Executive PA Summit 2025: Event Report
Our Executive PA Summit 2025 took over the fabulous Alex Hotel, Dublin, on May 8–9, bringing together Ireland’s dynamic community of Executive and Personal Assistants, and business support professionals for two packed days of learning, connection, and inspiration.
From the moment guests arrived they were treated to a gorgeous morning spread, and the energy was electric. You could feel excitement in the air — two days away from the daily grind, surrounded by peers who get the challenges of the modern assistant role, with everyone ready to dive into the tools, strategies, and the right mindset that will shape the future of the profession.
Executive PA Forum co-founder and chairperson for the day, Fiona Kelly welcomed delegates and prepared everyone for what to expect throughout the day.
To open the Summit in the most empowering way, Trish Butera, founder of The Global Assistant Online, shared a powerful keynote streamed especially for the event. Highlighting the importance of actionable learning, Trish reminded us that "insight is only valuable if it inspires you to take action."
👉 Watch her message again here:
✨ AI, Strategy & Empowerment: Day 1 Highlights
We kicked our first session of the day off with Catherine Tobin, Creative Director at Clic Create, who demystified the world of AI.
Catherine walked us through a maze of productivity tools, sharing her tried-and-tested favourites, a smart AI implementation checklist, and the key question: where can AI help, and where is human input irreplaceable?
Delegates were fired up with ideas, eager to practice how to reclaim time and sharpen their competitive edge.
Next up, Adrian O’Flaherty from Accenture delivered a fascinating look at what’s possible now and what’s coming next.
His message? Even in tightly regulated environments, there’s enormous opportunity for EAs and PAs to step up as AI champions, driving efficiency and innovation inside their organizations.
Adrian even created a website especially for the Summit with a detailed report and various tools for digesting the data included. He also created the above image using AI 30 seconds before his talk based on what was being discussed at the Summit!
Check out the website here: https://ai-accelerate-assistants-summit.lovable.app/
💼 Leveling Up: From Tasks to Strategy
After our morning tea break, the Summit took a sharp, empowering turn thanks to Solange Abraham of House by Solange. Her Career Clinic shook up how many attendees see their own professional identity — challenging them to move from being seen as “doers” to true strategic partners.
In an era where AI can handle routine tasks and deliverables with increasing efficiency, the difference between being seen as “support” versus a “strategic partner” has never been more critical.
This session revealed the psychology of influence and perception that transforms business support professionals from doers, implementers, and executors into invaluable strategic assets.
Using proven principles of professional influence, attendees learned how to reposition themselves for the AI-augmented workplace where strategic thinking trumps task execution.
Solange’s practical session on The Strategic Value Conversation reviewed the evolution of the administrative role, comparing what low autonomy looks like versus high autonomy strategic roles. Her talk gave everyone the language and confidence to reshape their position and how they’re perceived at work.
By the end of the session, participants understood the psychology behind workplace perception and walked away with practical tools to shift from someone who just gets things done to someone who partners on solutions — a role that becomes more valuable alongside AI.
🧘♀️ Achieving a Balanced Work Day and Feeling Joy in Your Work
Emma O’Toole — Yoga & Meditation Teacher, Office Assistant, and Founder of Yoga with Emma — led a restorative Stretch Break via video.
Her calming and grounding session invited attendees to breathe, move, and reset in the middle of a content-packed day. The yoga video played during this time created a peaceful ambiance.
Photos captured some lovely moments from the audience — including one of Fiona and Catherine Tobin!
💼 The Strategic Value Conversation – Building Your Strategic Narrative towards Implementation
Building on the momentum from Part 1, Solange Abraham led attendees through mastering the art of asking strategic questions that create space for others to truly recognise their value.
She showed how the questions you ask shape how people perceive your role — helping shift the narrative from task-doer to trusted advisor.
Participants practised conversation strategies that position them as thinking partners rather than task-takers, moving from admins to valued advisors.
They learned how to frame their roles around the problems they solve instead of just the tasks they complete, and how to craft a compelling strategic value story that changes perceptions.
Solange concluded with a practical roadmap, empowering attendees to implement these strategies smoothly, without resistance or overreach.
⚙️ Embrace Less Busy-ness and Achieve More Business – Prioritisation and Productivity Hacks for Today’s Assistant
In the first of his two sessions, James Louttit from Impactful Project Management shared essential tools for managing heavy workloads more strategically.
Key takeaways included:
- Focusing on high-value effort for greater impact
- Saying no and protecting your time
- Delegation and outsourcing strategies
- Business-wide efficiency discovery
- Using your influence to get buy-in
- Mastering difficult conversations
These strategies empower assistants to deliver higher value and become indispensable contributors to their organisations.
🏨 A Word from Our Venue Hosts
A warm thank you to The Alex Hotel Team, who ensured an exceptional delegate experience with their hospitality, facilities, and professionalism from all the team. Rachel talked us through the various options for meetings & events across the hotel and O’Callaghan Collection.
