Executive and Personal Assistants do extraordinary work that often goes unseen. You prevent problems, create order and keep your executive moving forward. Yet when it comes to your 1:1, the meeting can easily become all about them. Their schedule. Their challenges. Their priorities.

Your contribution deserves space too. And the fastest way to make it visible is to change the structure of the meeting.

Here is a simpler, stronger and more empowering way to run your 1:1.

1. Lead the meeting from the start

Many assistants wait for their executive to take the lead, but opening the meeting yourself sends a clear message. Get into the zone with this simple affirmation: ‘I am prepared. I am organised. I am driving the partnership’.

A simple statement works and sets the tone immediately – ‘Here is what I would like us to cover today.’

2. Start with your impact, not your task list

This is the moment where many assistants unintentionally hide their value. They talk about how many emails they cleared, how many meetings they booked or how many tasks they completed. But tasks do not demonstrate your strategic importance. Impact does.

1. Time you saved them.
2. Problems you prevented.
3. Stakeholders you managed.
4. Opportunities you created.
5. Risks you removed.
6. Hours of efficiency you added back into the business.

Your executive does not need to hear the volume of what you did. They need to understand the effect of what you did. Speaking in outcomes, not checklists, is how your value becomes visible and acknowledged.

3. Ask for what you need

Your effectiveness on a daily basis depends on information, decisions and clarity from your executive. Use this part of the meeting to secure it to reduce delays and keep the week running smoothly:

1. What requires their input
2. What needs approval
3. Where you need guidance
4. What is currently blocked

4. Move into their priorities

Once your work is acknowledged and supported, transition into their world. Discuss upcoming commitments, pressure points and expectations. These conversations become far more productive once the meeting begins with clarity rather than a completely reactive approach.

5. Finish with a look ahead

Assistants often see what is coming long before anyone else. Use the final minutes of the meeting to share that foresight.

1. Here are the risks I can see
2. Here are the timing issues we should plan for
3. Here are the opportunities we should prepare for early

This is where you demonstrate your role as a strategic partner, not just someone who completes tasks.

The Perfect 1:1 Agenda

1. Your Impact

Share outcomes, not tasks: Time saved / Problems prevented / Efficiencies created /Decisions enabled

2. What You Need

Decisions / Approvals / Information / Clarification

3. Their Priorities

Key meetings / Upcoming commitments / Pressures or expectations / Support they need

4. Look Ahead

Risks / Conflicts / Opportunities / Capacity issues

5. Quick Partnership Check In

What is working well / What could improve / Support or development needed

Remember, your 1:1 is not simply a catch up. It is your platform to lead, to be seen and to make the true value of your role clear. When you focus on impact instead of tasks, your executive finally understands the depth of what you deliver and the difference you make.

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