To move from good to great, transactional to strategic and invisible to visible, there are certain things an Executive Assistant needs in their toolkit.
While you may have a number of skills and attributes already, it's understanding the importance of them as a whole - as your "toolkit" - that allows you to see just what you're leading with.
Your toolkit, as it currently stands, will be made up of three types of skills and attributes:
Your transactional / learned skills - these are usually listed in your job description or perhaps ones that you've inherited from your predecessor.
Your strategic / intangible skills - those soft skills that make you read between the lines, put out fires, and that you can't quite measure or articulate.
Your natural ability - those skills that make you unique.
Your toolkit is essentially your "brand".
It's what you're known for. It's those valuable and unique tools that set you apart from the crowd, get you noticed and make you memorable as an Executive Assistant.
**we can't fit every skill and attribute into one graphic.
Activity
Take time to review what your toolkit looks like.
List your:
transactional skills
strategic skills
your personal attributes
Highlight 3-5 skills in your toolkit that are your strongest.
Highlight 3-5 skills in your toolkit you'd like to develop.
Then, think about what skills are missing. What else does your toolkit need to ensure you are a great and strategic EA not a good, transactional one? What do you need in your toolkit to pitch for a promotion, get noticed or go for a new opportunity? What professional development do you need to fill this gap?
Completing this activity will really make you see what makes you shine, and what you need to polish. It will support you to reflect on the type of EA you currently are and the EA you aspire to be.