🔥 Fireside Chat with Sophie Chapman
After enjoying a delicious lunch break, attendees were inspired by an intimate fireside chat with Sophie Chapman, Director of Lifestyle to Steven Bartlett.
Sophie’s reflections on her career journey resonated with the audience. Her advice on balance, boundaries, and team cohesion reminded everyone that success is as much about humanity and kindness as it is about performance.
Special thanks to Savoya for organising Sophie’s transfers to and from Dublin Airport, and to Platinum Services for a luxurious and seamless experience through security, the private lounge, and chauffeur-driven transfer to and from the plane.
Get in touch with Fiona@ExecutivePAForum.com if you’d like to learn more about Executive Transport & Travel!
🤝 Growth Mindset – Effective Team Collaboration and Project Planning
In his second session, James Louttit returned to address project planning and team collaboration.
Attendees learned about:
- Planning poker
- Driving consensus, not just decisions
- Categorising workloads
- Clarifying responsibilities, resources, and risks early
The session equipped participants with frameworks for managing everything from day-to-day tasks to major projects with multiple stakeholders.
🚗 A Stellar Service to Make Your Life Easier!
Auby Brown, Senior Director at Savoya, delivered a session focused on simplifying ground transport for executive support professionals.
As a global executive transport provider, Savoya offers secure, premium service for assistants, travel agents, and aviation teams.
Auby’s insights showed how the right tools and services can dramatically reduce stress, improve coordination, and elevate the support you provide to senior leaders.
Just a selection of the delicious spread sponsored by The Alex Hotel!
⚡ Owning Your Power & Career Growth
After our final tea and networking break of the day, we were thrilled to welcome back Jean Evans of Advancia, who tackled the rarely discussed but hugely important topic of workplace power dynamics.
The session Unlock Your Power unpacked how to navigate organisational politics, own your influence, and push forward toward leadership and better compensation.
This talk was particularly insightful for the women in the room and the men who advocate for their colleagues. Jean divulged the secrets needed to get a head in your career - the unwritten code of career progression that is never taught on a syllabus or even in the workplace itself.
Delegates walked away energized and ready to advocate for themselves.
🤝Our sincere thanks to all our sponsors
We sincerely thank all our sponsors for their generous support in making Seven Summit 2025 a success. Your commitment and partnership are invaluable to us.
🛠 Practical Tools & Recharge: Day 2 Workshops
Day 2 - Workshop Day - was all about equipping participants with actionable tools to elevate both their professional impact and personal resilience.
A series of immersive workshops allowed attendees to dig deep into essential competencies for the modern Executive and Personal Assistant.
💬 Mastering Conversations that Get Results – The Influence Framework
With Solange Abraham
This hands-on session introduced a proven 5-step framework rooted in conversational psychology to help EAs influence effectively, navigate key conversations, and reshape internal perceptions. Participants learned to read the room, spot hidden signals, and guide discussions toward outcomes—solidifying their role as strategic partners in an AI-driven workplace. Solange ran this workshop like a roundtable, giving everyone the opportunity to explore their own career position and how to get from A to B.
🤖 How EAs & PAs can harness AI and maximise the power of this technology
With Catherine Tobin
In this hands-on workshop, Catherine Tobin, showed how EAs and PAs can leverage AI to transform their daily workflows. Participants discovered practical ways to automate repetitive tasks like scheduling and email filtering, freeing up time for strategic priorities. Catherine introduced AI tools such as chatbot assistants and predictive analytics to help EAs become proactive problem solvers rather than reactive responders. The session emphasized mastering emerging technologies, enabling attendees to evolve from operational support into transformational leaders who bridge technology and human connection in their organisations.
🎯 Articulating your value and navigating power politics in the workplace
With Dawn Leane
Dawn Leane led an insightful session focused on helping EAs and PAs confidently articulate their worth and navigate workplace dynamics. Building on themes from the Summit Day talk, Dawn guided participants through strategies to highlight achievements by linking them to real outcomes and using the right language to make impact visible. The workshop covered how to communicate consistently—during reviews or informal moments—supported by data, and how to build strong networks for influence and opportunities. Dawn also stressed mastering discretion, positioning participants to become trusted confidants and powerful influencers within their organisations.
🧠 Managing People, Priorities & Expectations – Becoming an Impactful EA
With James Louttit
James Louttit delivered an engaging, practical workshop focused on tackling everyday workplace challenges through effective planning and relationship management. Attendees explored various project management approaches, learned how to run meetings that actually work, and practiced realistic prioritisation balancing planned and unexpected tasks. The session also addressed motivating and managing stakeholders, empowering EAs to better align their own goals with those of their organisations. This hands-on workshop left participants equipped with clear, simple strategies to boost their impact through improved people and time management.
