Jan Jones on the Essence of the Executive Assistant Role, and Why Its Integrity Must Be Preserved
- Elizabeth Sutkowska
- Jan 12
- 15 min read
Some voices shape a profession not by chasing trends, but by anchoring it in truth. Jan Jones is one of those voices. Long before the Executive Assistant role became the subject of conversations about strategy, visibility, and transformation, Jan was already redefining it through practice, precision, and uncompromising standards. As the former Executive Assistant to global icon such as Tony Robbins, Exclusive Representative for small business guru, Michael Gerber, and the author of the internationally acclaimed book The CEO’s Secret Weapon, she has spent decades articulating what an exceptional partnership between leaders and assistants truly looks like, not in theory, but in action. In this legacy interview for the INSPIRE Series, Jan reflects with rare clarity on the evolution of the Executive Assistant profession, the misconceptions that continue to surround it, and the timeless principles that must be preserved if the role is to retain its integrity. She speaks candidly about trust, partnership, confidence, and the often-overlooked human intelligence that no technology can replace. This is not a short read by design. It is an invitation to slow down, reflect, and engage with the depth of wisdom that only decades of lived experience can offer. For Executive Assistants, leaders, and anyone who understands that excellence is built on fundamentals, this conversation is a masterclass, and a reminder of why this profession has always mattered.
Jan Jones is the author of the internationally acclaimed book, “The CEO’s Secret Weapon How Great Leaders and Their Assistants Maximize Productivity and Effectiveness.” Jan is a former executive assistant who specialized in supporting high-octane business leaders. Today, she is a successful businesswoman who is still passionate about the executive assistant profession, and the unique contribution the EA role brings to business.
Elizabeth Sutkowska: Jan, the business world has evolved dramatically since your early days supporting leaders like Tony Robbins. From your perspective, how has the essence of the Executive Assistant role changed, and where do you believe it must not change if we are to preserve the profession’s integrity?
Jan Jones: Essence means “essential to.” If the essence of the executive assistant role changes, it will no longer serve the original purpose, or intent of the role. This can cause confusion, and we are living through some of it right now. I agree that the perception of the role needs upgrading, but its essential purpose needs to remain intact. Business would struggle to get along without this role as it was conceived. That purpose is still relevant today. Execution of the role of necessity has to keep improving and changing, but not the essential nature of it.
The executive assistant role exists to bring administrative infrastructure to business. That purpose is the foundation on which everything else rests and builds. No matter how basic or elevated the task, or the strategic intent or execution of it, the purpose of the role, its Why, is to provide executives with critically needed support, so they can deliver on their specific mandate. It’s incumbent on the assistant to go deep into what that mandate is, so they can meet the needs of the partnership, drawing on all the tactical and strategic resources the role has to offer.
I’ve long maintained that assistants define the EA role too narrowly. The “strategic” talk we hear today, that’s about the other part of the role which has been underperformed, or outright ignored, but which has always been intrinsic to the role. It’s not some new-fangled concept particular to the role today. There are EAs who haven’t been implementing the role to its fullest potential. So it’s not the role that needs to change. It’s the execution of the role that needs to be more robust.
I think there’s a misunderstanding by assistants and business in general about the true nature of the role, which has always delivered support beyond work done via a keyboard. That is, work that requires creative and critical thinking, initiative, vision, know-how, resourcefulness, and execution ability, for example. This is how assistants who are in alignment with their executives execute the role. They do the work their executives would do, if that work were a better use of the executive’s time. It’s tactical work and strategic work. The full expression of the assistant role always marries tactical with strategic.
Disruption in the EA role is not a new thing. How the job is performed is constantly being disrupted. Fast-moving business, accelerated technology, will always be influencing factors. Every generation feels it and learns to adapt to shifting demands. We have assistants in the role today who started with the typewriter, and are now using AI. That’s some transition! Trends come and go, priorities change, fundamentals remain constant, preserving the integrity of the assistant role.
Winners don’t just learn the fundamentals, they master them. Everything I did - everything I achieved, can be traced back to the way I approached the fundamentals. Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise. - Michael Jordan, NBA Basketball Player. The GOAT
What disheartens me today, is that the role feels directionless for some assistants. They are searching for identity, clamoring for visibility and recognition from a role acknowledged as behind-the-scenes work. And well it may be, but that doesn’t mean insignificant, unnecessary or unskilled, so EAs must stop adopting that persona. Some EAs expect the job to give them more than they are willing to contribute to it. Consequently, it appears more transactional, less of a calling, or career, and less job satisfaction. I also notice diminished self-confidence in executive assistants. It’s attributed to a general lack of recognition and respect for the role, but I wonder what part assistants themselves play in that lack of recognition? For those who want a revolution in this profession, that’s where I suggest you start. Start with yourself. That’s within your control. It’s how you can effect change. If you want to see it, you need to be it.
