NEWS
C A R EER
Professional development tips for executive-level PAs
INDUSTRY EXPERT INDUSTRY EXPERT
ALEX JONES LEON DOYLE
How to create a
professional brand
as a digital expert Eight words that
made me change my
outlook on EAs
We live and work in a digital world and more
than ever executives require their EAs to be digital
experts. As a result, it’s important to build a
professional brand—what you are known for—as a
digital expert.
Before you begin though, it’s essential that
you become a genuine expert. After all, you can’t
create a professional brand for a skill you don’t
honestly possess. So, become an expert user
of the various systems and apps used in your
organisation – whether your executive uses them
or not. From collaboration platforms to plugins,
automation systems to CRMs, make sure you have
a strong practical knowledge of each and can
troubleshoot common problems.
You’re then ready to start promoting your
digital expertise. On LinkedIn, write a strong
headline (the text that appears below your job
title) that uses appropriate keywords to bring you
higher in a recruiter or hiring manager’s online
search results. Similarly, make sure you include
your digital skills in your summary and add any
relevant short courses to your qualifications. You
could also ask colleagues who have benefited from
your digital expertise to endorse these skills on
LinkedIn or write you a recommendation.
Once you’ve updated your profile, regularly
share content, such as useful troubleshooting
tips and tricks for EAs. But building your
professional brand shouldn’t be restricted to
online activity. One simple and effective way
to demonstrate your digital expertise and build
your reputation internally is to assist colleagues
with technical issues whenever you can. Finally,
attend functions, short courses and webinars as
often as you can. This will help to keep your digital
proficiency up-to-date while simultaneously
supporting and building your professional brand in
this area. S I have a confession to make. I used to be a real
pain to work with.
It took me a good couple of years to understand
that my PA wasn’t just there to manage my
calendar and travel but that she could assess and
prioritise emails and calls, give me insights into
how the team were doing, run the most incredible
events, smooth the way into client organisations
and generally make the complex simple.
Before I came to my senses and realised just
how powerful and effective a combo we could
make, I’d make her life unnecessarily painful—
not intentionally—in all sorts of ways like not
sharing important information, changing things
at the last minute or getting frustrated when
things weren’t done a certain way. And then I
would have the audacity to look surprised when
she hadn’t read my mind!
What changed? One sentence. Eight words.
She sat me down and said, “tell me what’s
important to you and why.”
It was a stroke of genius on her part. She was
able to cut through by asking ‘why’ and when
I then took the time to consider the question,
it forced me to assess the ‘why’, too. With one
powerful question, she helped me to simplify,
focus, prioritise, delegate and empower far more
effectively than I had before.
Now when Michelle and I catch up, she’s
(gently) trained me to say, “This thing I need help
with is important and it’s important because…”
And more often than not, once she understands
why something is important, she’s able to suggest
different—usually far better—approaches to
solving challenges.
It wasn’t the easiest habit to form. Explaining
the ‘why’ can sometimes be difficult and time-
consuming but it’s always been worth it. S
Leon Doyle is Customer Strategy & Experience Design Practice Leader at
Alex Jones is Senior Regional Director at Hays Office Support Deloitte Australia
66 Chief of Staff | Issue 1 2020