You're Not "Just" An Assistant

Resources and links mentioned:

Book Your 20-Minute Discovery Call

Assistants Who Self-Care Facebook Community 

Check out the video transcript:

Do you ever find it frustrating when people refer to you as, just an assistant? Well, stay tuned. I'm about to share with you why you're not just anything as well as what to do when you feel boxed in by your title. Assistants, if you would like more transformational strategies geared towards you, please subscribe to my channel and hit the bell to be notified when my weekly videos go live. I am Annie Kroner of wholeassistant.com, and on this season of The Whole Assistant Show, I'm breaking down common myths we need to overcome in order to enhance our lives and to really have that career we really desire and really want as an assistant.

In today's episode, I'm going to be sharing with you what to do when your colleagues and coworkers don't understand the full breadth and capacity of your role, or when you get talked down to as an assistant. This happens from time to time, people not understanding what it is you actually do, and so we're actually going to discuss how to handle it.

If you're an assistant, you have been there before, where your colleagues and coworkers, maybe your friends, maybe your partner, maybe even your executive, do not understand everything you do every day, all day, and what's actually getting done and accomplished, and what is actually on your plate on a consistent basis. This is totally common and this is one of the common things that I deal with that I've heard among assistants is just a lack of understanding with regards to what it is we handle every day. And it makes sense, right, because people don't actually know what assistants do, and every assistant role is different. So while somebody just maybe answering phones and calendaring, someone else may be picking up dry cleaning or in the financial world of their executive. It runs the gambit.

So I totally understand why when people do not understand what I do for a living. It makes total sense, and I feel like sometimes the executive assistant role is not all-encompassing of everything I handle for my executive, but I want to encourage you guys. This all starts with you. So you have to value what you do. You have to really understand what it is that you do, and really take pride in what you do in order to overcome those thoughts when people approach you and they're kind of condescending, or they tend to underestimate what you're capable of. So this happens to all of us from time to time. I am basically the chief operating officer for my executive's entire world. I handle his personal life. I handle his work life. I handle his financial world. Like I'm all up in my executive's business. And sometimes even I get talked down to and it doesn't even really even occur to me to get offended anymore.

It doesn't really even occur to me to even think about it much anymore, and that's because I value what I do. I know the value that I'm bringing to the table. I understand the worth that I am as a human and the worth that I'm bringing to my executive and my organization. So that's the first thing. We've got to stop for external validation elsewhere and getting hung up on our titles or anything like that. We really need to look inward. So my official role in my company is executive assistant because there are two other executive assistants, and their roles are completely different than mine. We each have our very specific roles for our executives and things that we do for them vary dramatically between partners. So the only role for my company that makes sense for all three of us is executive assistant, but that doesn't necessarily mean that that is the end-all of what I do for my executive.

I just don't get hung up on titles anymore. Now, of course, if it affected my compensation, that would be different. And in certain companies it does. And then you certainly want to advocate for yourself that you have the role that reflects the compensation that you would like and the amount of work that you're doing. So for larger companies that is maybe an issue, but what I'm talking about today is really honing in on and focusing our mind on the value that we're bringing every day and not looking outside of ourselves for some sort of external validation or getting offended when other people don't understand because I will tell you right now that they won't.

Have you ever been misunderstood in your role? If so, I want to hear about it. Please leave a comment below sharing your experience.

So in order to not get hung up when other people don't understand what it is that we do or our roles, I've got two pieces of advice for you. The first piece of advice is always to show up from an empowered place. If you show up like you're the boss, if you show up like you're awesome and amazing, which you are, that will shine through. Sometimes people need to be shown what you're capable of before they can trust you or before they fully understand what it is that you do. And my second piece of advice for you is just to realize that sometimes people won't get it, and that is okay. They can be allowed to think whatever it is they're going to think because you know your value and you know your worth and you know what you bring to the table.

Now, you know how to deal with other people's perception of your role or other people's misunderstanding of what you do. How will you show up moving forward? Please leave a comment below sharing how. I help assistants build confidence and get everything done free from overwhelm and burnout. If you're curious whether working with me in a coaching capacity is right for you, please email me at [email protected] or schedule your free 20-minute discovery call. The link is below this video.

To continue this discussion and receive support from your fellow assistants and administrative professionals, please head on over to facebook.com/groups/wholeassistant to join our assistants only community. If you like this episode, please let me know by hitting the like button below. Also, be sure to subscribe and share this video with your fellow assistants and administrative professionals. And last but not least, if this episode has helped you in some way, I want to know about it. So please leave a comment below sharing how.

Get instant access to my free mini-masterclass, 3 Steps to Beautifully Banish Burnout.