Behind the CEO

Virginia Sanders aims to arrive at Evangel University at least 15 minutes before her boss is due to appear.

As executive assistant to President Robert Spence, this gives her a few minutes to assess the day, sift through e-mails and other correspondence, and help him prepare for the hectic schedule that awaits.

Sanders said her goal is to draft a plan for the day, but the reality of demands on Spence’s time generally prompts many plan revisions. “I would like to have my plan work, but that doesn’t always work so you just go with the flow,” she added.

Sanders is one of a legion of executive assistants, the people who keep executives’ schedules tight and tidy, who ensure that these busy professionals get necessary information and who screen out any unnecessary distractions.

Executive assistants are the gatekeepers, time police and information control centers for those at the top of the corporate ladder, and according to Ray Weikal, communications specialist for the International Association of Administrative Professionals in Kansas City, the role has consistently evolved since the association was founded in 1942.

“In the last 70 years, administrative professionals have always had to be … the people who are on top of technology and the newest tools and techniques when it comes to running a business, running an office,” Weikal said, pointing to the evolution of office technology.

Beyond technological adjustments, Weikal said administrative professionals also are being asked to take on more responsibilities.

“Travel, meeting and long-term project management – that’s a big one. (They) are being expected to know how to coordinate and lead project teams and very often these are project teams where the team members are in different locations, so they’re having to learn how to use cloud technology and virtual meeting applications and those kinds of pieces of technology,” he said.

Suzette West, one of two executive assistants who helps Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce President Jim Anderson navigate his days, confirmed the changes.

“Through the years, a lot has changed, but a lot has stayed the same,” said West, who has worked at the chamber off and on since 1983. “Technology is the big thing.”

West said she and her job-share partner, Judy Galbraith, are responsible for keeping up with correspondence, communicating on Anderson’s behalf with the chamber’s board and various committees. They also work to keep in touch with past directors and other board members.

West and Galbraith each had served as Anderson’s executive assistant at different times, but when Galbraith decided to scale back on her hours, West was happy to help share the responsibilities. It’s an unique situation.

“It’s the best of both worlds because in 25 years, I’ve had just the two of them as assistants. They’ve become alter egos. They know what I’m going to say before I even say it,” Anderson said.

With workweeks between 70 and 75 hours, Anderson characterized his assistants’ institutional knowledge as invaluable for directing  myriad demands on his time to others who are more suited to handling them.

“With that experience and expertise and, of course, professionalism, a lot of requests I never see or hear about. They handle it. They’re able to route where it needs to be directed,” Anderson said. “A lot of people may know me, but other people on staff have a better ability to meet their needs … so they will do that routing and delegation. I don’t even know about it. So that’s a huge time saver.”

Galbraith and West each work three days a week, so there’s one day when they work together, which enables them to get caught up on what each is working on and hand off any projects that might need to be completed by the other job-share partner.

Spence, who is approaching nearly four decades at Evangel’s helm, is now leading the school through consolidation with Central Bible College and the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. He is equally appreciative of Sanders, who has worked as his executive assistant for just more than a year. He had worked with Carol Stair, Sanders’ predecessor, for 29 years.

“I was apprehensive after working with (her predecessor) after so many years, but Virginia has just been an excellent successor and she’s not only extremely competent but she also brought to the position a real awareness … of the entire university structure,” Spence said. “She had been on our staff in previous years and had attended school here. Her husband is a member of the faculty, so it wasn’t like someone coming in trying to learn what we do here.”

Sanders said the biggest challenge in working for Spence is simply trying to keep up.

“I have the easy part in making his schedule, but he really goes from early morning to late night and just trying to squeeze everybody in who needs to see him,” she said. “He has such an amazing memory. He knows what he needs to do, and he’s very scheduled – meetings start on time and end on time.”

But even the most organized executives appreciate the support of their assistants. Anderson, when asked what he would do without Galbraith or West, laughed and said, “Retire. Leave. Resign. Walk out the door,” before noting, “There’s no way we could do what we do without that experience and expertise that they bring.”