If you’ve been an Executive Assistant for more than five minutes, you’ll know that managing calendars and booking meetings is a highly strategic part of the role. How you prioritize, structure, and protect your Executive’s time can make or break their day. But while those skills are essential, they’re only one part of how we support our Executives. Managing up is one of the most impactful ways we bring value to the table.
Managing Up as an Executive Assistant means creating a two-way, high-trust partnership with your Executive. It’s understanding what they need, sometimes before they do, and setting up systems that support their success and your own. It’s about aligning with their goals, communicating clearly (even when it’s awkward), and finding ways to make their day, week, or quarter that little bit easier.
When you’re managing up well, it transforms how you’re seen inside the business. You become a strategic asset. Someone who gets things done, keeps priorities on track, and adds value in ways that others can’t always see – but your Executive certainly does.
Managing Up as an Executive Assistant isn’t just a skill. It’s career-defining. It increases your impact, confidence, and ability to grow into more senior or strategic roles. Whether you’re new to the EA world or you’ve been doing this for years, getting better at managing up is one of the smartest things you can do.
In this guide, we’ll explore exactly how to do that, step by step, with practical tools, real-world examples, and lessons from our Managing Up Accelerator Online Course. This isn’t theory. It’s the stuff that actually works when you’re deep in the day-to-day with your Executive and want to build something better, for both of you.
The 1:1 Meeting Template for Executives and Assistants provides the steps to ensure that when you have a one-to-one meeting with your Executive, you cover all the work you need to and maximise your time together.
When it comes to Managing Up as an Executive Assistant, everything starts with trust. Without trust, it’s just task management. With trust, you can build influence, anticipate needs, and shape the way your Executive works. And that starts with what we call the Three C’s: Connection, Commitment, and Confidence.
Connection is about understanding your Executive as a human being. What motivates them, what frustrates them, how they like to work, and how they prefer to communicate. You don’t need to be best friends, but you do need to know what makes them tick.
Why is this so important?
Because when you understand their style and preferences, you can communicate in a way that resonates, anticipate their needs with more accuracy, and act as a true extension of them. It’s not just about keeping things running, it’s about making them run better. A strong connection builds trust, and when your Executive trusts you, they’ll involve you in more, rely on your judgment, and see you as essential to their success. Managing up as an Executive Assistant means building that trust from the ground up.
So here are a few practical ways to build the connection with your Executive:
Start by asking how they like to receive updates (email, chat, in-person), how often, and how much detail they want.
Ask about their peak productivity times, how they prefer decisions to be made, and what they find most frustrating in a workday.
Pay attention to how they respond in meetings, how they handle stress, and the types of tasks they delegate quickly versus those they keep.
Schedule a dedicated alignment session with your Executive once per month. Use this time to discuss priorities and expectations and clarify what support means to them.
Introducing these activities will not only help you better understand your Executive but also give you a foundation for adjusting your support as their goals and priorities evolve, which is key to managing up as an Executive Assistant.
Commitment means showing up consistently, and not just physically being there, but being present, prepared, and dependable. Delivering on time, following through without needing to be reminded, and stepping up when things get messy.
Consistency is what builds trust over time.
It shows your Executive that you’re not just reacting to the job; you’re actively owning your role. But let’s be clear: consistency doesn’t mean coasting. Just showing up every day isn’t enough if you want to get to a level where you can effectively manage up. You’ve got to be switched on, intentional, and engaged. That’s the kind of reliability that makes you indispensable when managing up as an Executive Assistant.
Here are a few ways you can develop consistency and demonstrate commitment in the role:
Set personal standards. Define what excellence looks like for your work and check your output against that before anyone else has to.
Create a weekly rhythm for your output. Use recurring reminders, routines, and a weekly review to stay ahead of your deliverables.
Keep a ‘waiting on’ list, which will help you track what you’re waiting for from others to follow up before anything slips through the cracks.
Follow up without being asked. It is unbelievably helpful if you are the person who gets things done. Always close the loop and confirm completion, even for small tasks.
Ask for feedback regularly. Make it a habit to check in and make sure your support still aligns with shifting goals or expectations.
These small, consistent actions build the kind of trust that makes your Executive’s life easier and shows them you’re the real deal. Managing up as an Executive Assistant is rooted in this kind of steady, proactive support.
Confidence is what helps you speak up, offer suggestions, and set boundaries when needed. Your Executive needs to trust that you’ll handle sensitive situations with professionalism, and confidence shows them you’ve got it covered. But building that confidence doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, repetition, and a willingness to grow through experience. Many of us find our confidence in small, incremental steps – asking one bold question in a one-on-one, owning a new responsibility, or suggesting a better way of working.
