Executive Assistants as Leaders of School Culture
In this shared article, Dr Steven Middleton, Associate Principal, and Ms Kristine Niven, Executive Assistant, of St Margaret’s Berwick Grammar explore the vital role of executive assistants in leadership collaboration with principals. The partnership between executive assistant (EA) and principal provides a unique opportunity to shape and transform school culture. The impact of a highly effective and talented EA with proactive capacity to build relationships, communicate purpose and model values to strategically lead others cannot be underestimated.
NOT ALL heroes or heroines wear capes!
This motto is popular lately, gaining expression in song lyrics and marketing, advertising everything from Budweiser to surf lifesaving. Despite its popularity in external contexts, this motto is so apt to describe performers in schools able to perform superhuman deeds at will.
Quite simply, a high performing executive assistant (EA) in a school setting can provide a level of leadership and influence that not even the best costumed Marvel hero could replicate, regardless of costume or cape size.
For authors on all matters of culture, Deal & Peterson (2009) describe heroes ‘are those people who possess highly prized characteristics, serving as models for behaviour’. In the best traditions of superheroes working collaboratively (think Batman and Robin), when the principal and EA relationship is productive, trusting and purposely strategic, then an authentic ‘dynamic duo’ can emerge.
For principals, take a moment to consider the cyclical demands, challenges and obstacles of your role. For EAs, consider all that you may be called upon to complete in collaboration during these times. In truth, a contemporary school operating environment is often reminiscent of the USA Army conceptual tool expressed by the acronym VUCA, describe the conditions of modern warfare (Volatile, Unpredictable, Complex, Ambiguous). Such a perspective holds relevance for the turbulent waters we may navigate daily which can be as unexpected as all-consuming.
Within this setting, the complexity that these superheroes, masquerading as EAs, are called upon to confront and tame can be both metaphorically hostile and extreme. Everything from resolving conflict, managing calendars, rescheduling meetings, confronting serious issues, maintaining confidentiality whilst troubleshooting, providing life-hacks, and offering a timely supportive and encouraging word where it is needed most. Without a hint of exaggeration, these folks juggle knives, dodge boulders and wrangle kittens daily! A guilty admission for principals to be shouted from the rooftop of administration buildings is that without the calm, professional, meticulous, and dedicated support of EAs many would simply flounder.
However, beyond the basic heroic stuff, there is another reality. When the relationship between a dynamic duo, principal and EA, is strong, based on mutual trust, great communication, shared purpose, and aligned aspiration, then transformational impact can occur. By extension, the influence outstanding EAs as leaders can exert upon school culture should not be underestimated. The work of culture expert Schein rings loudly, ‘The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture. If you do not manage culture, it manages you, and you may not even be aware of the extent to which this is happening’.
Leaders are deliberate in identifying the culture we want to promote and work strategically to influence it. Therefore, what role can the EA as leader play in creating and shaping school culture? There is opportunity for significant leverage here given the status of the EA as leader and colleague who can exert influence in a variety of forms, as an extension of the principal. There is no doubt high performing EAs have a unique capacity to exert strategic influence upon shaping culture, notably ‘the way we do things around here’. (Deal & Peterson, 2009).
However, in consideration of the role, there are several ‘elephants in the room’ to acknowledge. The work of high performing EAs is often hidden from the view of others within the broader organisational context, set apart from that of other employees, due to its close connection to leadership hierarchies. An EA to a principal typically sits horizontally in an organisational structure, potentially isolated from close working connections with a larger set of colleagues. Further, knowledge of strategic direction, issues of confidentiality, general perceptions, professional jealousy, and lack of understanding of the complexities of the role may create a sense of a siloed operating context. The very appeal of the position may leave EAs feeling isolated, despite their overall satisfaction and passion for their professional role.
Drawing upon her own experiences as a new EA, despite having a broad understanding of the independent school landscape, Kristine felt a deep desire to connect with other EAs. This emerged following a workshop, which revealed that the complexities Kristine was confronting were common for EA professionals across schools. The experiences and emotions shared by other attendees at the workshop revealed that her challenges were also voiced by others. Whilst a strong sense of satisfaction in the role was palpable, a complexity they expressed as individuals was they were often perceived as member of the school hierarchy, not necessarily able to connect and share issues in their professional lives and duties with immediate colleagues. This view extended to a scarcity of professional learning and training available to EAs tailored to their growth and performance in this specialised role and setting.
