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In this article, author Jan Jones discusses how executive assistants can develop and improve and their adaptability skills.
FlyPrivate is a proud partner and associate of Jan Jones. Jan brings valuable, actionable information to executive assistants across the globe. We hope you enjoy her blogs as much as we do!
FlyPrivate: I’ve been an executive assistant for many years. I’m adaptable and accept change as necessary in my job. With the increasing emphasis on adaptability at work, can you offer some suggestions on what more I can do to be adaptable and keep ahead of situations?
Jan Jones: I’m being asked about adaptability more frequently by executive assistants, because their executives are placing increased emphasis on this trait. Executives tell me it’s not that they don’t view their assistants as adaptable, it’s that many need to pick up the pace. Some assistants are being overwhelmed by the speed and rate of change to which they need to adapt. There’s a lack of mental agility which is causing them to struggle with keeping up.
For me, this reinforces the need to develop anticipation skills, something else I discuss with EAs frequently. Why? Because anticipation gives you advance notice. It gives you a heads-up so you have time to develop your game plan and put it into practice. Now you have something you can rely on when things speed up, or feel like they could get out of control. Anticipation shows you where to pay closer attention, or change your strategy. Seeing things ahead of time, you’re not taken by surprise. You can adapt your approach quicker. You can shift your focus and pace yourself better, rather than struggling to stay ahead of constantly shifting priorities and feeling unprepared. But even worse, looking unprepared.
Recently, I saw a report conducted by Harvard University and Stanford Research stating 85% of a worker’s career success will come from their soft skills. The report is many years old, but is still referenced today by consultants and leadership coaches. CEO coach Eric Partaker referred to this report in a recent newsletter, and placed Adaptability at #1 on the list of soft skills that will accelerate your career.
I call adaptability a master skill for executive assistants. It is a time-tested skill, intrinsic to the EA’s role, because the role requires you to constantly adjust to the whims and pace of business. You have to develop flexibility and agility in your thinking. That quickness of mind will help you to adapt effectively to situations. Because so much of your workload is fluid and fast-altering, being adaptable is a necessary trait for your success as an executive assistant.
Adaptability is a willingness to understand what is required of us, and being flexible enough to make changes, whether we embrace change, or it makes us feel uncomfortable.
Being adaptable shows a certain maturity – being willing to do what is needed, and doing it with a positive attitude. The opposite of adaptable is rigid and inflexible. You won’t progress far in the EA role with that approach.
A talent for being adaptable is not something new for executive assistants, but it has garnered more attention in recent years, because the world is so uncertain. We were thrown for a loop with the pandemic. Not only is the way we work different now, but perceptions of what work is, and how it should be done, have changed. Civility between human beings, law and order, supply chains, customer service, the predictability of daily life, seem to be a memory now. That means we need to adopt a fresh attitude of flexibility, responding to situations as they are, so we can succeed without feeling the strain of compromise that can make us uneasy and dissatisfied.
The executive assistant’s need to adapt is multiplied. Not only are you adapting your methods, you are also predicting and managing areas where your executive is adapting. You are essentially adapting for two – or more if you support a team.
Just as executives are being forced to develop their adaptive leadership abilities, and learn how to manage through volatile business conditions, executive assistants – whose job it is to partner with their executives – must also ramp up their ability to move faster and work more effectively in navigating organizational change. These practices must be adopted by assistants at every level of business, if you are to remain relevant.
Some days, the changes in priorities and requirements to adjust your workload may seem never-ending as you maneuver and juggle to accommodate requests. This can make it difficult for you to build up a head of steam, and may cause you frustration.
Yet, the nature of your job requires you to be adaptable enough to make those adjustments at short notice, and nimble enough to pivot into a new direction if required. Pivot is adapting quickly to changing situations. It’s finding a better way, changing course if necessary, using what you have to deliver results in a short space of time.
Assistants, it’s time to bring non-traditional thinking to the way you work. Nimble thinking leads to nimble responding and nimble adapting. Think laterally across many disciplines. Draw from areas that seem to have no connection to each other at all, and identify the common elements that tie them together. Broaden your interests. Read and research widely, don’t just rely on information that is curated for you by news apps. This will give you a wider framework of innovation that you can apply across all your accountabilities. You’ll be well informed and well prepared to adjust and tailor how you work. You’ll be ahead of the rest. That’s how you show your value and gain confidence in yourself.
Adaptable people typically have a problem-solving mindset. They have learned to roll with disruptions. They don’t get flustered when taken off course, and they don’t impulsively resist when they have to make changes. They understand the nature of business and are willing to accommodate. Their disposition and outlook are more solution-oriented than team members who are inflexible and resistant to changing course as necessary.
Just as our daily lives continue to be subject to disruption, so will business. You have to increase your capability to respond to the surge in demand for your time and your skills. That means you have to adapt to the speed of business to avoid falling behind, or becoming obsolete.
Here are some ways you can develop your skills and master your ability to adapt:
• Build a wider range of competencies, including good judgment, decision-making and creative thinking. Practice with hypothetical situations so you can translate them into action when needed. Put in the work required to excel in your role. When you know your job inside and out, you respond instinctively. You can quickly make adjustments and figure out what alternative course of action is needed as circumstances change.
