Senior Executive Assistant Roundtable

About

Last year’s inaugural event attracted a large number of very Senior EAs, who applauded us for the quality of both speakers and content. With their encouragement, we decided to make this an annual conference to ensure that Senior EAs in New Zealand can continue to access professional development and networking opportunities at the right level.

What you stand to gain from attending has been proven to be of value not only for you personally and professionally as a Senior EA, but also for your manager and the wider organisation. I encourage you to book now to secure your seat for 2011 – don’t delay or you will have to wait another whole year for this opportunity.

LEARN & SHARE IN ROUNDTABLE SETTINGS
The title of the event – The Senior Executive Assistant Roundtable – reflects not only the purpose of this conference but also its interactive nature. You will have the opportunity to engage with some very senior EAs with fascinating stories to share.

However, you will not only learn from them – but also from the wealth of knowledge of your peers in attendance. The 4 roundtables at the end of Day 1 will give you the opportunity to bounce ideas of each other; learn from the hard-earned experiences of your peers and put those burning questions to the facilitators.

DESIGN YOUR OWN CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE
You asked for more Masterclass training and we’re pleased to now offer a total of six Masterclasses within the conference programme this year. The Masterclasses have been designed to provide thorough coverage of some of the key “tools” that the EA role requires. We have brought in experienced trainers and experts to facilitate these. With a choice of different roundtables and Masterclasses, we provide more choice for you to design the best possible training experience to suit your specific needs.

GROW YOUR PROFESSIONAL NETWORK
We understand that networking is one of the main reasons to attend an event like this, so throughout the two days you will find plenty of opportunity to meet, network and share experiences with other EAs of the same seniority as you. With longer breaks, the chance to engage with speakers, networking drinks, and small break-out groups this has the potential to significantly grow your professional network.  

Agenda

Agenda: Day 1

8.30

Registration & Coffee

9.00

Opening remarks from the Chair

Mary-Anne Powell, Office Manager & Executive Assistant to CEO, AUCKLAND AIRPORT

9.10

Representing the Office of the CEO

• Working within the Executive team and developing strong collaborative relationships across the C-Suite
• Supporting the CEO’s direct reports
• Communicating with executive directors or managers
• How to more effectively position your role within the Executive team
• Liaising with internal and external stakeholders to support the CEO role
• Making daily decisions as the ambassador to your CEO and company
• Dealing with misguided perceptions around EAs and your authority levels

Joy Mitchell, Executive Assistant to Managing Director, COCA-COLA AMATIL NZ

9.50

Building a Professional Partnership with your CEO

The cornerstone in a successful partnership between the EA and CEO is compatibility; you have to get along as a team and share the same values, drive and work ethics. Based on her experience, Mary-Anne will discuss the characteristics of partnerships that work and what you can do to continue to develop the partnership.
• How to develop as a team by learning off each other
• Establishing clear and open communication lines
• Building trust and confidentiality in the partnership
• Know the business to know your CEO: Understand the strategic importance of each task, decision and project

Mary-Anne Powell, Office Manager & Executive Assistant to CEO, AUCKLAND AIRPORT

10.30

Morning Break & Refreshments

10.50

Case Study: Transitioning to a New CEO What the Past 12 Months Have Taught Me

When there’s a change of guards at the top, no one feels it more directly than the Executive Assistant. While facing the impact on your own role, you also have to step up and help steer the organisation, the Executive team, and your new manager through the period of transition.
• Impact on the Senior EA role and responsibilities of the change
• Supporting the incoming CEO
• Adapting to a new management style and establishing an equally strong partnership with your new CEO
• Tapping into your strong relationships across the organisation

Maria Avramidis, Executive Assistant to Managing Director, FOODSTUFFS (AUCKLAND) LTD

11.35

Panel Debate: Dealing with Change in the Senior EA Role

Whether through restructuring, redundancy, change in management or by personal choice, your role as a senior EA can change quickly and unexpectedly. Have you thought about how you would cope if it happened to you? This panel brings together Senior EAs who have faced change more than once in their career and managed to use it to their advantage. They will share their stories and the lessons they learnt.
• What to do when your role changes? Options and challenges
• Preparing for the unexpected
• How do you ensure that your skills are transferable?
• Moving on from unexpected “breaks” in your career path