Confidence often comes from recognizing your own expertise. Reminding yourself that you do know what you’re doing, and your insights are valuable. You’re often closer to the details than anyone else, and your perspective matters. And that insight becomes especially powerful when you learn to trust your instincts and speak with clarity.
If you’re not feeling confident yet, that’s okay. Keep showing up, keep learning, and keep practising. The more you rely on your knowledge and skill set, the easier it becomes to stand tall in your role and lead from where you are. This is one of the core muscles you develop when Managing Up as an Executive Assistant.
Here are a few ways to build and strengthen your confidence as an EA:
Track your successes, big or small. It’s a powerful reminder of your value when imposter syndrome creeps in.
Debrief with yourself. After big meetings or challenging moments, jot down what went well and what you’d improve.
When you know your stuff, confidence follows. Always go into meetings or updates with notes, insights, and a point of view.
Take up space. Sit at the table, speak clearly, and trust your contributions.
Find your EA community where you can talk to other Assistants, share stories, and remember, you’re not alone in figuring this out.
Confidence is a muscle, and every small action you take builds it. Over time, it becomes less about proving yourself and more about trusting yourself – something that’s central to managing up as an Executive Assistant.
Once that foundation is in place, it’s time to align on expectations. This step is essential because without alignment, even your best efforts can miss the mark.
What does success look like for your Executive? What outcomes matter most to them? Are they focused on visibility, growth, stability, or team engagement right now? Their focus may shift throughout the year depending on business needs, so staying in tune with those evolving priorities is key. The more clarity you have, the easier it is to make smart, aligned decisions and proactively support the outcomes they care about.
Here are a few ways you can find clarity and learn what success looks like for your Executive:
Don’t wait for a formal goal-setting session. Use one-to-ones or quick catch-ups to ask open questions like, “What’s your top priority right now?” or “What would make this quarter a success for you?”
Review company objectives and OKRs. Align your Executive’s goals with the wider business strategy and look for ways to support them at both levels.
Pay attention to repeated themes in what they praise, stress about, or escalate. These often signal where success pressure is coming from.
Reflect back what you’re hearing. Try, “It sounds like X is becoming a major focus – is that where I should put more of my energy?”
Is success based on team engagement? Project delivery? Board recognition? Knowing their success metrics will help you prioritize your efforts more strategically.
Alignment helps you make choices without always needing direction.
It gives you the confidence to act independently and the language to explain your thinking. When you and your Executive are aligned, you can both move faster, avoid confusion, and deliver better results together. This is what managing up as an Executive Assistant looks like in action.
And remember, don’t be afraid to ask. A quick, thoughtful conversation like “What’s your biggest priority this quarter?” or “What does a successful week look like for you?” can open the door to real alignment and also help you build rapport and get in the same headspace as your Executive.
I can not emphasize enough how important it is to protect time for consistent one-to-one meetings with your Executive. These aren’t just check-ins or nice-to-haves; they’re where you really build the skills and knowledge to manage up.
They’re your opportunity to flag issues, align priorities, ask strategic questions, and keep each other on track. If they keep getting bumped, that’s a signal that something needs to change. If you’re looking for help making these meetings more effective, we’ve put together a detailed guide on how to manage them, from setting the agenda and owning the conversation to ensuring these meetings remain valuable over time. You can read it here: Managing the One-to-One Meeting.
Bring a clear agenda, prep in advance, and don’t be afraid to repeat yourself. Executives are juggling a lot, and your voice helps cut through the noise. A standing 30-minute weekly session can do more for your working relationship than a dozen scattered updates. This kind of regular contact is at the heart of managing up as an Executive Assistant.
Another fundamental aspect of managing up for Executive Assistants is understanding what is sacred to your Executive. Maybe it’s family dinner on Thursdays, quiet Friday mornings, or keeping Monday afternoons free for big-picture thinking. These non-negotiables might not show up on a goals document, but they matter – a lot.
Understanding and protecting what’s important to your Executive on a personal level builds real trust. Going back to what we said at the beginning of this section, it shows you see them not just as a role, but as a person. And when they feel seen, they’re more likely to open up, delegate, and bring you closer to the heart of their work. Managing up as an Executive Assistant includes looking out for the person behind the position.
So, here are a few ways to identify and protect what’s sacred:
In your first few months together, or when things feel hectic, ask, “Are there any times in the week that you prefer to keep blocked for personal or deep work?”
Look for patterns. Notice when they cancel or defend certain time slots. That’s often a clue.