🧘 Achieving a Balanced Workday & Finding Joy in Your Role
With Emma O’Toole
Emma O’Toole’s interactive workshop offered practical techniques to help busy professionals maintain resilience and joy throughout demanding workdays. Through easy-to-follow yoga-inspired movements, stretching, and breathing exercises, attendees learned how to relieve tension, improve posture, and cultivate mindfulness without needing special gear or space. The session also explored emotional resilience strategies to stay calm and focused under pressure. Emma created a welcoming space where participants could refresh their daily routines and embrace well-being, combining movement and mindset shifts to prevent burnout and keep thriving in fast-paced environments.
“This workshop helped me learn how to better manage stress through simple yoga poses that can be done at work. These exercises are not only beneficial for our bodies by stretching muscles that often get tight from staying in the same positions, but they also encourage taking regular breaks to relax and recharge.
I highly recommend Emma for her approachable and supportive style, which makes it easy to incorporate these techniques into a busy workday.”
🌟 A Heartfelt Thank You to Our Sponsors & Partners
We are incredibly grateful to the amazing sponsors and partners who helped make the Executive PA Summit 2025 such a dynamic, inspiring, and unforgettable experience.
A massive thank you to:
✨ The Alex Hotel – Our stunning venue, whose warm hospitality and beautiful setting elevated the entire Summit atmosphere.
✨ The Global Assistant Online – Our trusted partner, empowering and connecting assistants around the world with cutting-edge resources and insights. Delegates were offered a special discounted rate on the next upcoming intake of the Power EA International Masterclass, a 4-week online program designed to elevate executive support professionals with the skills that truly matter in today’s global workplace.
From cultural intelligence and strategic communication to understanding how emerging digital tools like AI are shaping the role, this course helps you support leaders across borders with confidence and clarity. If you'd like more details on the course please e-mail Fiona@ExecutivePAForum.com.
✨ Savoya – For showcasing seamless, secure executive ground travel solutions that keep top leaders (and their teams) moving smoothly.
✨ Sound to Light – The tech magic behind the scenes, delivering flawless audiovisual experiences that kept our sessions vibrant and engaging.
✨ Ticketbutler – For powering our event check-ins and tickets with smart, intuitive solutions that made every guest feel welcomed and organized.
✨ Needi – Bringing creativity and fun to corporate gifting, making sure businesses surprise and delight their people in meaningful ways.
✨ Miss Jones Ireland – Our sister business connecting Ireland’s executive support community, fostering connection, opportunity, and growth.
Join us … Remember to enquire and book through Miss Jones to build up your reward points !
https://missjonesgroup.com/ireland/
Your partnership, expertise, and generous support are what help us bring the Summit vision to life — creating an empowering space where executive assistants, personal assistants, and business support professionals can learn, grow, and thrive.
From the entire Executive PA Forum team — THANK YOU for being such an integral part of our journey. 💛
🎉 Thank You for Making It Magic
To everyone who joined us, thank you. Your curiosity, questions, and energy are what make the Executive PA Summit such a special space year after year.
A huge shoutout to our brilliant sponsors and partners — your support makes these transformative events possible.
We can’t wait to welcome you back for another unforgettable experience at the 2026 Summit…
👉 Missed this year’s Summit? You can still purchase the event recordings — just reach out to Aisling at aisling@executivepaforum.com.
Until next year, keep shining and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in your role! 🌟
Just some of the comments we’ve received since the Summit ✨
"Thoroughly enjoyable and informative"
"Extremely enjoyable, amazing speakers, great networking opportunities"
"Hearing the experience of other Executive Assistants made the conversation very relatable. Feeling understood by others while listening to the talks"
"Incredible from start to finish, the whole day went smoothly and would love to attend again"
"Fruitful – I have a clearer idea of my role and how to work effectively. I felt not only was it a chance to network with my peers, I got the opportunity to learn more about the industry during the day. And I made some good connections with new vendors which was extremely helpful"
"EAs are usually isolated in their role, and to connect with other EAs and keep that network growing can really help me excel in my job. Also, having someone relatable that understands the stresses of the role was a big deal. Knowing how valuable we are to all the businesses – without us getting the 'small things' done, it wouldn’t allow our bosses to be out there in the world excelling"
"Interacting with everyone and learning new stuff, also getting time away from the office"
"All the speakers were excellent. It's too hard to choose a favourite part of the day"
"Incredibly beneficial on so many levels"
"It was insightful and refreshing. Really enjoyed this year, got to meet some new people plus hook up again with old faces"
"Very enjoyable event. Was kept engaged in all sessions"
"Very positive, warm atmosphere"
"Very well organised event, speakers engaging and informative. Take-home tools received to implement"
"Engaging with fellow colleagues and listening to some interesting presentations"
REPORT | Executive PA Summit 2023
We hosted our annual Executive PA Summit in the fabulous newly opened Dublin Royal Convention Centre on Thursday 4th and Friday 5th of May.
Excitement for the event had already been building as we launched our event app in advance which was provided by one of our partners for the event, CrowdComms.
As attendees entered the Convention Centre that morning, they were greeted by our swanky registration kiosks. Myself and Aisling were delighted to have a break from preparing last minute name badges the night before! The registration was seamless, and, of course, we had Stuart and Ronan from CrowdComms to hand to help anyone who had issues with accessing the app or getting their name badges printed.
