Executive Office Management
Have you reached the end of a long, busy week and thought to yourself, “I don't feel in control of anything that is coming through my office at the moment”? Maybe you are doing your best to support your Executive with managing the nuances as part of their role, however as you get on top of your workload, more and more starts piling up! Or maybe you continually feel like you’re chasing your tail.
If this is the case, there may be some key factors missing that can contribute to a high performing, successful and flexible Executive office. Often it is important to take a step back to identify areas for improvement to build and create a team that is geared towards success and ultimately – quality outcomes.
With considerable experience in supporting high performing Executive and managing Executive offices in the federal government and private sector, these are the top five attributes that go towards a high performing Executive Office:
Defined Processes
Setting up clearly defined processes, particularly workflow processes in and out of the office, that are easy to follow and interact with provides guidelines not only for support staff, but for other teams and areas who interact with the Office.
These processes should be communicated clearly, regularly but also be open to change – as no day is ever the same!
Communication, Approachability and Flexibility
Communication is a must – particularly communication within the Executive Office. Get this right, and the Office will be well on the way to being a high performing team. Prioritising regular meetings between the Executive and support staff is incredibly important and being open on all issues, good or bad, allows the team to be on the same page each day.
Being approachable, helpful and friendly creates an open and positive pathway to assist your Executive be efficient and allows the Office to gain and build relationships with all stakeholders on a more personal level.
Clear Roles and Responsibilities
Knowing who is responsible for what in an Executive Office should be a top priority. This stops anything falling through the cracks and allows each person to get on with performing their role confidentially.
This shouldn’t be taken as “I only do this, and you only do that” – each team member within the office should be able and willing to pick up any task, particularly in periods of urgency and when it feels like everything is happening at once!
Effective Use of Technology
While each person has their own way of working, leveraging the abundance of productivity enhancing technologies available can really elevate your efficiency and quality in supporting your Executive (and further, the teams that often sit under them). This can include automated workflows, data-supported templates and processes (to ensure consistency), shared file storage to reduce version history errors and advanced features of applications like Microsoft Outlook to manage email and workflow.
Trust
Last but certainly not lease, there needs to be trust between the Executive and the support staff – without this, all the other attributes can easily come undone, impacting the ability for each of you to perform your role to the highest level and ultimately risking the reputation of the Office and the Executive’s performance. By having reliable processes, understanding, and establishing responsibilities within the office and communicating regularly and clearly – trust between each team member will be strengthened each day and will make your office the pinnacle of any organisation.
There are many other attributes that are key to a high performing Executive Office – though if you implement and establish these, you will have an office that is setup for success and will create a fun, high energy and responsive environment that will perform on a daily basis.
If you're in a new SES role or are looking to streamline your current executive office, Terrace can help set you up for success. Terrace can uplift your office and processes tailored to your priorities and style.