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Professional Development for Executive Assistants: Goals, Tools, & Best Practices

Professional development for executive assistants is non-negotiable. With so much expected out of executive assistants (EAs) these days, it’s high time we start thinking about what we expect out of ourselves. Show yourself some much-needed love by making a plan to put some of your executive assistant goals into motion.

If you’re wondering where you can find professional development courses for executive assistants—please allow us to introduce ourselves! At Base, we offer the comprehensive executive assistant resources and support you need to flourish in your career and personal life. Our state-of-the-art software was made for EAs, by EAs, and is the first-ever assistant-focused platform of its kind. 

We’ll help you develop an executive assistant professional development plan that allows you to approach professional development with clarity. To create a sustainable action plan, you’ll need to take some time to get to really get to know yourself. Start thinking about what you want to accomplish in the next month, the next six months, the next year. You likely have some highly attainable goals worth cashing in on. 

No matter how you choose to move forward in up-skilling your career as an EA, we can support you through this journey of growth. Keep reading to learn more about executive assistant professional development and how Base can help make the process easy.

Professional Development Goals for Executive Assistants

Since an EA wears so many hats, it can often feel overwhelming trying to come up with executive assistant professional development goals. How do you know which professional development objectives to chase and which ones to put on the backburner? 

For starters, try to think up some concrete goals that you could refine to improve your day-to-day life as an EA. Maybe there are even certain skills your executive finds valuable that you could refine? Let’s dive into some examples to get you thinking about the possibilities:

  • Time Management: Day-to-day time management for executive assistants is not only important; it’s the difference between thriving as an EA and simply surviving. Time management is all about exercising conscious control over your time so you can spend it in the most efficient ways. 
  • Event Planning: EAs are expected to plan events both big and small. From meetings and product launches to brunches and vacations, looking into executive assistant event planning can make future preparations a breeze for both you and your executive. 
  • Calendar Management: There are so many different ways to optimize calendars that EAs can directly benefit from. Between AI automations, integrations, and even color-coding, there are some valuable calendar management skills for executive assistants worth learning about. (Learn about Base’s Scheduler feature, which revolutionizes calendaring, here!)

Productivity Tools for Executive Assistants

The Base platform was made to redefine productivity for EAs. Our software is full of executive assistant productivity tools that have proven to put a minimum of 4-8 hours back into the average assistants’ workweek. Better yet, we also offer the data you need to help up your executives’ productivity as well.

Base Analyze: See a visual representation of how your executive’s day, week, or year is divided between meetings, travel, value-add activities and more. Show how you’re saving your executive hours per week by sending daily digests.

With a visual representation of how your executive’s day, week, or year is divided up between meetings, travel, value-add activities, and more, you’ll be able to help correct inefficiencies, set goals, and take advantage of strategic opportunities. This type of reporting is integral to helping EAs and executives meet their goals and make the most of their valuable time.

The Executive Assistant and CEO Relationship

The relationship between CEO and executive assistant is likely the most impactful relationship found in an organization. If you have an executive that’s become unattentive for whatever reason, don’t forget to advocate for yourself. 

Schedule a meeting with your executive and let them know what you have planned for your professional development. Whether you want specialized software made for executive assistants or you’d like to get your PMP certification, you deserve to speak up about your wants and needs. Chances are, your executive will be more than happy to give you what you need to succeed.

The Best Platform for Executive Assistants

Professional development for executive assistants is our specialty. When you need the tools and support to thrive as an EA, Base is here to help with our executive assistant-focused solutions.
Do you want more goal setting, planning, and project management resources? Join our community of nearly 3,000 assistants, and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Written by Bryn Smith

Bryn is the Senior Manager of Brand and Product Marketing at Base, where she is on a mission to build a world-class EA community by connecting them with top-notch thought leaders, invaluable resources, and cutting-edge insights.