The Dublin Royal Convention Centre sponsored a gorgeous early morning spread for us as we got ready for the day ahead.
Keeping with our environmentally-friendly conference theme using our bespoke event app, we once again distributed a Rocketbook for 'everyone in the audience' at this year's Summit. Rocketbook is the world’s first endlessly reusable notebook. With a Rocketbook, you can take notes as normal, then using the free companion Rocketbook mobile app, save your notes digitally. When finished, simply with a damp cloth wipe your notes clean to start taking notes again. A single Rocketbook notebook can be reused for years, saving a massive of amount of paper waste compared to traditional notebooks that need to frequently be replaced!
So onto our first speaker of the day - Janice Valentine - who talked us through her very personal journey, one of transformation driving change as an EA and making purposeful impact in your organisation and career.
Janice spoke candidly about how circumstances from her personal life motivated her to create a new pathway along her career journey.
She talked us through all the steps for how to implement a hackathon within your organisation and gave us some detailed insight into the workings of how to host and manage one. A major talking point was Janice’s list of questions that you should ask yourself (with a couple of hours time put aside) if you are looking to make purpose, impact or change in your life.
Janice finished her talk with a question for the Executive PA Summit tribe.
We knew our next speaker was going to give a great boost to all our delegates however we had no idea of the impact that Jean Evans would make on the room while talking through the topic of networking!
As we had said in the bio outline, networking is not something that you regularly see on the job spec of an Executive Assistant or Business Support professional. However, Jean spoke about thinking of networking in terms of confidence, connection and communication. That really resonated with the audience. Jean had so much practical advice and techniques to share that when we run over time we really didn't want to tell her to stop.
Jean gave so much advice during her talk that it is hard is actually quite difficult to summarize the main pointers here; however, one particular statistic that Jean shocked all of us with was this one:
"Working hard accounts for 10% of your career progression.
The remainder is down to image and exposure."
That statistic really hit home with everybody in the room, and once we heard it, we consumed all the advice that Jean imparted.
Jean led us into the first networking break of the day which was a delicious spread, once again, from the Dublin Royal Convention Centre.
Delegates had the opportunity to go and visit the sponsors stands, enter competitions, play some fun challenges via the event app, network with old friends and connect with new acquaintances.
The last thing we ever thought we would have at the Executive PA Summit was a quote from a Kardashian, but Siobhan Kelly delivered that quote as part of her presentation. Siobhan - founder of Mosaic Consultancy and our Platinum Recruitment Partner - gave us an honest and frank update on the status of the Recruitment industry and how the job market looks at the moment - in particular, hiring trends in relation to the business support profession.
The message here was that you should prepare yourself now if you are thinking of a career move - look at upskilling and training to prepare yourself for future moves and opportunities. Yes, things are stagnant at the moment. Yes, the job's market is slow moving. Yes, there are worries about job security - however, with Siobhan's advice, everyone in the room felt reassured and motivated for the future.
Our next talk was delivered by way of a 'double act' - we had Oz Desai and Matthew Heymans of our FCM Travel, our Platinum Travel Partner. Oz and Matthew got us up to speed with how current travel trends are looking - in short, travel is back with a bang!
Oz and Matthew talked through the major travel challenges that corporate travellers are facing at the moment, with the pace of travel so quickly back to what we were used to pre-pandemic, as well as how FCM can help alleviate those headaches.
They also discussed sustainability in corporate travel and how they can support their customers to travel efficiently, reducing the carbon footprint and offering a solution that has everything the corporate traveller needs, all in one place.
Our next speaker up was Therese Phipps, friend of the Forum, who delivered a workshop last year on the six universal needs. That went down so well that we invited Therese back to join us this year to talk about the six universal needs and how we could implement them at work and be mindful of them, considering the various personalities we engage with on a daily basis, be that ourselves or our colleagues.
Therese shared with us the six universal needs that every single human being has to varying degrees - for each need there are some times in our lives when certain needs are greater than others. Therese talked us through the various elements of each area so to know ourselves better and those around us.
Jean Evans joined us on stage again to answer some questions from her previous session and to also facilitate a short networking session that led us into the lunch break.
Once again, the Dublin Royal Convention Center provided some delicious lunch options for everybody who attended. It was also great opportunity for networking with sponsors find out more about what they do how they can help our delegates.
Our next our first speaker after lunch was the indominable trailblazer Sandra Healy who is the CEO and founder of inclusio. Sandra was also the founder of the DCU center for diversity and inclusion, etc. Ever since, Sandra has had a varied career and has worked across a number of large well known companies and organizations. Early on in her career, she became involved in a mission to promote members of her workforce who came from disadvantaged areas as well as promoting diverse neuro-divergent multicultural workplaces. Sandra is also very passionate about gender equity in the workforce, and she gave us some interesting stats and figures in the area of gender diversity which was a real eye-opener for everybody present. Sandra's main mission is to affect change in organizations so that there are greater diversity greater voices being heard greater number of voices being heard which is also better for business. Our delegates were privy to some interesting stats and also soaked up Sandra's advice for how each of us cn approach a D&I conversation in the workplace.