Once you know what’s important, help protect that space. Decline meetings, buffer their schedule, or move around requests where possible.
Check in occasionally with them on a personal level. Life changes – kids grow, priorities shift. Revisit what matters every few months.
It might feel like a small gesture, but it’s a powerful signal that you’re paying attention to the bigger picture. As Rosanne Badowski explains in her book Managing Up, great Assistants tune into what matters most to their Executives, both personally and professionally. Managing up as an Executive Assistant means seeing the whole picture and adjusting your support accordingly.
That’s how we build lasting trust and a partnership that actually works. That’s managing up as an Executive Assistant at its best.
Once you’ve done the work to understand your Executive and what success looks like for them, the next step is learning how to communicate in a way that cuts through the noise and keeps everything moving forward.
That’s where strategic communication comes in. Managing Up as an Executive Assistant means not just what you say, but how, when, and why you say it.
When you’re managing up as an Executive Assistant, how you communicate is just as important as what you communicate. Passing along updates is only one piece of the puzzle, and actually, the real impact comes from how you shape, frame, and deliver those messages that support your Executive’s decision-making and protect their time. Your ability to mirror your Executive’s tone, match their pace, and use the right channels builds trust, reduces friction, and keeps momentum.
To do this well, you need a solid level of self-awareness. Improving your communication skills doesn’t just happen naturally – it takes focus, intention, and a willingness to look at what’s working (and what isn’t). You have to be specific about the areas you want to improve. Do you tend to over-explain? Do you avoid tough conversations? Do you lean too heavily on one communication channel? Getting honest about those patterns is the first step.
Here are a few practical ways to build self-awareness and refine your communication:
If appropriate, listen back to yourself in meetings or watch how you present ideas. Look for clarity, tone, and confidence. You could even run the transcript or recording through ChatGPT and ask for tips on how to improve your communication, specifically.
Ask for feedback from your Executive, a colleague, or another EA. A trusted perspective can highlight things you may not notice.
Set one goal at a time because this is hard and it takes time. Maybe this week you focus on being more concise, or making clearer asks in your emails.
Track moments when communication went well, or not so well, and reflect on what made the difference.
Not every Executive communicates the same way. Some want bullet points, others want the full picture. Some prefer Slack messages, others live by their inbox. As Executive Assistants, we need to develop a strong sense of self-awareness around how we naturally communicate first – what’s our default style, where do we feel most confident, and where do we tend to trip up? Once we understand that, we can start to intentionally flex and adapt to better match our Executive’s preferences.
This takes time and a thoughtful approach. You also need to be actively studying your Executive’s communication habits. Pay attention to what gets a quick response versus what gets ignored. Look at how they write, how they listen, and how they handle pressure. And don’t be afraid to ask. They might have already done communication or personality assessments like DiSC or Insights Discovery. These results can give you invaluable clues about how they operate and how you can meet them where they are.
Adjusting your style helps reduce friction and speeds up decision-making. It’s not rocket science – but it does take intention. When we’re busy (and let’s face it, we’re always busy), it’s easy to slip back into our default communication style without even realizing it. That’s why this takes ongoing thought and attention. You have to constantly check in with yourself: Am I making this easier for my Executive to process, respond to, or act on? That level of awareness is a core part of managing up as an Executive Assistant.
When you speak, your Executive should hear clarity, confidence, and calm. That doesn’t mean always having the answer, but it does mean owning your message. That kind of clarity takes time, practice, and a deep understanding of your role, your authority, and your level of autonomy.
This skill also requires real self-awareness. You need to know what you sound like, what you’re confident in, and where you tend to hesitate. You need to be deliberate in how you show up in conversations and where you choose to lead. It helps to break this down into small, deliberate steps – refining one aspect of your communication at a time. Maybe it starts with how you phrase requests, follow up with decisions, or present options. Focus on progress, not perfection, when it comes to improving your communication skills. As I’ve said, this is hard; many people don’t change how they communicate from when they were teenagers. It takes practice and patience, so give yourself grace.
Confidence builds as you learn how much space you have to lead and how your Executive responds to your approach. Take your time and keep refining. These small steps add up to powerful growth. It’s a communication skill you build layer by layer when you’re managing up as an Executive Assistant.
Here are a few simple examples how you can communicate like a leader:
Start with the outcome or recommendation, then give context. For example, instead of saying, “I’ve looked into the venue options and there are a few things to consider…,” you might say, “I recommend we book Venue A for the leadership offsite. It’s within budget, available on your dates, and has strong reviews for corporate events.” Then provide context if needed.
