From Many Hats to a Suit of Clothes: Learning to Wear the Role of a Presidential Assistant

1. From Many Hats to a Suit of Clothes:Learning to Wear the Role of a Presidential Assistant Tonjanita L. Johnson, Ph.D. Chief Deputy to the President The State University of New York at Stony Brook Sunday, March 11, 2012

2. The Age-old Answer: “Well, where do I begin...” The Age-old Question: What do you do?

3. Wearing Many Hats Wearing Many Hats Can Be A ‘Maddening’ Experience “…I feel like I wear so many hats, figuratively speaking, that I never get to fully enjoy any one in particular, or get a sense of how it looks on me.” Meghan Meade, Jan. 2011 (From her blog “Struggle Muffins”)

4. The Purpose of this Presentation

5. My Profile: An Experienced “Hat Wearer”

6. “To put it in a Nutshell…” My Current Role Along with serving as the President’s Chief of Staff, my primary role is to ensure the effective development and execution of presidential projects and initiatives while providing high-level support and guidance to the President on a broad range of other institutional matters.

7. “You’re doing something different everyday. How do you find your niche?” Learning to Wear the Role of PA begins with Taking Ownership of the “Wardrobe” The role of a presidential assistant ismultifacetedbut highly specialized. As such, our professional ensemble often looks extremely different from others and is as unique as the institutions and the presidents that we serve.

8. “If I worked in the President’s Office, I would just give that to somebody else.” Learning to Wear the Role of PA begins with Taking Ownership of the “Wardrobe” Presidential Assistants can sometimes feel like Masters of the Mundane. Many of the roles that we own are essential but are often taken for granted.

9. “You make everything look so easy. I’m looking for a job just like yours.” Learning to Wear the Role of PA begins with Taking Ownership of the “Wardrobe” Presidential assistants seem to have such a “magical” way of getting the job done that some individuals are fooled into thinking that it’s a job that most anyone can do.

10. The ABC’s of Exploring and Expressing What You Do

11. Food for Thought Perceptions Regarding Your Position Your role as a PA is often defined by: The expectations and experiences of your President and others within the campus setting How you perceive the value of your role in the overall success of your President and the advancement of the mission of your institution

12. Food for Thought Perceptions Regarding Your Position are Impacted by: Title/Salary/Academic Background Job description/Scope of responsibility (Ex: Broad vs. Narrow) The relationship that exists between you and your president How you approach your job

13. Benefits of Breaking Down Your Job Description

14. Benefits of Breaking Down Your Job Description

15. (EXAMPLE: Chief Deputy to the President) Using Your Job Description as a Guide • Assist the President with strategic planning, including outlining and communicating the President's priorities • Serve as a member of the University Council and work with Vice Presidents, Provost and Deans to develop and implement strategic initiatives and projects for the University. • Provide supervisory oversight for the President’s Office staff and four other divisions • Conduct research on special projects and implementation of programs initiated by the President. • Develop and deploy relevant and effective project reporting and business metrics and monitor and evaluate progress toward the goals and objectives of the President. • Prepare policy and decision support analysis to inform and contextualize institutional decision making. • Act as designee in the absence of the President and manage high level relationships with internal and external constituencies. • Independently carry out major responsibilities under the President's purview, such as monitoring and evaluating unit activities, serving as chair of key committees, and communicating with senior Campus or University management.

16. (EXAMPLE: Chief Deputy to the President) Identified Competencies

17. Example: Sample outline of Responsibilities Outlining your Responsibilities

18. Examples Outlining your Responsibilities

19. Our skills, talents, competencies and experiences are often so varied as Presidential Assistants that we forget or omit them. So, it’s important that we document our experiences well. Keeping track of these things makes us more aware of what we are giving and gaining professionally. Food for Thought

20. Keep a “running” copy of your resume and bio nearby Provide regular reports and/or summaries of your professional activity to your President Maintain a running list of the core competencies that you are developing and examples that demonstrate your experience Additional Suggestions

21. Develop/Maintain a list of references who can speak to your diverse skills and talents Get involved in campus search processes when possible Additional Suggestions

22. CONCLUSION

23. QUESTIONS