We were delighted to have Niamh Moynihan join us at the Summit to speak about how we can all achieve a better workday.
Niamh believes that you can achieve career success without compromising your well-being or suffering from burnout and shared many practical tips that we could implement straight away.
She gave top tips for how to reduce firefighting in your day-to-day, and work to eliminate it for good by pre-empting the fires that could be started before they do, and the importance of looking to the source of those fires, so perhaps a new way of working together could be introduced.
The one question you should ask, if you are feeling overwhelmed, or burdened by tasks that others are lumping on your plate - will instantly shift your mindset - what if it could be easy? Do you have a project or task that is weighing you down right now? What if it could be easy? How would things look for you?
Niamh finished her presentation by setting a challenge for everyone in the audience - to job swap (or at the very least task swap) with your Executive/manager or a colleague on your team. Her reason for encouraging people to take up this challenge is so that you have an insight into your colleagues pressures and vice versa. We can't wait to hear how many of our delegates have tried this and what they have learned as a result!
Leading us into the last break of the day we heard from friends of the Forum, Madeline Riley and Lorraine Allis, who were representing the Radisson Blu Royal Dublin Hotel and our Venue Host and Sponsor, the Dublin Royal Convention Centre.
Lisa Boissel, CEO of Miss Jones UK and Co-Founder of Miss Jones Ireland also said a few words in advance of the inaugural Miss Jones Ireland EXPO taking place that evening.
Last but by no means least we welcomed Dr Heather McKee - Europe's leading behavioural change specialist - to finish out the day with a bang. Heather's subject of expertise focusses on developing sticky habits ie habits that stick! Dr McKee imparted some great advice for how we can all create lasting change by introducing realistic, laughably small changes in our day to day, for which we can gradually build upon to form lasting habits.
Her main piece of advice when it comes to habit formation was to focus on Implementation not Information. We tend to be so heavily armed with information when it comes to being more productive, healthier and fitter - but it is the small choices we make each day, and small action steps we take that will eventually lead to sticky habits sticking!
On Day 2 - workshop day - we hosted a range of intensive workshops which received stellar feedback, from Design Thinking for Executive Assistants to the A-Model for Communication, a variety of pertinent learning and development was covered.
I was lucky enough myself to join Jarlath Duffy's Time & Energy Management workshop. Through a mix of storytelling, practical advice and giving us the space and time out to reflect and work through the worksheets he gave us, we had many a-ha moments throughout. We left the workshop with a renewed sense of motivation for managing our time and energy better.
I'd like to take this opportunity to say a huge thanks to everyone who attended, who contributed, asked questions and who made the event such a special one by engaging, interacting and connecting with others.
Also, a massive thank you to all our Sponsors & Partners who provided some amazing prizes and without whose support we simply could not host the Executive PA Summit:
Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Dublin
Dublin Royal Convention Centre
Alan Rowlette - who captured some amazing shots of the conference throughout the day, some of which are dotted through this article
We are already planning our 2024 Summit and hope to announce dates for that by early Autumn.
If you missed the 2023 Summit but would like to purchase a copy of the recording, please contact Aisling aisling@executivepaforum.com
You can also view our video highlights from the 2023 Summit here!
Looking forward to seeing you at the next one
Fiona
Expert Advice on Performance Reviews and Appraisals
Performance Reviews and Appraisals - Anxiety-inducing or an Opportunity to Re-focus?
Have you got a performance appraisal coming up? Do you even have an annual review in place? How often do you sit down with the person(s) you support and/or HR to discuss your career path and progression?
Now is the best time of year to reflect on your year gone by, analyse where you could be better recognised and rewarded, and set your career goals for 2024. We have some stellar advice and resources to help you if you have a review coming up so you can be best prepared. If this is not something you have had in a while (or ever) in your organisation, this advice should resonate with you and motivate you to make it happen.
Be Real. Be Clear
Career Consultant Siobhan Kelly founder of Mosaic Consultancy shared with us fantastic advice and guidance coming up to review time
- Don't assume your manager/Executive knows what you've done over the previous 12 months. They don't. Give examples related to the KPIs of your role and the core values of the company.
- Include the results and the value added to the executive/their team/wider company. Take the time to reflect on the wide ranging impact your work has.
- Don't tell people what you did, show HOW you did it e.g. collaborating with remote teams etc. and include results.
- Under no circumstances give yourself a 3 if you really deserve a 5 on the scoring metric. Some people get embarrassed to be seen rating themselves so highly. Beat that inner critic with a stick if you need to and yourself the most honest and accurate score.
- Use the opportunity to negotiate for your career aspirations for the next 12 months. Do you want to get support for an in-depth training course, join a professional association, or volunteer in area that will help you progress in your career? Now is the time to say it and explain why it will help you in your role, and make you an even more valuable member of the team and the wider organisation.