Frame conversations strategically. Use timing, tone, and relevance to get buy-in. If you know your Executive is in back-to-back meetings, consider saying, “I have a recommendation regarding the project timeline—can we take 5 minutes after your 2 p.m. call?” That shows respect for their schedule and signals the importance.
Use data, insights, and outcomes always. Show the bigger picture, not just what happened, but why it matters. Instead of “The team is behind on the rollout,” try “The team is behind on the rollout, which puts us at risk of missing the client review deadline. I’ve spoken to the lead, and here’s what I propose to get us back on track.”
Your Executive doesn’t need noise – they need clarity.
They’re juggling constant decisions, tight timelines, and a stream of competing priorities. When we bring clarity, we help them focus on what really matters. That means fewer follow-ups, faster decisions, and more trust in your judgment. Noise means too much detail, vague requests, or poorly timed questions, which only adds pressure. Clarity does the opposite. It creates space for action, not confusion. Communicating like a leader builds your credibility and reinforces your value.
This one’s hard but essential. Managing up as an Executive Assistant means creating enough trust in the relationship that you can respectfully challenge your Executive or offer a different perspective. You’re often the only one close enough to do it.
This is also where many of us stop. Giving feedback upward takes confidence, emotional intelligence, and a safe environment where you feel your input will be received and respected. And the truth is, it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to build that level of trust, and even longer to build the courage to speak up consistently.
This part of Managing up takes real practice. You need to be thoughtful with your timing and language, and give yourself grace to get it wrong sometimes. Start small. Test the waters. Find the right moments. The more you do it, the more natural it will feel – and the stronger your partnership will become.
Here are some conversation examples on how to approach it:
Focus on shared goals – “I know we’re aiming for X, and I think Y could hold us back.”
Ask for permission to share – “Would you be open to hearing something I’ve noticed?”
Point to patterns or outcomes, not personalities or moods – “I’ve noticed X may impact Y. Would you be open to exploring Z instead?”
As you can see, it isn’t about being critical, it’s about being collaborative. Great EAs don’t just say yes – they try to speak up when it matters. That’s real leadership, but it absolutely takes time and practice.
When we communicate with intention, clarity, and courage, we position ourselves not just as support staff but as strategic partners. And that’s exactly what managing up as an Executive Assistant is all about.
If we want to manage up well, we need to take control of more than just tasks; we need to take control of time. This is one of the clearest ways Executive Assistants can shift from reactive support to proactive, strategic partnership. Managing up as an Executive Assistant means being trusted to manage your Executive’s time like it’s your own, and that requires us to think differently about how we prioritize, plan, and protect their schedule.
If you’re new to managing up as an Executive Assistant, this is actually a great place to start. There are so many ways you can demonstrate managing up as an Executive Assistant, just by how you handle the schedule. Remember, scheduling is a vital part of our role. It shows clearly where your Executive’s focus is, where their time is being spent, and what direction the team, department, or organization is heading in. And you have a direct hand in shaping that. It’s important to remember that when you are managing your Executive’s schedule, you’re not just booking meetings, you’re guiding strategy, focus, and alignment.
Time is one of your Executive’s most limited and valuable resources. It’s also one of the easiest things to mismanage. Back-to-back meetings, unnecessary invites, poor prioritization – these things add up quickly. If we’re not intentional, we can end up organizing a schedule that doesn’t make any strategic sense, with our Executive focusing on the wrong things.
So, how does this tie in with managing up as an Executive Assistant? When you assess what matters most, protect your Executive’s energy, and build a schedule that reflects their priorities, you are absolutely managing up. You are managing your Executive’s time and not allowing everyone else’s priorities to take precedence. All of this ties directly back to managing up as an Executive Assistant in a visible and impactful way.
Managing up as an Executive Assistant means knowing the difference between what’s urgent and what’s important. It’s easy to get caught up in immediate requests, but not everything that’s loud is actually a priority. If you want to go deeper into how to manage a schedule effectively, we’ve put together an in-depth guide that walks you through every step: Revolutionize Your Executive’s Schedule.
Taking this approach means we need to step back and ask:
What’s driving the most value for our Executive?
What tasks or meetings are aligned with business-critical goals?
Where is time being lost or wasted?
Becoming a time strategist means evaluating requests, pushing back when needed, and ensuring your Executive spends more time on what matters – and less on what doesn’t. This is a fundamental way you demonstrate managing up as an Executive Assistant. When you actively protect your Executive’s time and prioritize high-value activities, you’re also helping them lead more effectively.
This shift in how you approach scheduling positions you as a strategic partner, someone who understands how time connects directly to results. And this is at the heart of managing up as an Executive Assistant.
