Introduction

Senior Executive Assistants play a critical role in enabling leadership effectiveness through strong planning, communication, coordination, and professional judgment. This practical program equips participants with simple, high-impact tools to manage executive workflows, lead office operations, handle stakeholders confidently, and maintain confidentiality and professionalism.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Improve executive support skills for calendars, meetings, and priorities
• Strengthen professional communication and executive briefing support
• Manage stakeholders, follow-ups, and service recovery confidently
• Apply confidentiality, protocol, and office leadership standards
• Build a personal executive assistant operating system

Target Audience

This course is designed for:

• Senior Executive Assistants and Executive Office staff
• Personal assistants supporting executives and directors
• Office managers supporting leadership teams
• Administrative professionals moving into senior EA roles
• Anyone responsible for executive coordination and follow-up

Course Outline

Day 1: The Senior EA Role and Office Leadership

• Role expectations and boundaries
• Professional judgment and initiative
• Building trust with executives
• Daily workflow and task control
• Activity: EA role self-assessment

Day 2: Calendar, Priority, and Time Control

• Calendar strategy and rules
• Handling conflicts and trade-offs
• Time-blocking and buffers
• Weekly planning routines
• Workshop: Build a calendar playbook

Day 3: Executive Communication and Briefing

• Writing clear emails and messages
• Briefing notes and talking points
• Managing tone and diplomacy
• Coordinating approvals and sign-offs
• Activity: Draft a briefing pack

Day 4: Meetings, Minutes, and Action Tracking

• Agenda planning and materials
• Running meetings smoothly
• Minutes and decisions capture
• Action tracking and follow-up
• Case study: Meeting simulation

Day 5: Stakeholders, Protocol, and Continuous Improvement

• Stakeholder mapping basics
• Handling difficult people and requests
• VIP protocol and confidentiality
• Improving systems and templates
• Final project: EA operating system playbook