Maria Avramidis, Executive Assistant to Managing Director, FOODSTUFFS (AUCKLAND) LTD
Julie Hartley-Janssen, Director, JHJ GROUP (former EA to the Mayor of Auckland)
Marlene Dragicevich, EA to CEO, NESTLÉ NZ LTD
Rachel Walker, EA to CEO, WORLD VISION NZ

12.20

Lunch - Sponsored by Randstad

1.10

MASTERCLASS 1: The Senior EA as Team Leader: Proactive Management Strategies that Will Help You Succeed

To succeed in the Senior EA role, you will need to hone your management skills. As part of the Executive team, you are involved in management decisions. When leading a project team you will need to know how to get other people to work for you to achieve deadlines. Some of you may be considering a move into management – or you simply want to find out how to get the most out of your own Assistant or team. In this Masterclass, we look at the specific tools and strategies an EA can use to become a confident leader.
• How to create a proactive “can do” environment around you
• Developing your assertiveness as a manager
• Setting KPIs to ensure everyone delivers the results you need
• Displaying best practice leadership skills when communicating with others

Natalie Baker, Director, MAXQ

1.10

MASTERCLASS 2: Communications, PR and Media Training

• Acting as a proxy for executives in meetings and communications
• Using communications to achieve organisational goals
• Becoming more media savvy – learn how to work with journalists to get your point across
• How to handle media attention in difficult situations
• What you should and should not say to the media in spite of the tactics they will use to get you talking
• Setting boundaries; understanding the implications of “off-the-record” comments or “no comments”
• Media ethics and legal matters; what you and your manager need to know

Craig Dowling, Head of Corporate Affairs, IAG NEW ZEALAND LTD
*Until recently, Craig was Acting Senior Communications Manager at Ports of Auckland

3.10

Afternoon tea

3.30

How Projects Can Help Build Your “Stand-Alone” Brand Independently of Your Manager

Given the unique and symbiotic nature of the Executive/EA partnership, EAs often find that other people define them by the status or role of their manager. As discussed earlier in the day, the partnership works best when you share the same values and work ethics – but on the other hand, EAs need to be prepared for change and need to ensure that your skills and work is valued independently of your manager. One proven way to enhance your own profile is to take the lead in a project. Here we discuss how to approach project management, what can be learnt from the experience as a project leader and how this can help cement your personal brand.

Sue Hayton, Head of Business Services, KIWIBANK

4.20

Roundtable A: Job Crafting – Creating the Ideal Senior EA Role that Allows You to Grow

Is it possible to change your role to create a stronger focus on the aspects of it that will progress your skills and allow you to grow? How do you identify opportunities to redesign the Senior EA role where you are currently? What would it take and what are the challenges?

Anne-Maree Heckler, PA to GM Operations, THE WAREHOUSE LTD

4.20

Roundtable B: Roadblocks to Overcome when Taking on Additional Projects

Project management is a key component of the role for Senior EAs. However, when the project you want to lead or take part in falls outside your core job of supporting your manager, many of you find it a lot harder to convince your manager to let you give it a go. Here we discuss ways to overcome this challenge.

Chanté Mueller, EA to Corporate Relations Director, TELECOM NZ

4.20

Roundtable C: Confidentiality, Trust and Discretion

As a Senior EA, you are trusted with lot of information. How you handle this responsibility can make or break the partnership and trust between your manager and you. We discuss how to deal with confidentiality and share strategies that have worked for different senior EAs.

Rachel Walker, EA to CEO, WORLD VISION NZ

4.20

Roundtable D: “War Stories” – Unusual Requests and Situations Senior EAs Might Face in their Role

Finding parking for a private jet at a German airport definitely falls outside the usual job description; but it nevertheless happened to one of last year’s attendees. Here we share our “war stories” of the times when we truly went above and beyond during our careers as EAs.

Leslie Simpson, PA to General Manager, MCCONNELL DOWELL CONSTRUCTORS LTD

5.10

Networking & Drinks

Agenda: Day 2

9.00

Welcome Back from the Chair

Mary-Anne Powell, Office Manager & Executive Assistant to CEO, AUCKLAND AIRPORT

9.05

Case Study: Double the Support to the CEO

Why would a CEO want a Business Manager as well as an Executive Assistant? Who does what and what is their individual and combined value add? While Kristy is the CEO’s Executive Assistant, Juliet is his Business Manager. Both are part of the Executive team but each has very different roles and accountabilities. This session provides a unique insight into how an alternative support structure to a CEO can be leveraged for maximum business benefit.