• Ramp up your anticipation skills and be ready for what’s coming next. Anticipation provides tremendous leverage to adaptability because it gets you in front of the issues. When you know what’s coming, you can make changes in advance of any emergencies. The adjustments you need to make in a crisis will generally be easier if you are prepared.
This is what I mean when I say have the fundamentals in place. Those bread-and-butter skills that are the foundation on which you’ve built your professional skills. (I call them Tangible and Intangible skills in my book. They are EA must-haves). Those skills must be instinctive, ever-present. Once you build them, you don’t give them a second thought. They kick in automatically. You can rely on them. Keep them sharp and current. Preparedness brings a certain relaxation and confidence that things are under control. No matter how volatile the circumstances, they won’t faze you.
• Be ready with alternatives and ways to implement them. This carries over from anticipation skills. It means learning to be resourceful, finding alternatives, using creativity to come up with solutions and being prepared to deal with challenges. From time to time, check your procedures, processes and systems for vulnerabilities and make sure to fix them so you don’t have system failures at crucial moments, that will hamper your ability to respond.
• Pay attention to details. Keep your eye on the ball and your finger on the pulse. Business has a “feel” to it. Get good at noticing changes in daily rhythms, or anything that seems off that will need you to intervene, or alert your team members.
• Be courageous. Make the call to adjust and change if you see what you are doing isn’t working. Develop the habit of looking at situations from many angles. Be willing to rethink how you are doing things if you are falling behind, or if you are not getting the results you need. This will prevent work from coming to a standstill if you find yourself in crunch mode and things aren’t going as planned.
• Be flexible. Experiment, innovate. What are some successes you’ve had previously that can be adapted to how you are working today? Be willing to try and learn new things that can lead you to bigger opportunities. And even if opportunities don’t eventuate in the short-term, you are keeping your mind nimble, which will give you greater ability to adapt.
• When things get complicated, a big asset will be the relationships you’ve built. Cooperate and participate with your colleagues in your day-to-day work. Build trust with each other. Team members and other stakeholders who can pinch-hit or offer solutions when you are overwhelmed with challenges that require swift action, will be a valuable resource. Build your credit with colleagues long before you need it. Don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need it.
Adaptability, a skill that has stood the test of time for executive assistants, is even more relevant today. As life and business become increasingly complex and uncertain, getting an early read on your strengths and learning how to put them to good use when required, will bring you peace of mind and enhance your ability to adapt effortlessly and spontaneously. It will separate you from those who’ve neglected to develop their skills, or those who are new and never done the role. It’s a big advantage for you to be able to show the contrast between yourself and others who are doing the job. In the end, it’s your expertise that will win you the promotion and salary you want and deserve.
Becoming expert at adapting is a long-term practice you perfect over time, but those incremental steps to mastery must start today. Begin by rethinking and adapting established practices into newer ways that will meet the changing needs of contemporary business and your role in it.
The key is to stay fresh, fluid and flexible. Practice flexibility in your thoughts and actions. Don’t become complacent and let the rust set in by being too rigid, or unwilling to change. Don’t think you know it all; nobody does. Develop a positive, can-do mindset that will allow you to accommodate conditions as they unfold. Shift into new directions if that’s what the situation demands. Develop your situational awareness. Remain alert to your environment so that when you encounter situations that are new, undefined and unpredictable, you will be alert and ready to accept the challenges they present.
Charles Darwin said the species that survive are the ones that most accurately perceive their environment and successfully adapt to it. What are the most useful skills your environment is demanding from you right now? Did you see it coming and are you ready for at least some of it? Will you be ready in the months or year ahead? Stay current with business and world affairs so you can perceive your environment and build the skills you need to carry you through change and disruption.
Mental preparation will let you come up with good solutions when you encounter unexpected situations. Be prepared with options. The US Army’s training manual on adaptability calls for “a mindset based on flexibility of thought, and a willingness to make rapid adjustments according to the situation.” Executive assistants should adopt this adaptability mindset and become expert at it.
©The CEO’s Secret Weapon. The ideas expressed in this article and any text extracted from “The CEO’s Secret Weapon” are the intellectual property and copyrighted to Jan Jones. All rights reserved. No unauthorized usage or duplication by any means is permitted without the express consent of the author.
Want more from Jan Jones? Check out her Q & A Series!
Jan Jones is the author of “The CEO’s Secret Weapon How Great Leaders and Their Assistants Maximize Productivity and Effectiveness.” The book has received widespread acclaim from executives and executive assistants worldwide. Jan spent 20+ years as an esteemed international executive assistant to well-known business people, including Tony Robbins, the world’s #1 business and life strategist. Jan continues to champion the executive assistant profession with her writing, consulting and speaking. She offers timeless, practical advice that is relevant to the day-to-day role of the executive assistant.
Visit Amazon to purchase Jan Jones’ book and visit her website: The CEO’s Secret Weapon.
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