In countless movies, television shows, and other popular media, executive assistants, administrative assistants, receptionists, office managers, and other similar roles have been boiled down to a deeply simplified portrayal of office workers who answer phones, greet visitors, file paperwork, and take meeting notes. 

Despite these broad characterizations, many preconceived notions about what these professionals do are outdated. 

Thanks to technology and the dramatic shifts in what in-office work looks like, the days of admin professionals answering phones and filing papers have been replaced by a need for employees who often serve a more strategic role within the business. With plenty of other work to be done, the role of the administrative professional has evolved. 

Today’s Administrative Role

Hilani Ellis believes “no two admins are the same.” Hilani is the founder of Exceptional Admins, a business designed to connect highly skilled administrative talent with organizations that will value them. 

In a recent podcast episode of The FABRIC, Michael Ashford, Director of Marketing at The Receptionist, spoke with Hilani about the modern-day experience of working with administrative professionals (or, for the purposes of this article, admins), giving the audience insight into how people in those positions can stand out and create a high-performing culture. 

In every organization, admins work hard to keep certain operations running smoothly. Their responsibilities vary greatly depending on where they work and their employer’s needs. They do a little bit of everything, from greeting visitors to managing entire projects. 

The word cloud above shows some of the more common responsibilities of today’s administrative professional.  “I believe a lot of the corporate world is trailing behind those serving in the profession today,” Hilani says. “And so I believe it starts with the individual to create that current day and future perception of executive administration.” So how can admins work to eliminate the bias that comes with their role and elevate themselves?

What is Personal Branding?

Believe it or not, you have a personal brand. We all do. Sometimes our brands are intentionally created, but many of us create our brands simply by being ourselves. For many, it helps to think of your personal brand as simply your reputation.

Most people possess covert skills, unique knowledge, or niche abilities, which set them apart from others in their careers. You might also think of your personal brand as your value proposition. In sales and marketing, a value proposition is basically an elevator pitch: Why should someone buy what you’re selling? 

In this case, what you’re selling is your skill set. You might save this elevator pitch for job applications and interviews, but you can also leverage it in your current role to elevate your position and make yourself more visible (read: indispensable). 

“A personal brand is truly how you feel in your skin and how you want to convey that,” Hilani summarizes. 

Building Your Personal Brand

If you want to be intentional about your personal branding as an admin, Hilani explains that you’ll need to focus on these four areas: 

• Strengths: Identifying your top skills and how they benefit the leaders you work with. For example, Hilani remembers that her top strengths in the admin role were intrinsic motivation and creative problem-solving. 
• Style: Knowing how to create memorable and impactful experiences for executives, clients, board members, etc. by adding unique touches to your work, such as chilling the plates for lunch at the meeting with investors (a Hilani Ellis special). 
• Storytelling: Explaining your strengths and style in job interviews, reviews, and more. Being able to answer the question: What do I want to be known for?
• Sharing: Conveying your brand in a way that is obvious to those around you, which helps redefine the broader misconceptions of the admin role. 

Capitalizing on your strengths, cultivating a style, knowing how to tell a story about your value, and sharing those elements of who you are—that’s how you create your personal brand and elevate your position. 

Creating Disruption

It starts with the admin, Hilani says, to create disruption and a unique experience. 

“We want to create disruption around…the bias of the stereotypical sort of old understanding [of the role]”. 

Why would one do this? To create a center of influence.

This could look different to different people. Some admins might want the ability to influence the decisions of just one person (usually the executive they report to), and some admins want to be included in strategic meetings. Hilani recommends admins create an approach that blends the two together. 

Creating a center of influence also plays into company culture. The heart of the admin role is what Hilani refers to as “being in service” of your executives. 

“If we thought about the history of this profession in the more secretarial, tactical [way] to the beautiful evolution of really being strategic is having that pulse, that center of influence.” This means having the ability to make executives more available and approachable, which in turn helps build company culture. 

“As an administrative individual, we are also creating an experience,” Hilani says.  “If we were to think about the power of personal branding, culture as an individual on a team, and supporting leaders, what kind of experience are we cultivating, activating…all of that plays into culture.”