- Take the time to prepare ‘a highlight reel’ document that they can take away with them. Highlights that align with your appraisal, your achievements, your future goals. There should be no confusion in relation to you achieving or indeed over-achieving on your KPIs and total clarity on what you need going forward.
- A closed mouth won't get fed. I said this at the Executive PA Summit, and it is something I firmly believe. If you want a pay rise, bonus, promotion, new responsibilities SPEAK UP. This is an ideal time to lay everything on the table and discuss with your executive. You can tell them what you want and ask them what steps you need to take to get them and agree a timeline.
Seize the Opportunity
Vision & Leadership Coach and Mentor Lisa Mitten shares her advice when it comes to preparing for your performance review:
- Take time to reflect on the past year, create clear notes on what worked and what didn’t work for you. Be honest with yourself.
- Remember, feedback is an amazing opportunity to grow and learn. Constructive feedback is a privilege, it’s your window to develop your strengths and skills.
- Take time to prepare your own feedback to your executive/manager and come to your appraisal with possible solutions, going forward, with regard to what didn’t work or go as planned etc. Also consider what supports and resources you need in place to help you do your best work.
- Create clarity around the direction you want to move towards in the coming year. Your appraisal is an opportunity to sell yourself, if there are any projects, areas of the business or trainings you would like to do / get involved in, now is your time to make the suggestion.
- Keep an open mind.
- Be confident and use your voice, this is your chance to shine!
Task Tracking and Key Questions
We recently learned some great advice at the recent Executive PA Summit from Paula Brady, former EA and now Performance Improvement Specialist who works with Senior Leadership to get the best out of them. Paula recommends asking two key questions of the person(s) you support:
- What do I do on a daily basis that helps make your life easier?
- What else can I do more often that will help make your life easier?
She also advised to keep a track of your tasks and activities every day and week so that you yourself have an overview of the work that you do but that you can also demonstrate more clearly your contribution. Here is an example of helpful Weekly Task Tracker sheet that Lynn Walder shared on LinkedIn recently, a great way of both reviewing and demonstrating the results of your performance. You can make a copy, choose the headings that apply to you and get tracking!
Aligning Personal and Organisational Strategy
A massive A-HA moment at the recent Executive PA Summit was during Siobhain Danaher's talk on decision fatigue and decision making. Set a personal strategy for yourself for the next year. It is possible to then look at how this aligns with the organisational strategy. Chances are that you can see overlap and a cohesion.
If you repeatedly get sucked into taking on tasks and activities that are extraneous to your priority responsibilities, that repeatedly fall outside the scope of either of these strategies you have to consider if the rest of your work will suffer. Ultimately you want to complete the tasks and work on the projects that will enable your leader and the organisation to achieve success.
What is a career conversation?
In case you haven’t had a review recently (or ever at your current organisation) we recently came across an excellent model and tool that may be of help to you. The Career Equation by Erica Sosna encourages you to have a career conversation with your manager. According to Erica, a career conversation is a valuable opportunity for you and your manager to reflect on your career interests and the opportunities that exist for you. It is a conversation that you own and lead about your direction of travel in your career. You can use it to share your goals, plans and hopes and to ask for support, time, mentorship or stretch opportunities that could help you get there.
Erica recommends the following for a successful career conversation:
- Book a quiet, private space - no distractions for you or the person you support.
- Allow at least an hour for it.
- Send an invite that sets out the purpose of the conversation and the high level agenda – set out below.
- Bring copies of your career timeline, a career design statement (how you want your career to look), career goals and career plan to share.
A career conversation can act as an exploration of the kinds of career experiences you would like to have, and setting some career goals that excite and engage you will motivate you to create a plan that helps make these a reality.
A note from author Fiona:
If you want to explore what your ideal career will look like and how to get yourself there from where you are now, you should strongly consider our Executive PA Forum Elevate Membership Programme.
While we believe that you should have a separate meeting to discuss your training and development needs, we know it’s not always realistic so your performance review could be your best opportunity to broach the subject.
If you are going to bring up the topic of getting support for your training and development during your appraisal, make sure to research the courses and training that are available, accessible and fit around your schedule.
Ask yourself why you want / need a particular training or course, then narrow your search to the choices that will deliver the best for you.
Once you have chosen your preferred training/courses, you should be able to explain to your Manager/HR:
- How this training/course will benefit you.
- How this training/course will benefit your organisation.
These are the two most important elements when it comes to preparing to ask for support of your professional development. Once you have answered these questions, you will be more confident in looking for sign off -and you will be more likely to get it.
*Additional - for every course, training and membership option we offer at Executive PA Forum, we have an Investment in Professional Development Proposal to help you explain the features and benefits to your HR/management team. Please get in touch should you require one - even if it's not for one of our courses or memberships we would be delighted to help you. Contact fiona@executivepaforum.com for more.