In proactively establishing a LinkedIn network entitled EAs in Education, Kristine sought to create safe space for EAs to connect, share resources and establish a voice for those engaged in such valuable yet complex work. The network’s exponential growth uncovered a deep desire amongst individuals eager to forge connections with others across schools, sectors, and state lines. A clear need for further specific growth and learning opportunities led to the development and conduct of various targeted workshops and lectures, designed to empower EAs in their professional settings. A movement emerged of individuals wanting to connect, grow, learn and share.
Whilst much has been made in recent times of the rising challenges, demands and complexities confronting the demanding work of principals, the role of EAs in school remains a topic requiring further scrutiny. There appears to be no expansive body of research or literature conducted or written to explore the role and its impact on leadership and school outcomes. Scarce dedicated professional learning opportunities with a specific school focus to nurture the distinctive skills and capacities required by EAs is evident. An opportunity emerges for further consideration in this area, more broadly, about the influence of support staff on educational matters.
Much of this may be due to the title of ‘assistant’. The role of EAs within school’s settings is far more than just assisting. When the role is performed to its utmost, it is about leadership on a range of levels. Strategic leadership and impact on culture requires deep understanding of the organisation, vision, mission, and values and meeting the needs of diverse and often conflicting stakeholders. EAs have the capacity to lead, viewing things from alternate perspectives, in a role often described as ‘the eyes and ears of the organisation’. Therefore, the talented EA can emerge as a strategic business partner in true collaboration with the principal, described in the words of Brazier as “not just working together; but thinking together”.
When one considers the hallmarks of an exceptional EA, considerable overlap exists with the qualities that distinguish highly effective principals. Notably composure and calm, capacity to communicate effectively whilst building and sustaining strong relational trust with others, problem solving and resolving conflict, all in a timely manner.
Central to the emergence and effectiveness of a dynamic duo, is the relational trust of shared aspiration, namely the true work of leadership, influencing to shape and change culture. Brazier refers to the assistant as an influential leader and a strategic business partner. She says, having “an assistant that you trust, who leads up and allows you to get on with the things that you are good at, can’t be undervalued.”
Duncan (2011) in the Harvard Business Review elaborates on the conditions required for this relationship to be successful: “Two critical factors determine how well a manager utilises an assistant. The first is the executive’s willingness to delegate pieces of his or her workload to the assistant. The second is the assistant’s willingness to stretch beyond his or her comfort zone to assume new responsibilities.” The essence in response is the development of true understanding of the nature of the business, namely why schools exist in a contemporary setting.
Whilst we all can appreciate the central business of schools as student learning, the reality is we have a role to play in ‘human developing service organisations’ (Millikan, 2010) through the way we contribute to building student character, wellbeing, and sense of belonging as a valued ethos in schools. Whilst not engaged with the daily teaching and learning of students, an EA has much to contribute to the purpose of a school and emerges as pivotal in the sense of providing the glue that binds a school and culture together through adaptive expertise, self-efficacy and their own commitment to growth and learning. As Browne (2017) describes this expansive role of the EA is as a cultural cultivator, combining ‘expert operational knowledge with an extensive network of working relationships at all levels of the organisation, admins are in an incredibly powerful position to influence culture and create change’.
For Gruenert & Whitaker (2015) just ‘one or two people have a particularly strong influence on the actions of others’. Whilst in schools, this duo may traditionally be perceived as the principal and vice principal in partnership, there is also apparent scope for principal and EA to exert strategic influence. The relationship which can emerge between principal and executive assistant can be an incredibly rewarding one, for both professionals and the school community, impacting culture for the better.
When values, aspirations and commitment are aligned for the betterment of school culture and outcomes, ‘students as winners’ are the reward. The role of outstanding executive assistants, with a capacity to lead have in shaping and influencing culture should be recognised and valued. Our thanks to those in schools who work so hard in these challenging roles. Never underestimate the heroism it takes!
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