You know what you’re capable of.

You know the projects you’ve managed, the problems you’ve solved, the systems you’ve created, and the skills you’ve developed throughout your career.

But does your executive?

One of the biggest mistakes administrative professionals make is assuming their executive knows what they can do and how their skills can be best used in supporting them. We wait for them to delegate. We wait to be invited into a project. We wait for someone to recognize that we could take on more.

Meanwhile, your executive may be sitting three feet away, or working remotely three states away, doing things you are perfectly capable of handling.

The reality is that many executives have never been taught how to fully leverage an executive assistant. They may only know what their previous assistant did. They may be accustomed to doing certain things themselves. Or it simply may not have occurred to them that you have the skills, experience, or interest to take something off their plate.

If you want to build a stronger partnership with your executive, you can’t wait for them to figure it out. You need to help them see what’s possible.

Show Them What You Can Do

When was the last time you actually talked with your executive about your skills and experience?

Your executive may know that you’re great at managing their calendar or coordinating travel. But do they know you’ve managed large events? Built project plans? Created complex Excel dashboards? Supported a board? Led a software implementation? Earned a certification? Completed training in an area that could benefit the team?

Don’t assume they know.

Look for natural opportunities to share your skills, professional development, strengths, and interests. Your performance review is an obvious place to do this, but it shouldn’t be the only time.

As you learn something new or develop a skill, let your executive know. Help them build a more complete picture of the resource they have available to them. If you’ve never shown them your professional portfolio of work samples and career experience, now is a great time to do it.

Look for Work You Can Take Off Their Plate

Pay attention to what your executive is doing.

Are they scheduling meetings you could schedule? Following up on information you could track? Formatting presentations at 10 p.m.? Pulling reports you know how to generate? Researching something you could easily research for them?

Speak up. Try asking, “Would it help if I took care of that for you?”

Sometimes that’s all it takes.

Executives are creatures of habit just like the rest of us. If they’ve always done something themselves, it may not occur to them that someone else could do it. And if you quietly watch them do it month after month, you’re reinforcing the existing pattern.

Helping your executive delegate is part of developing the partnership.

Clarify What You Can Handle Without Them

Taking tasks off your executive’s plate is helpful. Taking decisions off their plate can be even more valuable. Pay attention to the questions you repeatedly ask.

Do you really need approval every time someone requests a 30-minute meeting? Does your executive need to decide which flight you book if you already know their preferences? Are there routine expenses, meeting requests, project decisions, or communication issues you could handle within agreed-upon parameters?

Talk about it.

You might ask, “When this situation comes up again, would you be comfortable with me making the decision and keeping you informed?”

Every time you clarify one of these situations, you build a little more autonomy into the partnership. Over time, those small decisions add up to significant time and mental energy your executive gets back.

Create a Communication Rhythm

Strong partnerships require consistent communication.

This doesn’t mean you need an hour-long meeting every day. In fact, you probably don’t. You may need a 10-minute morning check-in, a weekly one-on-one, a shared priority list, a quick end-of-day message, or some combination of these.

The specific method matters less than the consistency.

Use this time to review priorities, upcoming deadlines, decisions needed, outstanding items, calendar issues, and anything else that could create problems if left unaddressed.

And come prepared. Your goal isn’t simply to ask, “What do you need me to do?” Your goal is to say, “Here’s what’s coming. Here’s what I’ve handled. Here are the three things I need from you.” That’s a very different conversation.

Learn How They Work, and Teach Them How You Work

Every executive is different.

Some want a lot of detail. Others want the three bullet points they need to make a decision.

Some respond immediately to a text but won’t see an email for six hours. Some want to talk through ideas. Others need time to process information before responding.

Learning these preferences helps you tailor your support. But partnership works both ways.

Your executive also needs to understand how you communicate, how you process information, where your strengths lie, and what you need from them to do your best work.

This is one reason I have always been a fan of tools that help us better understand ourselves and each other. Whether you use CliftonStrengths, Myers-Briggs, DiSC, or simply have a thoughtful conversation about working preferences, the goal is the same: learn how to work together more effectively.

Bring Solutions, Not Just Problems

One of the fastest ways to demonstrate that you’re ready for more responsibility is to become known as a problem solver. When something goes wrong, resist the urge to immediately hand the problem to your executive.

First, ask yourself:

• What do I already know?
• What can I find out?
• Who could help me solve this?
• What are our options?
• What would I recommend?

There will absolutely be situations that require your executive’s decision or involvement. But instead of saying, “We have a problem. What should we do?” you can say, “Here’s the issue. I’ve looked into it, and we have two options. I recommend option A because…”

That’s the kind of support that builds confidence and trust.

Keep Expanding the Partnership

An executive partnership isn’t something you establish once and then put on autopilot.

Your executive’s role changes. Your organization changes. Technology changes. And hopefully, your skills and capabilities continue to change, too.

That means the partnership should keep evolving.

One of the simplest questions you can periodically ask your executive is: “What are you still doing that I could be doing for you?”

Then listen carefully to the answer. You may discover opportunities neither of you has considered before.

Don’t Wait for Them to Figure It Out

Your executive may never walk into the office and say, “I’ve been thinking about how I can better utilize your skills and expand your responsibilities.”

If they do, fantastic! But don’t wait for it.

Show them what you can do. Ask for opportunities. Solve problems. Clarify your authority. Learn how they work. Help them learn how you work. And keep looking for ways to make the partnership more effective.

The strongest executive partnerships aren’t built because an executive magically knows how to work with an assistant. They’re built because two people learn how to work effectively together. And you can help lead the way.