An empty calendar doesn’t mean a free Executive. Something that many Executives should also understand. Energy management is a major part of time strategy. When you know your Executive’s best times for deep work, decision-making, or relationship building, you can plan accordingly. This level of insight is crucial to managing up as an Executive Assistant. Start by observing:
When are they sharpest?
When do they struggle to focus?
What drains them quickly?
Then build the schedule around those rhythms. Schedule intense work or key conversations when their energy is high, and protect recovery or creative time when they need it.
This comes down to both observation and conversation. Study your Executive, but also ask them. They may not always know the answers themselves. Many Executives are so caught up in their day-to-day that their calendar ends up dictating their energy, not the other way around. The goal is to create space where you can have open discussions about what works for them and what doesn’t. Also, depending on their seniority, they might not be able to fully flex their schedule to match their energy patterns, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help carve out time when it matters most.
Managing up as an Executive Assistant means paying attention to more than what’s on the calendar – it’s about how the calendar feels – and doing everything you can to make it work for your Executive, not against them. This deeper level of support is a clear sign of managing up as an Executive Assistant.
When we think about managing up as an Executive Assistant, the next step is to help them show up as the leader they want to be. Every meeting they attend, every task you prioritize, and every slot in their calendar shapes their professional reputation.
How they spend their time says a lot about their leadership.
Reputation management starts with intentionality. Are they visible where it counts? Are they prioritizing people, decisions, and work that align with their role and responsibilities? Are they making space for strategic thinking, or just reacting to everyone else’s needs?
When you help manage their energy and schedule with this lens, you’re absolutely optimizing output, and crucially, you’re curating how they’re perceived by their team, their peers, and their stakeholders.This kind of work builds long-term trust and elevates your role as a strategic partner. It’s a powerful part of managing up as an Executive Assistant.
Managing up as an Executive Assistant here means guiding your Executive toward a calendar that reflects who they are as a leader, not just what they need to tick off their list.
A well-structured schedule includes the right recurring meetings. Managing up as an Executive Assistant includes knowing which ones your Executive needs, and when to revisit them. And don’t overlook the most important recurring meeting of all: the one-to-one between you and your Executive.
You can’t manage up as an Executive Assistant effectively if you don’t spend time together. Regular, focused meetings help you stay aligned on priorities, share updates, raise issues, and get clarity on what matters most. It’s also your best opportunity to understand their mindset, their energy, and their focus each week.
If your Executive’s calendar is running the show, this meeting is how you stay close enough to influence it. The better the flow of information between you both, the stronger the partnership, and the more impact you can make. Make space for it. Protect it. And use it wisely.
Weekly:
One-to-one with you – This is the most important meeting you’ll have. It’s your regular space to align on what matters most, share updates, raise issues, and stay close to shifting priorities. This meeting is where you gain insight into your Executive’s focus and energy levels, and where you can influence the flow of the week. If you can’t attend all their meetings, use this time to review key decisions, ask questions, and request access to notes or transcripts so you’re always informed. Managing up as an Executive Assistant starts with showing up and being involved.
Leadership team sync – A window into broader priorities and team dynamics. If you’re not in the room, make sure you’re looped into agendas and follow-ups. This helps you anticipate upcoming work and keep your Executive prepared.
Project status reviews – These help you stay on top of timelines and deliverables, especially if your Executive is responsible for multiple workstreams. Understanding what’s on track (and what’s not) helps you spot risks early and adjust priorities.
Monthly/Quarterly:
Strategic planning sessions – These are essential for helping you see where the organization is going. Use these insights to align your day-to-day work with long-term goals. That’s part of managing up as an Executive Assistant.
Board or stakeholder updates – Whether you’re prepping decks or capturing outcomes, these meetings are full of context that informs your Executive’s next moves.
Deep work time – Block this and protect it fiercely. Use your one-to-one to check that it’s being used well and if adjustments are needed.
Annually:
Goal-setting sessions – These define the priorities that guide the year. Attend if possible or request access to outputs. Your work should map back to these goals and reinforce managing up as an Executive Assistant.
Team reviews and performance planning – A chance to support the leadership your Executive provides. Help prep feedback and structure the meetings effectively.
Budget reviews and forecasting – These offer visibility into financial constraints and opportunities. Understanding them helps you make more informed scheduling and resource decisions.
Each of these meetings plays a different role in managing up as an Executive Assistant. Whether you’re in the room or staying connected through notes, your job is to make sure nothing important falls through the cracks – and that your Executive’s time is being spent where it matters most.