Yes, there’s a huge misperception about what the role does and is capable of doing. But EAs can correct that misperception through their performance. If you want more, you have to do more. Not by working harder, you already do that, but by exceeding all expectations through the caliber of your performance. Differentiating yourself through value creation will raise your visibility. It will create a positive perception of the role, and help preserve its integrity and longevity.
The EA role enjoys a strategic vantage point and wide reach across the organization. It carries a hefty responsibility. Safeguard quintessential human traits like consideration, generosity, service-mindedness, and positive attitude. These perennials, along with other crucial traits discussed in my book, will be impervious to AI, and other foreseeable trends. They’ve kept the EA role a constant in business through booms and busts. Keep them inherent to the role and they’ll see this profession through to many more decades of irreplaceable contribution to business.
Elizabeth: You’ve witnessed the most powerful partnerships between executives and assistants; relationships built on deep trust, discretion, and mutual respect. In your experience, what distinguishes a true partnership from a merely functional working relationship, and how can both sides cultivate that bond?
Jan: My partnerships with my executives were successful because I had certainty about what I brought to the partnership through experience, expertise, a willingness and stamina to undertake an immense job. If I didn’t believe in the value I bring, I would not be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with my executives and feel assured I could deliver on their enormous expectations. In that respect, it was a partnership of equals, but I never, ever forgot my boss was my boss and always gave them that due respect.
Partnership begins in the interview process. You know what it’s going to take to support that level of executive, so get a sense of whether you’ll want to do what it takes to facilitate their success, which is also your success. Long term, will they be worth the immense energy it’ll take to make the partnership succeed?
One thing I made clear at the outset, I had to be a priority for my executive. If I couldn’t get unconditional buy-in on that, that was not the job for me. I would not work for an executive who didn’t understand why their assistant needs to be treated as a priority. Priority means if I call, you answer. If I knock on your door, you look up and give me your attention. It speaks to trust in the partnership. It says you know I’m in tune with you. I know your priorities. I won’t waste your time. These are assurances you must provide to each other. That’s a mature partnership.
Like and respect grow over time, but there must be some indication of it in the early meetings, some indications of chemistry and opportunity that excites you enough to commit to taking them on. Partnership means you have shared aspirations. Everybody on board and moving in the same, agreed-upon direction. With full alignment, both of you will thrive and succeed.
My executives and I were front and center in each other’s lives. High-achieving executive-EA teams always are. They have a shared commitment to the work. Relentlessly communicating, keeping each other informed, my executives were in no doubt they were in good hands and their best interests were constantly protected. This is how trust develops. Feeling trusted, you have no hesitation in doing your job. You don’t shy away from the hard stuff. You tell the truth without fear of repercussions.
My bosses were non-intrusive mentors. They saw I had a passion for my work, always striving to learn and be the best. That is irresistible to executives. They will reward your can-do mindset with opportunities. With their encouragement, you can develop excellence, curiosity and confidence. I truly felt like nothing was standing in my way. That’s the kind of confidence that lets you take calculated risks and develop decisiveness. Risk is not the same as risky. Remember that when you are making high-stakes decisions.
Shared ethics and values, trust, respect, communication, humor, transparency, honesty, confidentiality, self-confidence, discretion, diplomacy, are the connective tissue for successful partnerships. Partnership is always a two-way street.
Always tell your executive the truth, not just what they want to hear. Sycophants are not equal partners. You must care about each other on a human level, not merely as a transactional means to an end. My bosses routinely asked me, “How are you doing? Is there anything you need from me?” One of them, in the early days of my tenure with him told me, “If there’s anything you want to do in this company, let me know.” How can you not be grateful for that kind of trust and generosity?
You have a shared empathy because your jobs can be lonely and feel thankless. Be confidants for each other. Knowing you have each other’s backs provides comfort and peace of mind. They can rely on you as their second-self. You are trusted with immense responsibility. That shows their respect for you. Above all, don’t ever forget that your boss is your boss. I’ve seen executive-EA partnerships unravel quickly when the assistant became a little too self-important.
Understanding what you are doing and why it matters makes work enjoyable. It helps you appreciate the contribution you are making and the value you are bringing. You see where you fit in the scheme of things. You don’t feel like an unseen cog in the wheel. So, just like the old story of the bricklayer, you don’t see yourself building a wall, you see yourself helping to build a cathedral. That’s the vision you must have in order to feel the relevance of your contribution and have a vital, engaging, productive partnership with your executive.
Elizabeth: In The CEO’s Secret Weapon, you write about the “tangible and intangible characteristics” that separate good assistants from truly great ones. Could you share an example of how those intangibles, perhaps empathy, intuition, or courage, have shaped the trajectory of an assistant or a leader you’ve observed?
