From humble beginnings; An inspiring Executive Assistant's story

I am sitting at my desk, a day before I take a few days off work, going through my old emails; e-mails written circa 2011 when I was a newbie at this Executive Assistant business. I was transitioning from a time entry clerk to this high level executive assistant reporting to the Head of Region at the time.  In Kiswahili, we say, “Yaani sikuamini” meaning “Wow! I couldn’t believe this”. I was once at the bottom of the food chain and now I am seated next to the seat of power.

Before we go any further, let me warn you, it was not all daisies and sunshine. Talk about being dumped in the deep end of the pool and having piranhas at your heels making you swim for dear life. I had not had any previous experience with the role. In fact, at the time, I was seated in a satellite office so we were not in touch with the day to day running of the business.

I first saw my executive leader at a town hall meeting that all employees had attended earlier in the year when they had just created the new region. I was in awe. He had a larger than life ambience as was flanked by senior executives who had travelled with him to introduce him to the employees.

A few days later, I got a call from Human Resources to assist him with a few queries which I did to the best of my ability (as I always do). Little did I know that that was the beginning of my interview. I was put through quite a number of tasks to sort out his basic administration issues for close to a month after which they called me for a face to face interview. I like to think I aced it because they offered me a new contract shortly thereafter.

As earlier indicated, it was not daisies and sunshine. I made grave mistakes. Boy did I make mistakes! This is where I cringe and I will list a few of them down:-

1.       I would send meeting invitations to senior vice presidents without confirming with their administrative assistants whether they were available for the said meetings. * cringe*

2.       I would tell people where the Region Head had travelled to yet this is supposed to be confidential information and can only be shared with his leadership team and corporate security. * Double cringe*

3.       I would schedule meetings on his calendar without consultation. I later learnt that everyone wants to talk/greet /chat/ have coffee with the Region Head.  I had failed miserably as a gatekeeper, right? * Triple cringe*

4.       I got the time zones messed and mixed up.  *cannot cringe any more*

Just like gold that has to be passed through fire for purification, I have passed through several baptisms by fire to become what I am today. Though I had a gradual learning curve, I came to appreciate my former Region Head for letting me make those mistakes with the aim of learning from them. I had to stop running to Human Resources for clarification about a certain policy and had to actually sit down, roll up my sleeves and read to understand them for myself. With time, I learnt his temperament on certain issues, how to handle them, how to expedite requests and how not to let everyone come into his office for coffee/chats or quick calls. I became an expert gate keeper.

In the past 5 years I have held this position, I can now say I can do my work with my eyes closed ( I hope I don’t sound like I am bragging about it ).  I have become the “go-to” person for administrative and “other” requests that arise. I have received recommendations from the teams I have worked with and all this is appreciated without measure. I love working with people. I have learnt to handle people’s temperaments and personalities as they come. It gives me joy to know my executives are able to handle and focus on business matters knowing that I will be able to deliver at the end of the day.

The moral of my cringe worthy story is never to despise humble beginnings. They are what make you into what you are today. 

"A diamond in the rough is not shiny or polished in the beginning. Pressure and time however, change it into a spectacular and priceless object".