Rosanne Badowski says it best: “Don’t let the busy drown out the important.” And when you’re managing up as an Executive Assistant, this couldn’t be more relevant. It’s easy to let the urgent take over, to say yes to every meeting request, and to fall into the trap of managing what’s loud rather than what’s strategic.
But managing up as an Executive Assistant means stepping back. It means being deliberate about how time is spent – not just for your Executive but for yourself, too. You need time to think, plan, and prep. Creating space for your Executive to lead also means creating space for you to lead in your role. If you’re both buried in the busy, you’re not managing – you’re reacting.
This takes thought. It takes time. It requires stepping back from the business around you to ask: Are we spending our time where it matters? Are we moving the needle? Strategic partnership doesn’t happen by accident. You create it, minute by minute, meeting by meeting.
That’s why mastering time is one of the most powerful ways to demonstrate managing up as an Executive Assistant.
One of the most powerful ways to demonstrate managing up as an Executive Assistant is by learning how to anticipate your Executive’s needs before they even arise. This is what takes you from reliable to invaluable. Anticipation is a core skill that strengthens trust, reduces last-minute stress, and shows that you’re thinking strategically about what’s coming next.
Your Executive shouldn’t have to ask you to stay one step ahead; you should get into a position where they should come to expect it. When you can pre-empt questions, solve problems before they escalate, and have what they need ready before they ask for it, you become their go-to partner. And when this happens consistently, it becomes deeply helpful, sometimes even transformational, for your Executive.
Executives are under constant pressure to deliver, decide, and drive things forward. When they know they can rely on you to anticipate needs and navigate challenges before they even become visible, it changes the way they work. It gives them breathing space. It protects their time, their reputation, and their decision-making capacity. And in return, it gives you greater trust, access, and influence.
If you can master this, it will accelerate your career, deepen your relationship with your Executive, and reinforce your position as a strategic, business-critical partner. It’s a clear, consistent example of Managing Up as an Executive Assistant and one that builds long-term credibility.
We explore this further in our article Anticipating Needs and Other Mind-Reading Tricks. Start there if you want to explore this mindset and build even more awareness.
Before we dive into the practical side of anticipation, let’s take a moment to acknowledge just how valuable this skill is. We try to avoid clichés about Assistants being superheroes, but the truth is, being able to anticipate what’s coming next is genuinely transformative, for both you and your Executive. It lightens their load, removes friction from their day, and gives you a powerful sense of ownership and confidence in your role. It’s also a key element in successfully managing up as an Executive Assistant. Ask yourself every week:
What’s the priority this week?
What’s likely to derail that?
Who needs to be briefed or followed up with?
What’s missing from the picture?
You’re looking for gaps before they turn into problems. It might feel like mind-reading, but actually it’s about business awareness, curiosity, and a commitment to making life easier for your Executive. And just like any other strategic skill, it takes intention. You have to make space in your day for this kind of thinking, because if you’re always head down, focused solely on clearing tasks, you’ll miss the gaps. This is another reason managing up as an Executive Assistant requires proactive effort, not just reactive support.
Although a lot of this work is about understanding the business and getting a feel for what’s happening, it can start to feel like mind-reading simply because it becomes so intuitive over time. But that intuition is built through practice. And where there’s practice, there are practical steps you can take to get there. That’s how anticipation grows – from conscious effort into second nature, and from task support to managing up as an Executive Assistant in a way that really matters.
Understand the rhythm of your organization. Most businesses are cyclical. Budget season, quarterly reviews, board meetings, product launches – these things come around like clockwork. Track these patterns so you can plan ahead.
Build your business acumen by reading everything – reports, board decks, meeting notes, internal announcements. Know who the key players are, what’s on the horizon, and where the pressure points live. This helps with managing up as an Executive Assistant by keeping you informed and in sync with what your Executive will need.
Talk to people. Stay connected to the people around your Executive. Ask what’s coming up, what might be delayed, and who needs chasing. Informal updates often give you the best insights.
Set aside time to scan and understand the week ahead. Don’t rush into Monday without checking what’s coming. Block time to review your Executive’s calendar, project timelines, and team updates. This makes a huge difference when you’re managing up as an Executive Assistant.
Use your one-to-one meetings strategically. Ask forward-looking questions like, “Is there anything that might throw us off track this week?” or “What’s something we haven’t started yet that might creep up on us?” These conversations strengthen your insight and presence when managing up as an Executive Assistant.
Keep a ‘Watch List’. Use it weekly to track recurring or unpredictable tasks that often slip through the cracks—follow-ups, pre-reading, travel prep, or finance cutoffs.
