Transforming from Executive Assistant to Strategic Partner and Lifeline for Business Owners

Make sure that you're entering Atlas with an open mind because you're about to be blown away with the amount of not only information, but strategic development that happens. Everything has changed and evolved, and Atlas just keeps on evolving with the times. So you're not in a situation where you're like, oops, I'm going to get replaced by AI because Atlas empowers you to grow with the times, you know, and make sure that whatever you need, you have to 100 % ensure that you're growing and you're staying ahead of your game all the time. My name is Jade. I am based out of South Africa, and the executive that I currently support is Shannon. She owns a marketing agency, and we work mainly with B2B clients. So before I came to Atlas, I was working in EdTech. We were developing the curriculum that they used to train in learning how to essentially pen test. the one thing that made me realize that I wanted more from my career was, the fact that I felt a little bit stuck. And I could definitely do with growth in terms of understanding how different things worked in different fields. And I found that Atlas just really aligned with my values and the way that I enjoyed learning and when I started working with them I could see that I was 100 percent correct you know in the way that they taught us different things in terms of how to manage your executive because essentially you are managing them and this is something that I really enjoyed learning the one thing that made me feel like this is the place that I wanted to be was the human interaction. Like the way that they spoke to you, the way that they would come across, ⁓ and the way that they evaluated me. And I didn't feel like I was sitting in another interview. I felt like I was talking to a person. And that really appealed to me because I felt like the company of what I read was already giving so much value. And having someone speak to you like you were human just kind of really resonated with me a time where Atlas's system helped me level up my work, I would say... The different tools that they train you on. So what I mean by tools, I don't mean like project management tools, not at all. I'm talking about the 1-3-1 method, the 80 20 method, and the secret six. Those are three imperative things you need to know when you are managing any executive. They gave the most value and the most insight in the way that it was presented to us. A moment when I realized that I wasn't just an executive but I was a strategic partner is when we talk about things that are like current and happening and you basically are not only a sounding board anymore. As you progress through your executive assistant career, then you become more of that partner that your executive needs. Being a part of the Atlas EA community has changed my approach because in the beginning I saw an executive assistant as just an assistant and then I realized I was actually more of a chief of staff as opposed to an executive assistant because of everything I was handling that includes like setting up KPIs and goals for 2026 ⁓ because of all of the information I've consumed when it comes to working with my executive. Your executive assistant is your partner who is with you through bad days and good days. And when you're having a bad day, your executive assistant then takes that situation and turns it into a strategic plan it's not just about being someone's assistant, it's about being someone's lifeline within their business.