Kristy Lobb, Executive Assistant to Russell Stanners CEO, VODAFONE NZ
Juliet Jones, Business Manager for Russell Stanners CEO, VODAFONE NZ

9.45

Developing a Thick Skin as a Senior EA

To be successful as an EA you need to feel confident when approaching difficult situations. You need to be resilient, proactive, and very capable of adapting at a moment’s notice. This ‘thick skin’ develops over time as you navigate the Senior EA role with its many challenging moments. In this presentation, Julie takes an honest look at those times when things do not go to plan and how the coping mechanisms she has put in place made a real difference. She will discuss how she uses initiative and emotional intelligence to strive for perfection in her role supporting the CEO Northland DHB.

Julie Shepherd, Executive Assistant to CEO, NORTHLAND DHB

10.30

Morning Break & Refreshments

10.50

MASTERCLASS 3: Business Writing and Reporting for Senior EAs

Executive Assistants are often called upon to research, prepare, write and present reports and proposals. Knowing how to write well can significantly improve your efficiency and allow you to complete the task quicker and to a much higher standard, reflecting well on the Executive office. This Masterclass will show you examples of great writing; discuss their structure and why they work - allowing you to benchmark your own writing against these and take away practical tips to use in your future work.
• Preparing and presenting reports and proposals
• Understand the key purpose of each type of report
• Focus: what do you want to achieve with your report or proposal?
• Identifying the information that the decision-makers will need
• Organising information and structuring your report
• Doing your research and checking your references

Victor Main, Director, NETWORDS & EIGHT ASSOCIATES

10.50

MASTERCLASS 4: Event Management for Senior Executive Assistants

Senior EAs take a leading role in organising different events on behalf of the organisation. The details of every event are always different but in order to avoid unnecessary risks, using too much time and resource or making costly mistakes the process which provides the structure to every event should always be the same. The first part of this Masterclass will take you through the key aspects of event management; the second half will help you internalise the learnings as you work through each step of planning an event in small groups.
• Which type of event will best meet the stated objectives?
• Deciding what marketing and communications need to be distributed and to who
• Developing a calendar for all major proposed activity leading up to the event
• Managing the event budget
• Post event analysis, debriefing and closure

Nicky Clarke, Director, NICKY CLARKE PR & EVENTS

12.35

Lunch

1.25

MASTERCLASS 5: Budgeting and Finance for Senior Executive Assistants

This Masterclass will help you develop a more thorough understanding of the sources of financial information and show you how to analyse and interpret them. We will also cover budgeting and how to integrate budgets with strategy. Increasing your financial knowledge will help improve your decision-making and allow you to make informed recommendations to your manager.
• Key budgeting techniques for different projects and timeframes
• Strategic considerations when putting a budget together
• Post-budgeting review and variance analysis
• Key costing techniques
• Preparing and presenting financials for Executive level meetings and reports
• Speak the language of managers when it comes to financial reporting

Bill Butler, Director, ACADEMY OF TRAINING

1.25

MASTERCLASS 6: Managing Difficult Situations, People and Conversations

As the gatekeeper to Senior Management, Executive Assistants are expected to handle challenging situations, people and conversations. Whether it’s someone on the phone demanding to be put through to the CEO or having to relay Executive level decisions to staff members, it takes resilience, assertiveness and know-how to confront these situations.
• Using reflective listening and solution-focused questions
• Defusing tense situations
• How to structure and control the difficult conversation
• Demonstrating assertiveness
• Avoiding and resolving misunderstandings
• Dealing with undesirable employee behaviour

Penny Holden, Director, PENNY HOLDEN

3.10

Afternoon Break & Refreshments

3.25

iPad Prize Draw - thanks to YLife & Associates

3.30

Moving on from the Senior EA Role: Avenues, Opportunities & What They Don’t Tell You…

Our last keynote speaker took the step from a very senior EA role out into the unknown and is now Managing Director of a company. Here she will discuss the journey, what the experience taught her, and how she has built on her experience and networks from her EA days.

Carolyn Bassett, Managing Director, FREEFALL INTERNATIONAL LTD

4.10

Key Points to Take Away

4.15

End of Conference

Sponsors/Partners

Interested in sponsorship?

There are some exclusive opportunities to promote your company, and its products and services, at this leading event. Contact the sponsorship team below to request a prospectus or discuss the options, or view more about event sponsorship.