An Executive Assistant needs many soft skills in their role, as well as a range of technical abilities. However, some are more vital for the position than others. What soft skills do you need as an EA?

The five soft skills that are essential for EAs

1. People skills

As an EA, you will encounter a lot of different people in a variety of situations. Being your Executive's representative, you'll need to know how to manage these different relationships with skill and tact, as well as building teamwork and collaboration within the company. Understanding how to read a room is also essential.

Having excellent people skills will allow you to create a stronger relationship with your Executive as well, and give you the ability to advise them should they have to deal with a particularly tricky personality.

People skills allow you to build strong teams and collaborate effectively.

2. Confidence

EAs communicate with all levels of the business, as well as external contacts. With such a close link to their Executive, these interactions can vary widely, from negotiations, general conversations, to managing problems.

In difficult scenarios, EAs need to have the confidence and assertiveness to take control of the situation and deal with it accordingly. Having the poise to work and communicate effectively with other high-level Executives or business leaders on your Executive's behalf is also important. 

3. Listening skills

From understanding what your Executive needs to deciphering customer requests, being an active listener is essential as an EA. By focusing on what others are saying and processing it, an EA can ensure that they know what is required from them, or ask the right questions if they aren't given all the details they need. 

Poor listening skills can cause an EA to miss essential information and allows miscommunication to ensue. 

Active listening allows you to take away more from a conversation, and better provide people with what they need.

4. Time management and organisational skills

One of the more obvious soft skills an EA needs to have is strong time management and organisational skills. An EA's role can be hectic, and having the ability to quickly and efficiently sort out what needs your attention first, and getting it done within certain time frames, is vital. 

5. Curiosity

With the many roles that an EA takes on, including acting as a sounding board for their Executive, curiosity is a fundamental part of the position. You need to be interested in the industry you're working in, as well as the business world as a whole, and research new ideas and theories.

Being well-informed and curious will make you indispensable to your Executive, as not only will you provide better insights, but you can help him connect ideas and come up with innovative solutions that are backed by research. 

If you'd like to develop and grow as an Executive Assistant, we can help you do so. We're dedicated to creating a network of EAs that support and assist each other.