The Work Beyond the Desk
Starting a new role is never simply about learning systems, calendars, or processes.
It is about learning people.
Over recent weeks, as I have stepped into my new role as Executive Assistant to the Campus Principal at Beaconhills College, I’ve been reflecting on what it truly means to lead and support a team within a school environment.
If you lead or support a team, you will understand that a significant part of the work is not simply sitting behind a desk managing emails and meetings. When you begin in a new environment, you are not only learning systems and structures. You are learning rhythm, people, culture, and context.
As EAs in Education, we have to manage the operational demands alongside the relational aspects of the role, understanding that leadership work also exists in relationships, conversations, and connection. And in many ways, this is the work. There may be days where you feel as though you haven’t ticked off countless tasks on your to-do list, but I can assure you that working with people, building trust, supporting others, listening, guiding, and connecting, is deeply important work too.
In our roles, being relational is not simply a nice quality to possess, it is an essential leadership tool, something I have witnessed time and time again throughout my years working within schools. The real work is often found in the moments between tasks, the conversations, shared experiences, relationship-building, and human connection that shape trust over time.
So I have been intentionally stepping away from behind the desk to spend moments with my team, having conversations, sharing small moments throughout the day, and intentionally building connection.
Last week, I also held my first team meeting, an important step in beginning to establish how we will work together moving forward. To be honest, I felt a little daunted beforehand, uncertain of how it might unfold. However, to my surprise, I walked away feeling that it went particularly well.
An agenda had been set beforehand, with each member of the team invited to contribute agenda items and speak to their proposed topics. What emerged was not simply a meeting about tasks and operations, but an opportunity for voice, collaboration, shared understanding, and connection.
We are still very much in the Forming stage of Tuckman’s model of team development, the stage where people are learning how to work together, understanding dynamics, observing leadership styles, establishing trust, and beginning to define how the team will function collectively.
Reflecting on my previous writings on the role Executive Assistants can play in shaping culture within schools, the words of culture expert Edgar Schein echo strongly here: “The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture.” Strong leaders are deliberate in identifying the culture they wish to promote and work strategically to influence it.
Our roles are an extension of the Senior Executive’s office and, as such, we hold a unique responsibility and opportunity to influence culture, relationships, communication, and the broader experience of those within our school communities.
The Executive Assistant in schools occupies a unique position within a school ecosystem, one that sits at the intersection of leadership, operations, relationships, communication, and influence. As an extension of the Principal’s office, high-performing EAs can exert influence in both visible and invisible ways.
Stephen Covey reminds us of his Circle of Concern and Circle of Influence framework. Our Senior Executive and team sit firmly within our Circle of Influence, the space where we can positively contribute, build relationships, shape outcomes, and contribute to the goals of the broader school community.
Proactive leaders focus their energy here, rather than becoming consumed by things outside of their control. When we invest intentionally in our Circle of Influence, we not only strengthen ourselves, but positively influence those around us.
As I continue finding my own rhythm within a new school environment, I am reminded that leadership is not always found in the big moments. Often, it is found quietly in the everyday interactions, the conversations, the trust we build, and the way we intentionally show up for those around us.
For those beginning in a new role, leading a team, or working alongside others in complex environments, I hope these reflections and small reminders around relationships, culture, and influence might assist in your own team building journey too.