Anticipating needs doesn’t mean doing everything or saying yes to everything. It means knowing where the roadblocks are before they become barriers. So, concentrate and carve out time for being intentional, strategic, and engaged in the business; don’t just focus on your to-do list. It’s one of the most practical demonstrations of managing up as an Executive Assistant.
And if you’re still building this skill? Don’t worry. It takes time. Start with small wins – spot the missing detail, ask the right question, suggest the extra step. The more you practice, the more naturally it comes. And before long, your Executive will start to say, “You read my mind.” That’s the magic of managing up as an Executive Assistant.
If you’ve mastered anticipating needs, the next level of managing up as an Executive Assistant is all about influence. Managing up doesn’t mean staying silent or passive. It means helping to shape outcomes, support better decisions, and keep everything moving forward, without needing to be in the spotlight every time.
This is where your ability to think proactively and act strategically really shines. By seeing the bigger picture, you are helping your Executive and your wider team make better choices.
But with this comes an important skill: understanding the power dynamic between you and your Executive. There will be times when managing up as an Executive Assistant means stepping forward into the spotlight–voicing your insights, making suggestions, or helping drive decisions. And there will be times when it’s more effective to manage up subtly, by guiding decisions in the background, shaping conversations, or quietly removing barriers.
Finding this balance comes with experience, trust, and self-awareness. It’s okay if it doesn’t happen overnight. As you develop your judgment, you’ll begin to recognize when your voice is most needed and how best to use it to support your Executive’s goals without overstepping. This kind of leadership from behind is as powerful as leading from the front. And it’s exactly what managing up as an Executive Assistant is all about.
To think strategically, you need to link your work to the broader goals of your team and organization. When you understand what’s happening at a strategic level, you can:
Prioritize the right tasks
Help your Executive stay focused on high-impact work
Make more valuable decisions on their behalf
Spot when something is off-track before anyone else
This kind of alignment comes from being intentional, asking questions, and staying curious. It’s the same mindset that helps you anticipate needs: seeing the rhythms of your business, picking up on patterns, and connecting dots before others do. It ties directly into the broader skill set of managing up as an Executive Assistant.
When you consistently align your work with what matters most to your Executive and the business, you position yourself as a key contributor. You reduce friction, eliminate distractions, and make space for high-value work. This shows that you’re thinking ahead and anchoring your support to what really matters.
Not all Executives are great at letting go. Some hold on to everything until they’re overwhelmed – and then hand things off in a rush. And in some environments, managing up as an Executive Assistant is more difficult because you may not yet have the space or autonomy to do so. Your Executive might be too disorganized, too controlling, or simply not in the habit of delegating effectively. These are real barriers, and they require patience, trust-building, and consistency to overcome.
Managing up as an Executive Assistant in these situations starts with small wins. You’ll need to slowly demonstrate your reliability, your strategic thinking, and your ability to handle responsibility without needing hand-holding. It’s frustrating at times, but over time, those moments of follow-through add up. And as your Executive starts to see your value, they’ll begin to loosen their grip and open the door to more meaningful collaboration. Start small:
Ask for responsibility over one recurring task
Follow through consistently
Document the process so they know it’s being handled
Share regular updates so they never feel out of the loop
Each win builds confidence. And as they delegate more, you free up their time to focus on the work only they can do, which is exactly what managing up as an Executive Assistant is all about.
This is key. You are often closest to the information and the action. Your role isn’t just to pass information along – it’s to process it, filter it, and support smart, timely decisions. Managing up as an Executive Assistant means taking in the big picture and figuring out how to make it actionable in the day-to-day. Again, here are a few questions you can ask yourself to get started:
What context does my Executive need?
What’s the risk of waiting vs. acting now?
What’s my recommendation, and why?
Remember, don’t just flag problems; bring options to the table. It’s so helpful when you can propose the next steps rather than waiting for your Executive to make the decision for you. Your job is to reduce friction, not add to it, so if you can propose a solution, that will put you in good standing.
Becoming a decision-support engine also means understanding how your Executive likes to make decisions. Do they rely on data? Gut instinct? Do they want quick summaries or detailed analysis? When you know their decision-making style, you can present information in a way that lands with impact.
And let’s take a second to acknowledge that this kind of support doesn’t happen automatically. It takes time to get to this level. You need access, trust, and a working environment that gives you the space to think beyond the task list. If your Executive is overwhelmed or not yet in the habit of involving you in strategic decisions, this might be a longer journey. But that doesn’t mean it’s out of reach. Start with what you can influence – how you present your insights, the questions you ask, and the way you follow up.
Managing up as an Executive Assistant is not just about helping your Executive – it’s about being seen as someone who adds value to the way they think and lead. And when you consistently operate like this, you’re not just supporting decisions, you’re shaping them in a proactive and strategic direction. That’s how you build your credibility as a strategic thinker.
