INDISPENSABLE: The Principal's Right Hand

The EA role in a school is unlike any other. Not a teacher, nor a general admin role, but absolutely central to everything.

In this episode, we explore the unique identity, influence, and professional value of executive assistants in education, and why school leadership simply couldn't function without them.

A conversation with Kristine Nivan

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:11

We have got Christine Niven, founder of EAs in Education. I came across Christine while I was scouring the internet one morning and I was so impressed not only with her website but her determination to share with everybody, in fact, the importance of members of staff in schools who have a profound impact on the culture and on the entire environment, if you will, and the way in which schools operate and function, and certainly a very important role in supporting their leaders. Christine, welcome to the show. It's great to have you.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

Oh, thank you. Cheryl, thank you for inviting me onto your show today.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Oh, my pleasure. Christine, as uh you've just heard the introduction, no doubt. I'm very, very impressed with what it is that you're doing. Tell us a little bit about what lies behind your desire and success in founding EAs in education.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

Well, firstly, um thank you for having me today, Cheryl. I have now worked in education for about 14 years, and I still vividly remember my first day walking through the gates of the school community, you know, joining um I was then joined the marketing and events department and just thinking this is this is an incredible place to be, you know, to see to be part of an environment where students sat at the every at every at the centre of every decision felt deeply purposeful. And I think it's the impact that's really tangible that our work contributes to something larger than operations or profit. So um I've just loved everything about the school environment coming from um the medical and legal industries. And I think it's because schools are not like most workplaces, um, you know, they're dynamic communities, public facing, relational, and deeply personal. And um, you know, every decision has a human impact. Um, parents entrust leaders with their children and staff invest emotionally in their work. So it's just a really great place um to be. I love the environment, and I think this passion then comes through in what I do as an executive assistant supporting a senior executive and also um flows through then to the EAs and education community.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Now, Christine, you've mentioned a couple of things there. You mentioned operations and profit. Now, profit is not something that many people would think about when it comes to education. I'm hearing from that that you work only with independent schools and your membership for this organisation is EAs in independent schools?

SPEAKER_00 2:49

Uh most of the time, Cheryl. We do have lots of like um yeah, independent schools, so Christian schools, um not many government schools are part of the programme, I suppose, Cheryl. You're correct there.

SPEAKER_01 3:01

Okay, so tell us a little bit about you you mentioned operations, and this is a a term that that is used, and as you well know, Christine, we do have language in schools that and education settings that are familiar to us but not always familiar to the local community. And certainly people in business would be familiar with that term and and organisations that have boards and so forth. But when you say operations, just ex elaborate on that a little bit for me.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Um so the operations are of the schools. So we've got um different various departments, we've got um the marketing department, um, enrolments and events, um, yeah, all different types of departments. The senior school, we've got the middle school, we've got the junior school. So the operations of the of the whole school, also like we've got in the business department, it's the entire community, the entire operations of of a whole school. And I think that um as EAs in education we really influence those key areas in in um in many ways.

SPEAKER_01 4:04

Now tell me just on that, you let's take a a very large school, uh a couple of thousand students, for example.

SPEAKER_00 4:11

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

And you've mentioned all of these different departments, very impressive because it it is it's they're they're large organisations. How many EAs would typically be in uh of one of those large schools?

SPEAKER_00 4:24

Yeah, it's that really varies, and it's the more I'm uh been in the role in the EA role for four and a half years now, and I've I've and over time I've noticed there can be from one to two in a school to about five or six. So you normally have an EA sitting um supporting a principal, and then our deputy principals are under that, and you may have an EA supporting the deputy principals. And then also you can sometimes have, and most of the time in independent schools, an EA sitting and supporting a senior senior school, um head of senior school or head of junior school as well. So it that very that very much varies from school to school.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

Sure, and then the balance of the leadership there's often middle middle management or middle leaders, that's a quite a large cluster of of professionals in independent schools.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

Many of those operate without administrative support.

