The assistant role can be a lonely one. Without a standard career path, team structure, or even job description, many assistants find themselves without a strong support system. We recently hosted a panel with three assistant community leaders to discuss why they started their communities and how these groups can benefit assistants in both their lives and careers.
Alicia Fairclough is the founder of EA How To, an online network of over 40,000 assistants who come together for professional development, support, and networking.
Mallory Rothstein is the founder of More Than An Admin, a community aimed to help administrative professionals embrace all aspects of their identity and become the best version of themselves, both personally and professionally.
Jeremy Burrows is the founder of Leader Assistant, a community focused on helping executives and EAs gain more time and focus. He is also the host of the Leader Assistant podcast and author of the Leader Assistant book.
Watch the full replay below, or keep reading for the highlights from our conversation!
Keeps you top of your game
With such a unique and varied role, assistants may struggle to find ways to improve or to grow in their skills. Communities can be a great resource for this, because you can have the knowledge of 1,000s of assistants at your fingertips to get their best tips, tools, and advice. Many communities also often provide learning opportunities such as live webinars and guest experts to help you learn and grow on a regular basis.
Helps you build a network
When on the brink of burnout, looking for your next role, or just eager for connection, communities can be a great resource to help you build your own personal network of like-minded assistants. These connections can not only offer you a place to turn when you need help, but can open a lot of doors for you and the future of your career.
Provides support and stability
Burnout is a common difficulty among most workers these days, but especially assistants. When your role is based on providing support to others — and is often not clearly defined — it’s easy to find yourself overwhelmed and exhausted. Especially if you don’t have others supporting you in return. Communities can be a great place for you to find a support system of people who understand your unique situation and can offer tangible steps for how to overcome any difficult or complex situation you may find yourself in.
The tools you use can impact your role, too.
At Base, we’re all about helping strategic assistants do their best work. Our platform was built solely for assistants’ daily workflow so you can utilize your time more efficiently and support your leader more effectively. Base is a single place for you to create executive briefings, field emails, track projects, manage calendars, and more.
