Kiersten Willmus

I would say I attribute it to my relentless grit, of course my passion for helping others, and just consistently looking for ways to add value. I've learned that success for me, or as an assistant, comes from being proactive and understanding the bigger picture, really just positioning myself as a true partner in helping my leader and the organization. So I think just all of that, along with my work ethic, and really wanting to go the next mile to prove that the assistant role is much more of a partner than just someone sitting behind the curtain.

I have a strong personality, and sometimes that can be frowned upon in my role because you kind of have to take leaders' direction. But I've had some great leaders in my past, and current - I love my leader currently, which is why I've been with him for over 10 years. I've been very lucky in having those leaders really embrace what I can bring to the table. And I would say what has really helped me was in the beginning of my career, I had a leader say to me, don't limit yourself. Whatever role you're in, and if you want to stay in the assistant role, always push to achieve more than what's expected of you and challenge the norm and be the leader. Whether you have a leader title or not, you can be the leader. So that's just what I've always looked to do - just set that next level of expectation in my role.

I would say approach it as a partnership, not just a support function. Don't just simply go in there, manage calendars, respond to requests - the basic admin duties that of course are your baseline things you're going to have to do - but go above and beyond that. You need to anticipate their needs, you need to solve the problems before your leaders see it, and you can help your leaders operate more effectively by getting all of those fires calmed down, those things out of their way so they can really focus on the bigger picture. A lot of assistants I see just kind of stay in their safe zone. I would really say take the time to understand the business outside of your role, the things that your leader gets themselves into. Learn how the decisions are made, what truly drives your organization forward, what they're aiming for. So when you understand the bigger picture, you can actually align your work to support that for your leader, and you're going to become really effective. And beyond that, don't be afraid to have a voice as an assistant. A lot of the times, I see a lot of my peers kind of sit back, take direction, don't put in their opinion, write it down, and then go do the thing. I would say recognize the value of your voice. You have a unique vantage point because you do see and hear everything from around everyone, and use that to your advantage. You can use all of that so then you have stronger judgment, awareness, and then you become an actual partner to your leader because you can make more informed decisions and better decisions based on where they really need to focus and really what you can take off their plate.

In my field, I'd say one of the biggest challenges is that the executive assistant role is still widely misunderstood. Many people associate it primarily with administrative tasks when really I think of it more of a strategic role. You need strategic thinking, operational awareness, the ability to manage complex priorities, along with relationship across the organization - that's more than just people think about logistics. But if you think about it, at the same time, that's also then the biggest opportunity. I think now more organizations are starting to, or beginning to realize that when you have strong executive support, it directly impacts your leaders and their effectiveness and the things that they do in their day-to-day to reach the company's goals. So I would just say while that's the biggest hurdle, that's also the biggest opportunity for those of us who are in this role to really lean into it as more of a partnership rather than just being an actual right-hand strategic thinker. Drive the alignment with your leader, and just you can play a critical role in how your leader and the company as a whole really succeeds with that. I think of it as being a trusted partner. I really like to use different terms other than assistant. I just feel that that is a better way to describe those of us who want to go above and beyond kind of what people view as the norm of an assistant, and I just think it's a better way to frame so people can kind of think outside the word assistant.

If I were to combine them both values, I would say trust is a huge one, accountability, and I would say continuous growth. In my role, trust is essential - as is anything in life - and I take pride in being someone that people can come to consistently and rely on to not only manage things at work, but in the personal life. I would say the continuous growth and accountability is pertinent in both my career and personal life. I talked about my weightlifting - it helps reinforce those values of showing up with discipline, pushing for progress, and always striving to improve. That mindset carries into how I approach my career and the goals that I set for myself.