Support ratios (EA : executive) have blown out to the highest I've seen in a LONG time.

With so much uncertainty in the world, difficulty finding affordable talent and the pressure to cut overheads, it's no surprise organisations are choosing not to replace EAs when they move on and instead increase the support ratio of existing EAs to compensate.

Increasing support ratios seems to be logical but it's really bad news for both EAs and organisations.

This is a tricky question because we’re in a digital era where the access lines have been blurred by the convenience of technology AND we’re still navigating an unsettling time where the only constant is change.

At the same time we know we have to take care of ourselves and nurture our wellbeing because being constantly ‘on’ is terrible for our health and wellbeing.

I’m often asked whether being available outside hours is expected, how much is reasonable and how to handle people who continually overstep.

Here’s what helped me in my career.

As an EA self belief can take a pretty big battering.

You come in, work your heart out. You spend day after day focused solely on what your executive needs, wants and will want to ensure their success and the organisation’s.

You know it’s appreciated, but the moments that REALLY matter are MIA.

Performance reviews merely scratch the surface of what you do.

Development conversations feel more like a courtesy than the meaningful support other professions receive.

Being skipped over for updates in meeting check-ins.

Not being included in important initiatives/meetings where the power of your influence and ability to galvanise the doers and cut through bureaucracy has been overlooked.

Irritation at your wanting to understand the deeper meaning behind work - the why not the how (“you don’t need to know that, you just need to do…”).

EAs know what they're getting into when they sign up for this work. The clues are in every job ad and interview "manage competing demands and priorities" and "composure under pressure" or "resilience in a rapidly changing landscape" and "ability to cope in a fast paced environment".

EAs know they're the safety nets, the last stop - whatever mistakes they make or don't catch can have a huge impact.

As an EA it can feel there isn't the same permission to be as human as everyone else.

If EAs find themselves not coping even for a moment it feels like a failure. And someone will always notice.

THIS is why the executive assistant community are stressed, exhausted and burned out.

One major difference between administration careers and other professions is that others tend to have the benefit of being included in talent mapping and succession planning.

This means other professionals are nurtured, mentored and developed differently. They’re shown how to build out their career runway and how to highlight their value in meaningful ways.

Administration professionals are most often left to fend for themselves with this. It’s a horrible, cold, hard reality. It’s what drives me to do the work I do.

During my 27 year career as an Executive Assistant, I sat in countless Executive Committee Meetings where talent mapping was discussed.

I was a fly on the wall observing deep debate (sometimes very heated) and dissections of the performance of individuals. What I heard over and over again was enlightening.

As an EA I had a regular habit that served me well.

I carved out time every month to check in on how I was going, where I was going and how I was feeling. Not my performance goals, a more personal check in that was all about me, not what I could deliver for the organisation I was in.

I began doing this after noticing all of my executives spent time regularly thinking about themselves. Their career. Their success. Their happiness. Their development. Their professional relationships. Everything they needed to rise and rise and rise.

During my 27 ish year career as an EA, most of which supporting at the most senior levels, I experienced some really challenging times.

Mergers, acquisitions, public relations catastrophes, IPOs, changes in leadership, Royal Commissions, House Economics Committee appearances, the GFC, a pandemic, bullying, sexual harassment, unreasonable requests, demanding executives and some lean times with serious cut backs.

I also experienced some really amazing, happy, cruisy times.

Here’s the weird thing. The happy, easy times weren’t the moments in my career that brought me the most growth or opportunities.

Somewhere on the career hamster wheel of working hard toward the next promotion or pay rise we began sacrificing what we need to fulfil the needs of others. It’s a habit that’s hard to break, particularly for Executive Assistants whose roles exist primarily to support the needs of others, to support the success of others.

If left unchecked this is a detrimental way to exist and it bleeds out beyond the working week into life itself. I talk a lot about the dark side of EA work because it isn’t shared openly enough. It’s a dirty little secret and burden many feel they have to carry alone.

I was a senior EA for over 27 years, I know this first hand from personal experience and through conversations in the community throughout my entire career and now in this business.

If you’ve ever arrived into a role feeling excited, motivated, desperate to make a great first impression only to be let down by your predecessor or the organisation’s preparation and onboarding, you’ll know it’s rough.

Unfortunately, particularly in the administration profession, handovers are a mixed bag and the problem is often the knowledge base of the person leading the handover. If they don’t know what they don’t know, or have never experienced a great handover themselves, its a recipe for disaster.

Our credibility is our currency and like money, it’s hard to earn and easy to lose.

Credibility is particularly important for EAs. Achieving trusted advisor status as an EA helps reduce noise and time wasting, allowing an executive to remain focussed on highest impact priorities.

It’s the little things that can unintentionally unravel hard work building credibility and establishing a great reputation.

Behaviours, communication style, our presence and how we show up all contribute to establishing credibility.

Here are 5 watch points to consider when you’re working hard to establish your professional reputation.

It's no secret many administration professionals fall into the career path, and it’s easy to understand why so many stick with it.

It’s a great landing pad for those who aren’t sure what else they want to do.

It’s good money.

And it’s an incredible opportunity to understand business in a practical sense through being in the trenches side by side with business leaders.

It’s also immensely rewarding work for the people who are passionate about supporting others.

But there’s a problem I saw throughout my own administration career and continue to see now with the clients I mentor or teach, and it’s that great, solid foundations are often missing as a result of falling into the career.