Jan: I feel privileged to have met a rare breed of assistants who exude competence and effectiveness. Few and far between, they are professionally unequalled, yet extremely matter-of-fact and low-key about their exceptionalism. I’ve written about some of them in my book. What makes them remarkable is the way they have finessed the intangibles such as diplomacy, tact, circumspection, good manners, impeccable grooming, alongside their outsized business acumen and execution skills. They are superb representatives for their executives and organizations. The epitome of discretion and professionalism, rarely do they put a foot wrong.
Humility is a trait I admire in high achievers, whether successful businesspeople, or EAs. Their capabilities are self-evident. They don’t expend effort cultivating an image. They let their accomplishments speak for themselves. They’ve developed referent power, which enables them to get things done.
I wrote an article about such a woman. Her name is Maureen Chant. She has supported her billionaire boss, Canadian Jim Pattison, for sixty-two years. Maureen is responsible for running many divisions of his conglomerate (which consists of about 50,000 people). She still calls herself an Administrative Assistant. She’s never had any interest in changing her title. She said she doesn’t care about the title, she just wants to do the work. In her 80s now, she’s in the office five days a week. It would be six days, but she says her mobility is not what it used to be! Maureen is in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s longest-serving “administrative assistant” to the same person. Maureen’s my kind of executive assistant. She and Jim Pattison are the very definition of partnership, in tangible and intangible ways. I asked her how they built trust. She said it’s a step-by-step process that her executive came to rely on. Take the hint. Be someone people can rely on. You can read my interview with Maureen here.
Some other assistants who interest me include the very savvy Sylvia Bloom. When her boss invested in a stock, she set aside what she could afford out of her salary, and invested in the same stock. Sylvia lived modestly in her New York apartment. No one suspected how wealthy she was. She left an estate worth $8 million at the time of her death, leaving the bulk of it to scholarships for underprivileged students.
Bette Nesmith Graham, a 1950s secretary, was another notable. She invented the correction fluid “White-Out” at her kitchen table. In 1979, she sold her company to Gillette. It made her rich - forty-seven million dollars, plus royalties, rich.
And you all know some remarkable women who were former assistants, or did secretarial work for a while. They include Mary Barra, the current CEO of General Motors, EA Colleen Barrett, who later became president of Southwest Airlines. Author J.K. Rowling, former H-P CEO, Carly Fiorina, broadcast journalist & TV host Barbara Walters, comedian/entrepreneur/TV personality Joan Rivers. What an admirable path these women have blazed across the world. If I could meet them, I’d ask them if, like me, their training in the assistant profession played a role in their business success. I know it did in mine and I couldn't be more grateful.
Elizabeth: For Executive Assistants stepping into this profession today, often in fast-paced, tech-driven environments, what wisdom would you pass down from your years at the pinnacle of partnership and excellence? What mindset should they carry if they want to become not just efficient, but indispensable?
Jan: I don’t believe anyone is indispensable, but you should have everyone convinced you absolutely are. Perform and deliver in such a way that they are convinced they can’t live without you. Catch the eye of people in high places and do everything possible to be seen as high potential, worthy of investing in.
In the EA role, going over and above is standard. It requires you to bring yourself to the job totally and have heartfelt intention. How else can you tackle something of such immense magnitude? Because of the outsized demands that are constantly shifting, you must have a whatever-it-takes approach, or you will experience high frustration levels, and job satisfaction will elude you.
Your mindset has to shift from the role being about you, to being about the work. You are there to be of service to a shared vision. A vision you absolutely must buy into if you are going to serve it fully. Be visible to your executive. Communicate relentlessly. If you don’t know something, ask. Be curious. Be generous with your energy and talent. Don’t erect too many boundaries. Saying yes and jumping in leads to opportunities and success. Learn everything possible. Be grateful for your work and the opportunity to showcase your talents.
Build your capability in the role. Make it what you want it to be. Be a self-starter with passion and drive. Know your executive’s goals and objectives and be alert to how they shift. That will influence the way you execute and deliver high-quality results. Don’t run around looking for kudos and high-fives. Neediness is not attractive and it doesn’t engender confidence in you.
Give more than they could ever pay you for. It gives you a psychological edge. You will build up so much personal equity, self-assurance and confidence in yourself and your ability. That knowledge and experience can take you places you never would have imagined when you were silently slogging away at your desk, wondering if anyone even cares. Actually, they do, but what matters more is that you care. Tell yourself “well done” often. Don’t compromise your health. Don’t compromise your ethics and values. Hold your head high. Stand your ground when necessary, but always respectfully. Don’t ever let your professional persona slip.
My track record speaks louder than anything I could ever say about myself and I’m proud to let it speak. When you all look back on your EA careers, I hope it will be the same for you.
Why do you think I’m the best player in the world? Because I never get bored with the basics. - Kobe Bryant, NBA Basketball Legend
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