SPEAKER_00 5:17

Yeah, so middle leadership, um, you know, your heads of house. And um yeah, so it just varies from school to school and you know, the director to performing arts or the director of sport don't often have their own EA, it's more the senior executive team per se, um, principal, deputy principal, those key stakeholders.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

Now across the board being in that role, you've certainly got to have a very strong relationship with your boss, if I could use that term, your boss. And there would be a lot of confidential in information crossing your table. So the level of trust between two professionals is extremely high. How does that work when there are uh conflicting beliefs or views around just being able to work in an organization with other personalities that also are coming at into play there?

SPEAKER_00 6:21

Yeah, I think um well, you know, trust uh for me, trust is really what allows us to operate as true partners in leadership. And I'd say that one of the most distinctive aspects of the EA in education role is is the closeness of that working partnership with the principal or senior executive. And it is really unique because it operates at a level of visibility and confidentiality that that not many others share in school partnerships.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

That makes a lot of sense and uh i in fact it's almost a a bit of a cocoon, if you will, because uh the leadership is often quite a lonely role and with somebody like yourself that loneliness dissipates to a certain extent because there is someone there uh for them. What does your typical day look like?

SPEAKER_00 7:10

Um, no two days are the same. I think that's what I love about working in education as well, but quite often um coming in in the morning as as a partnership and and debriefing or briefing in the morning, what are our key priorities? And then um managing calendars, um, looking at what's coming up, being proactive, being protective, um so many different parts to a day working in a school and just what you think you're gonna get done for that day quickly derails because there's always um all people, everyone wants a piece of uh everyone wants some time with the principal, and that's not always possible. So knowing to problem solve and and all those types of things. Um yeah, it's just no two days are the same. I think that's what makes it very exciting.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

Absolutely, for sure. Let's move on to your organization, EAs in education. When did you when did the the concept start to form and when did you actually establish the organisation?

SPEAKER_00 8:07

Hmm. So I'll show it back. I'd I'd started working for um an associate principal at my previous school. I'm actually in between schools, I'm actually in the a liminal area between schools and working for for my next boss, which I'm very excited about. But when I started my role um four and a half years ago at at my previous school, what I found was that yes, you spoke about Cheryl leadership is lonely, and and that's actually correct for both parties. It's actually correct for um the principal and it is also really correct for the EA. Because what I found was there's this sense of isolation in our roles. We're not quite part of the senior leadership team. Even though we are we do join the senior leadership team on many levels for meetings and and they are our input is valued, but we're also set apart from um other administration staff as well. And so the isolation from that and the confidential nature of the role, um I wanted to connect really with like-minded peers. My boss, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

Absolutely, it makes perfect sense, doesn't it? You're not an educator, but you're no in deep with education, and we know we have the front of house, if you will, uh the the burses and you know uh those at the front desk. Yes, etcetera, very, very different roles to exactly what you're saying there. That's more administrative, whereas yours is very consultative and as you said, quite uh, you know confidential and supportive for the senior management indeed. So how many members do you have now?

SPEAKER_00 9:44

Um we've got like over a hundred nationally across Australia. We had a couple from New Zealand as well. So um it's grown over the years. It actually started with just five people on a little LinkedIn community, and then I I found that um over time people were were wanting the same thing. They were wanting connection. Absolutely to grow in their roles professional learning that was relevant to education, which I found was missing as well.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

And yeah, so it this organization you've got uh around about a hundred members now.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

And there are some terrific opportunities for EA. So if there's any EAs listening, I no doubt there are some on their way to work right now listening to us. So that's a a good plug for you, Christine. But uh you've got eight webinars that you offer every year. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 10:36

Yes, I do.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

You also have conferences and other resources and support for the EAs. Is there is there a union membership involved with this as well?

SPEAKER_00 10:44

No, no, it's just just me. It's not just Um Just the face of it. So there's no um yeah, it's just really m um EAs from from other schools nationally. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

And do you uh but uh just to go back to the union element, are you members of the AEU or uh an independent union and things like that or I think some are, but um I think that's more for teachers, Cheryl.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

Um yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:17

Okay. No, no, interesting, because uh the you know there's there's representation everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

So I was just going to say there's a no, it's not just for teachers, sorry, it's no it's not. I know I've got other administration staff that are part of the IEU as well. So I'm wrong there.

