally speaking, tend not to be great with details, implementation and organization while Executive Assistants are generally not great at sales. That’s why it’s the perfect professional match. Business leaders can get much more done by focusing on their strengths and having an Executive Assistant handle the pieces that would normally trip them up. While the leader of the organization is out generating new business and opportunities, the Executive Assistant holds down the fort, dealing with the daily minutia of the business, solving problems as they arise, and putting systems and processes in place the business can continue to grow. This has a huge impact on the productivity of the organization because when the leader of the business can work primarily in his or her strength zone, then the whole team becomes more efficient. Everyone in a company needs to be working in their strength zones and be sitting in the right seat on the bus, and that includes – it especially includes – the leader, too.
MORE PERSONAL GROWTH
Let’s be honest – Entrepreneurs and business owners often hear “yes” more than they should. Executive Assistants in powerful strategic partnerships aren’t afraid to disagree, reign in, or focus the Executive they work with. Strong leaders know that they can only make the best decisions for the organization when they’ve considered different perspectives, and a great Executive Assistant provides a trusted and respected difference in perspective. They challenge the Executive when necessary and this leads to more personal and professional growth for the leader. In turn, Executives can help their Executive Assistant grow by pushing them outside of their comfort zone. Most Entrepreneurs and business leaders (again, generally speaking) are going to be much more risk-tolerant their than right hands. Executive Assistants might need that extra push to take on a new project, host a webinar, or take on a speaking engagement. A culture of personal growth starts at the top of an organization and by modeling this in the strategic partnership between the Executive and Executive Assistant that mindset flows down throughout all the teams and partnerships within the organization.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Leadership is not all that glamorous no matter how good Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson or Elon Musk make it look. When you are just starting out, it can feel very lonely – making decisions, creating systems, implementing contracts, dealing with clients, and just trying to figure out how to win the day. But that changes when an Executive Assistant comes on board. Executive Assistants help leaders hone their leadership skills in this beginning stage of a company because you don’t know what you don’t know, but a great assistant will tell you (loud and clear!). You’re figuring it out together. Also, Executive Assistants give business owners leverage so that they are no longer working in the business, but on the business. And that means spending time working on leadership skills. As the Executive begins to increase their leadership lid and role model the behavior of an influential leader, the Executive Assistant (if they are the right match) will rise to the occasion and begin to match and mirror that leadership style. Better yet, they will be on the leadership journey as well – attending the same classes the Executive does, reading the same books, honing communication skills, and more. So from the first days of a company to $1 billion in sales, an Executive Assistant is helping to the Executive become a better leader for the entire company while also becoming a strong leader as well.
CLEARER VISION
As the strategic partnership grows, inevitably the company is going to start growing (that’s what makes strategic partnerships so powerful!). And with growth comes opportunity to share the story of what is being built. The Entrepreneur has a massive vision, but it’s one thing to have it and an entirely different thing to communicate it effectively. How is the vision being shared internally? How is the mission being marketed publicly? How is the company story being shared with everyone who encounters the organization? The Executive Assistant becomes the person who makes sure that the Executive’s vision is being shared with all the stakeholders and understood exactly as he or she intended it. Early in a company’s growth, the Executive Assistant will take an Entrepreneur’s wild and crazy vision and distill it into powerful talking points, compelling social media posts, and guest blogs or podcast opportunities. As the company grows and becomes more complex, the Executive Assistant then begins to share that message with candidates, potential business partners, clients, employees and investors and creates a system around that communication. Consistency is so key and Executive Assistants have the follow through to make it happen. The ripple effect is real and will increase brand presence, reputation, and above all ensure all people within the organization are operating with a clear direction and focus.
It’s for these reasons (and many others) that developing a strong strategic partnership is one of the very best investments a business can make. As I mentioned, Hallie and I have been working together for ten years, and she now is my Chief of Staff and Amy Steadman is my Executive Assistant. Hallie’s position and role has changed immensely over the years (that’s what keeps her interested in the work we do – it’s always changing!) but the key role she plays have never changed.
Hallie and I have been through a lot in ten years of business building and learned incredibly valuable lessons about businesses and strategic partnerships. In our upcoming live and in-person event, Behind the Business, we’ll take you on a journey through creating and scaling a huge business. We’ll be totally candid about the conversations that have led to the rapid growth of Adam Hergenrother Companies while providing clear takeaways for your own organization. You’ll walk away from this event with a new perspective on the inner workings of a successful business and strategies to make sure the conversations happening in your office are the most productive and impactful ones. You can get your ticket on Eventbrite. We’d love to connect with you in person there!
And if you’re interested in hearing Hallie and I talk more about our how our strategic partnership had morphed over the years, head on over to this week’s podcast episode “The Strategic Partnership You Didn’t Know You Needed.” Hallie’s insights are really great in this one!