Okay, time for a truth bomb. This is one of the hardest aspects of managing up as an Executive Assistant. Challenging your Executive or offering a different perspective requires confidence, trust, and a strong sense of timing. Many of us hesitate here, not because we don’t have good insights, but because we don’t yet feel secure enough in the relationship to voice them.
Sometimes, we’re still working in an environment where speaking up is not encouraged or where our Executive isn’t used to being challenged. That’s okay. This part of managing up doesn’t have to happen all at once. It takes time and space to build.
What makes it tricky is that it’s not always obvious when to speak and when to step back. Timing and tone are absolutely everything here. Managing up as an Executive Assistant means having the judgment to know when your input will be helpful–and when it might need to wait.
So, how do you start if this feels like unfamiliar territory? Try these small but powerful steps:
Start by asking questions. You don’t need to lead with a counterpoint–start with curiosity. “Can I ask how we landed on this approach?”
Share an observation rather than a judgment. “I’ve noticed this timeline is really tight–do we have any flexibility?”
Frame suggestions as collaborative. “Would you be open to exploring another way to do this?”
Build your confidence quietly. Keep a journal of ideas you held back–what would you have said if you felt ready? You’ll start to notice patterns and gain confidence over time.
Talk it out with your network. Sometimes just saying the thing aloud to a trusted fellow EA helps you figure out how to raise it with your Executive.
All of this is about planting seeds. Even if your Executive doesn’t take your suggestion the first time, they’ve heard your voice, and next time, they may be more open.
Managing up as an Executive Assistant doesn’t mean always being right or pushing hard – it means being thoughtful, deliberate, and brave enough to challenge when the moment calls for it. That’s what builds a real partnership.
Executives make hundreds of decisions each week – big and small. The better you are at understanding those decisions, organizing what feeds into them, and shaping the way they’re made, the more indispensable you become. That’s the work of managing up as an Executive Assistant: supporting your Executive’s success in ways they may not even see coming, but always feel the benefit of.
As we wrap up this guide, there’s one last truth we need to discuss: Managing up as an Executive Assistant is a choice. It takes effort, intention, and a mindset shift. And some days, let’s be honest, it might feel like more effort than it’s worth. You might think, “Why am I going to all this trouble when it’s not noticed, appreciated, or reflected in my salary?” That’s a fair question.
But here’s the thing: Managing up isn’t just about making your Executive’s life easier. It’s about shaping your own role, building your own credibility, and creating opportunities that benefit you, too. You’re not just doing it for them. You’re doing it to elevate your career, deepen your confidence, and build partnerships that support your success.
It’s also hard. Let’s not pretend otherwise. It takes time, trust, and a whole lot of patience. Sometimes you’ll try to manage up and hit a wall. Sometimes you’ll get it wrong. But every attempt is a step forward.
Before you can manage your Executive, you have to manage yourself, your mindset, your energy, your boundaries, and your behavior. You have to protect the time and space needed to think strategically, reflect, and course-correct when necessary. How do you do this? Well, it is important to give yourself space to think through your week and how you allocate your time. Ask yourself:
Am I reacting to my week or proactively planning it?
Have I created space for strategic work, or am I stuck in task mode?
Am I modeling the behaviors I want my Executive to emulate – like calm under pressure, clear communication, and forward thinking?
This kind of self-management is a wonderful gift you can give yourself, particularly in busy periods or when you feel overwhelmed. When you’re grounded, clear-headed, and intentional, you create the conditions for better decisions, more trust, and a stronger partnership.
Let’s bring this full circle. Managing up as an Executive Assistant isn’t something you master in a week. It’s a muscle you build over time. You grow it through everyday actions, how you handle setbacks, how you show up in meetings, how you communicate, how you support, how you lead.
You don’t need permission to start. You just need a plan. You get to decide if you want to move from reactive to strategic. From support act to trusted partner. From task-taker to decision-shaper.
So the real question isn’t, can you manage up? It’s – will you? Because once you start, you’ll never want to work any other way. Managing up is career-defining for Executive Assistants and a way of working that will help you scale your career and improve the impact you make.
If this guide resonated with you and you’re ready to take action, the Managing Up Accelerator course is your next step. It builds on everything we’ve explored here – strategic one-to-ones, decision support, aligning with your Executive, managing your energy, and building trust – by giving you practical tools, video training, and swipe files you can use right away. Whether you’re building confidence, creating new systems, or finally stepping into a more strategic role, this course gives you the frameworks to make it happen.
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