SPEAKER_01 11:29

Yep, so you've got their support and certainly that's for industrial as well. You're offering something quite unique. Uh and that that was sort of the path that I was wanting to go down. You've got something quite different. So what is it that attracts these uh members to your organisation?

SPEAKER_00 11:44

Well, I think um that EAs and education was founded on on three key pillars, again going back to my experience, and it and it's really about connecting, growing together, and feeling a sense of belonging. And I think that was missing in the marketplace and people have really latched on to that. Um and you know, learning from each other and you know, each webinar, I've got a learning framework or a matrix that I that I go by as well, and every webinar or every conference, um, now down to my book that I just had published is always is interwoven into everything that that I offer.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

And the title of your book?

SPEAKER_00 12:24

Is called the leadership edge.

SPEAKER_01 12:26

Ooh, so what's the edge?

SPEAKER_00 12:28

Well the edge is is a place where um it's really when you we're crossing a line into something else, whether that be, you know, stepping into a new arena, um, yeah, stepping into the next the next place and and really um the leadership edge is not just being about EAs in education. There's a lot of EAs in education woven into the book, and I've got um ten members that contributed personally their stories from different schools nationally. Um but it was really a a uh really a s I just wanted to reflect on my journey in life a little bit as well and and where I got to um to to now, basically.

SPEAKER_01 13:12

It makes perfect sense because behind every success story is a story and it's someone's uh enthusiasm that brings the ideas to life and clearly that's what you've done. Christine, just before we wrap up, this has been a terrific conversation, thank you. But just before we wrap up, tell me uh uh and and the listeners a little bit about the webinars that you offer. There's eight a year. How do you choose who's going to pr uh put those webinars together for you? And uh do you have to follow a theme? Is it is it other EAs or is it uh you know, professional educators? Who who's involved?

SPEAKER_00 13:51

Yeah, normally like a lot of thought does go into the webinars, and what I found is that because of my professional learning, I was I wanted to tailor it to actually EAs that work in education. So they do have um knowledge of the education field. Usually um they've been a um a past staff member in some way, or uh past principal um there or a current principal, they're currently an EA, or someone that's actually related to the education field, and then that is that is driven by my framework, which is my learning matrix of um, and I call it the nine C's, but you know, we've got culture, courage, capacity, communication, and and career enhancement, character, community, and curiosity, and that all is interwoven into each webinar. So with that at the at the front.

SPEAKER_01 14:45

Okay, so the nine C's matrix. I heard two I I heard two of those, I was very impressed with uh courage and curiosity.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

Yes, correct, that's right.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

All value alignment. Absolutely. That's that sounds terrific. So there's a common theme that goes all the way through, and every person that comes on and listens to the webinar or who presents that webinar does that through your vision and your nine C's matrix. Correct. Good. Correct. Fantastic, well done. Well, Christine, I've had a terrific conversation here. I've learnt a lot more about you, and uh no doubt uh those listening are impressed with this because we do think of uh education as only schools, which it's not, and then we think of schools as the the educators and there is so much else going on and so much that happens behind the scenes to bring the culture and the you know healthy community together. So it's all credit to you and to your hundred members that keep these schools uh you know you you I'm sure you drive a drive a really hard um uh bargain when you're trying to work with a leader because uh without you they they wouldn't be where they are, I'm sure, no doubt.

SPEAKER_00 15:56

Yeah, thank you, Cheryl. Thank you for um today and the opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 16:00

My pleasure and uh have a great day, God bless, and enjoy your new role. I think it's Beacon Hill, is it?

SPEAKER_00 16:05

Yeah, Beacon Hills. I commence there next Wednesday. So very excited about um working in my third independent school.

SPEAKER_01 16:12

Well done. Thanks, and uh look forward to speaking to you again sometime. Thanks, Christine.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

Thanks, Cheryl, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 16:17

Pleasure. That was Christine Niven, a founder of EAs in Education, and what a unique concept that is. And again, just to appreciate the depth and importance of those that work in schools and support educational leaders, this time specifically in the independent education sector. So you're listening to the Cheryl Acey show where curiosity meets courage, and indeed that's a courageous lady starting off a new venture.