Below are some training options to consider with the Executive PA Forum in the coming year:
*The PowerHouse Programme a powerful transformational journey in professional and personal development that is included in ELEVATE
*The Advanced Executive Assistant Diploma. Enrollment deadline for 2024 is January 15th 2024.
The Adam Fidler Academy is now enrolling for Level 5 Level 6 and certified FETAC Diploma. For a more in depth explanation of time requirements, workload, expectations, and cost please contact aisling@executivepaforum.com.
The Power EA International Masterclass - For C-suite professionals seeking a higher, transformative learning experience.
Rise Programme Multiple professional development opportunities throughout the year.
Executive PA Summit 2024 If you can only commit to one training event next year, make sure it’s this one - our annual 2 day conference to include workshops, networking and learning, taking place May 16th & 17th 2024. Register here.
If you need any other advice or help with any of the above, please get in touch!
2022 Executive PA Summit Highlights
Key themes were triumph over adversity, role progression and levelling up opportunities as a business support professional...
There was an air of excitement at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Dublin last week as we hosted our first in-person annual conference since 2019. Although we did have a number of delegates joining us virtually, everyone at the Radisson (including ourselves) were so happy to be back in a room connecting and learning together.
Derek Kearney was the first speaker of the day and (pardon the pun) he did not pull any punches as he talked us through a very personal story of triumph over adversity. Derek explained how his experience training in MMA has influenced his EA career and vice versa. He gave us advice on how to truly excel in your role in business support, to get outside your comfort zone (be that in a personal or professional setting) to find your voice, strive to develop your own confidence and, bring your whole self to work. It was clear to everyone in the room that Derek’s tenacious attitude has gotten him to where is today.
Siobhain Danaher was our next speaker to help us understand more about Decision Fatigue which can lead to burn out. As a lean strategist by trade, Siobhain used her expertise to create a strategy in her life to avoid burning out ever again.
She spoke a lot about the art of saying No, asking us to consider why we don’t like to say No and what is the worst that could happen if we did say No more often!
Siobhain’s theory is that if you agree on a clear strategy for the year (both personal and the organisations ), then everything you get asked to do in work - if what you are being asked to do fits in with the strategy then try to fit it to your work. If not, it’s a no.
A key to the effectiveness of working this way is not to have emotional attachment to the outcome of saying No, or worry about offending people - be practical about it because everyone else is just thinking of themselves anyway.
We were humbled to learn during her presentation that the only thing she said Yes to this year was presenting at the Executive PA Summit!
After a refreshing morning tea break we returned to receive an industry update from Siobhan Kelly, Founder and CEO of Mosaic Consultancy who advised on what the top roles advertised are looking for right now. She talked through a range of websites and courses you can do to upskill in your role and get a better understanding of what is required to bag the top jobs. Siobhan also talked us through the importance of staying in control of your career narrative and personal brand that you want to portray!
Adam Fidler returned to the Summit to talk us through how the EA role legitimises leadership in 2022, and how you can demonstrate maximum contribution to the business. Adam advised to lean into your emotional intelligence, take on further responsibility and projects that assist the growth and success of the organisation, have greater visibility across the board, and work on speaking up and being more assertive.
All of these traits are more managerial than just supportive and taking on managerial qualities means you will be taken more seriously, entrusted with greater responsibility and will be spotted for more opportunities in the long run We have since this happened countless times in our own network and love how Adam encapsulates these into his teachings.
Adam finished his insightful talk by delivering further information about the Executive Assistant Diploma which is a first for Ireland. Adam talked us through the various Diploma Pathways you can take over the course of 1-2 years, and which could increase your salary by up to €10K.
We are working closely with Adam to enroll our network in the Diploma and if you are interested in learning more, please contact aisling@executivepaforum.com
Former Executive Assistant and now Leadership Facilitator and Performance Improver, Paula Brady hosted an interactive talk using Slido which was much needed after our lunch to keep us awake! A number of questions posed included:
What do you think of when you hear the word feedback?
There was quite a mixed response, but as a former FIFA referee, Paula pointed out that we should view feedback as a gift - it helps us improve and helps us in our careers in the long run. It can also be used to negotiate a pay rise, to receive a promotion or to make your life easier in the long-run!
There was also a mixed response for the question on rating the quality of your review with your Exec:
2 of Paula’s many key pieces of advice when it comes to improving your performance before you have to wait until your next appraisal includes:
-Ask the following questions:
- What do I do that makes your life run smoother on a day to day basis?
- What else can I do to help and support you in the execution of your role?
And secondly - make a note of everything you do at the end of each day (or at the very least end of each week) that shows what you were responsible for, and how this helped both your manager and your organisation as a whole. Reflect if there was something you worked on that went above and beyond, and perhaps outside the remit of your role. You can then use this information to refer to when it comes to your performance appraisal each year.
Joining us next was Fiona Flynn who is an Executive coach and who also chairs the Professional Women’s Network. Although we acknowledge there are a number of male EAs and PAs in Ireland and across the world, the majority of people in the role are women. Fiona is particularly encouraging of women to find a support network in particular a support role who can feel isolated, and the idea behind PWN is to focus on gender balance leadership which is good for organisations as well as women.
