Heather Hipp

I attribute my success to honesty and work ethic. I have never said to anyone 'that's not in my job description.' You know, I've bought the family dog, I've researched Labrador Retriever bloodlines - sometimes it's fun stuff like that, sometimes it's boring stuff, but I will get it done and then figure out who should do it the next time. That attitude has taken me far. When I was interviewing for my current position 13 years ago, I told my executive that I've never said that's not my job description, and my goal for all the executives I support is for any other executive on the outside looking in to say 'I want Heather' or 'I want an assistant like Heather.' For him, he gets that all the time, and that makes me happy, that makes me proud. I've achieved what I was looking for. I've had CEOs contact me and say 'Heather, when he retires, you call me - I'm gonna make a position for you.' That makes you feel good, that makes you feel that not only you're doing a good job, but it's seen that you're doing a good job, and people outside your organization see what you do and see your value. It's just not being afraid to do what needs to be done.

Tell the story, don't be the story. I give that out quite often to younger people who come in, especially when they go to company events like the Christmas party or conferences where everyone is invited. For instance, our company has a leadership kickoff meeting that I have our assistants attend in Phoenix. I send them to that conference because that's where all of their team is going to be at one time, and it gives them an opportunity to really get to know their teams and understand their priorities. But with that, especially your younger assistants who haven't traveled a lot for work, now they have this free trip, and yes, we're paying for your food and your drinks and we want you to have a good time and socialize. However, don't be that person that everybody tells the story about. So, tell the story, you don't be the story.

The advice I would give is to be open to opportunity, whatever that opportunity may be. Sometimes the opportunity is just doing the job, sometimes it's doing that extra thing when they ask you, and sometimes it's understanding that you need to look outside of where you currently are. It's understanding where you want to go in life, what you want - and everybody's at a different place in their journey. For my younger women just entering the administrative services field, what is your ultimate end goal? Are you just looking for a job where you want to be here 8 to 5 and forget about this place when you close down your computer at 5:01? That's fine, every company needs those people. Or, do you want to be someday the CEO's administrative assistant? Well then, if you want to be a CEO's EA someday, then you're going to have to expand your parameters - what you're willing to do, how long you're willing to do it. But it's really just being open to what possibilities are out there, and be willing to work for them. Nobody's gonna hand you anything. What you are willing to work for will be yours.

I think the first thing that comes to mind is work-life balance. That's a huge challenge in the administrative field. As technology increases and we get more and more technology that connects us, which is wonderful, it also makes it more difficult for us to leave work behind. Like I said, I'm going on vacation and I will still be electronically leashed. There's a lot of different sides to work-life balance - it's yourself understanding what your parameters are, what your boundaries are. If you have children and you're taking them to Disney, setting your boundary that you're not going to be checking your emails while you're at Disney with your children. The other side of that is your executive or the team you support understanding you're at Disney with your children, she's not checking her emails, she has a backup, let's go to the backup. Or you've survived without her before, you'll survive without her for a week. It's everyone being on the same page and allowing for work-life balance, enforcing boundaries for work-life balance.

Honesty and work ethic are the two big ones for me. I really do think that quite a number of people in the younger generations are missing the work ethic. Like I said, I do whatever it takes to get the job done - it may not be a job that I'm supposed to do, but if it comes to me, let's get it done, let's figure it out, and then let's figure out who should do it the next time. I work until the job is done, and I'm not afraid to take on new things. Some of the new up-and-comers see the job as 8 to 5, and yes, we all want work-life balance, but especially when you're an executive assistant at a higher level, you have to work at that, and sometimes work has to win. I've had to have that conversation with some of the younger folks - you're phoning in your job, you're not giving me everything, and if you're not giving me your best effort, then we're gonna have to have another harder discussion. So, honesty and work ethic, I think, are two big ones for me.