The focus of Fiona’s talk was on Emotional Intelligence, an Assistant’s super-power as far as we are concerned. When looking to build your confidence and ambition you must first review where your strengths cluster is primarily - Is it in Emotional, Relational, Thinking or Execution - is it a mix of all 4?
Fiona explained the importance of getting to know every one you work with on a human level and being open to diversity, difference of personalities and where others are coming from. An important element of developing EI is self awareness, and so if we notice what is going on for us emotionally at any given time, we can also recognise this in others around us.
Simon Cocking delivered a Tech Talk. Simon talked through some of the more recent helpful tools available, and his main piece of advice is to understand what you really need first and foremost. That means identifying the vision, the problem you wish to solve. Only then can you decide what will work for you, go ahead and develop templates, filter what you don't require and have an ongoing ‘To Do’ list.
Former EA and now Vision & Leadership Coach, Lisa Mitten rounded off the day asking us to reflect on the full day of learning we just had, what were our A-ha moments, and what were we going to do now we go back to the office and apply everything we want to put into practise.
Lisa left us with a clear message: YOU are the only person in the world who has the ability to alter or improve yourself or your life!
If you were unable to attend but would like a recording of the Summit we have a special offer of €270 which includes access to our Executive PA Forum online community platform. Contact fiona@executivepaforum.com if you would like to purchase.
We would like to thank all our sponsors and partners who supported the Summit
We look forward to our 2023 Summit which we hope to host in May next year and will announce the details very soon so you can Save the Date!
Shelbourne Event | Miss Jones x Executive PA FORUM
What a memorable occasion at the iconic Shelbourne Hotel !
It was so great to see so many familiar faces, and so many new back sharing a space. It spoke volumes to have so many people eager to connect again and understand the importance of staying informed of who you can and want to connect and do business with. We were hosted by Andrew, Hannah and the Shelbourne team who were fantastic in assisting us to have this event in such an iconic hotel steeped in history and their gorgeous terrace, as we were serenaded by their Spanish guitarist! The delectable canapés and oysters went down a treat for our guests!
There were fabulous prizes on the night, we had:
- Dinner for 2 at Shelbourne, courtesy of The Shelbourne Hotel
- Forest Walk Hamper Basket, courtesy of Hampers & Co
- Three Superior Wine Gift Packs, courtesy of The Nude Wine Company
- The Powerhouse Package, courtesy of Executive PA Forum
- €250 voucher, courtesy of Ireland’s Blue Book
Everyone who attended was also treated with a gorgeous little gift from our friends at &Open and of course everyone went away with a goody bag that included
- A Rocket Book worth over €40.00
- Hampers and Co Lavendar Candle
- Butlers Chocolates …. and more!
It was a great opportunity to introduce Lisa Boissel of Miss Jones, who we have partnered with to bring this amazing and essential(!) directory to Ireland. It is a club for EAs, PAs, office managers and event bookers, and acts as a premium directory for anyone responsible for booking venues and suppliers on behalf of their organisation. The Miss Jones team also specialise in organising corporate hospitality and team building workshops or retreats, another task often assigned to a PA. Miss Jones provides concierge services specialising in dining and lifestyle experiences.
For member PA’s, Miss Jones can secure reservations in hard-to-book restaurants, outsource private meetings and private dining, and even access sold-out tickets to event such as concerts, Wimbledon and Formula 1.
Miss Jones x Executive PA Forum will host regular events for members, across Ireland, in venues which we believe need to be on your radar. This will give you the opportunity to personally make contact with the relevant managers and grow your Little Black Book of contacts, all the while meeting like–minded individuals. You can keep up with changing practices, venue trends, and have a forum to exchange tips with one another and so many more added benefits.
The annual subscription to Miss Jones is modest, coming in at only at €249 per year, usually covered by the PA’s employer. However to celebrate the Irish launch, the group are running a discounted offer of €100 off until July 31st . Simply sign up using the code LAUNCH100 at MissJonesGroup.Com/Ireland.
Private Dining at The Shelbourne
Private Dining at The Shelbourne is an immaculate, candle lit experience of bespoke dining in some of the country’s most beautiful and historic rooms. Elegantly craft your dining experience from select menus, and choose from wines carefully selected by our award-winning sommelier.
Impeccably delivered for eight to eighty people with formal, elevated service in one of four historic rooms, this is a culinary event unmatched anywhere else in Ireland. This year to celebrate the centenary of Ireland’s first Constitution, we are offering a unique private dining experience in The Constitution Suite, complete with historical introduction, musical accompaniment by a harpist and a carefully designed menu, full of classic dishes chosen to reflect the era.
Enquire directly through Miss Jones here, and for more information visit the Shelbourne Website
TAKING CONTROL
TAKING CONTROL…
Other episodes include:
✅ Reclaiming your power – only YOU are responsible for creating your current reality and future career
