What Did 15 Years Working with Silicon Valley Elite Teach Ann Hiatt?

In a captivating keynote at the 2024 Administrative Professionals Conference, Ann Hiatt shared invaluable insights on building a successful career as a leader, even in support roles. As an experienced executive assistant who has worked with tech titans like Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt, Hiatt offered a unique perspective, emphasizing, "You are the true leaders in your organization, and I am here to help shore you up with a couple of things that I've learned along the way."

Overcoming Obstacles and Embracing Mistakes

Hiatt's own experiences at Amazon during its founding years highlight the importance of having a learning mindset. Rather than being paralyzed by her young age and lack of experience as a 21-year-old when she first began her career, Hiatt treated her job as a learning opportunity, diligently studying the industry and anticipating her executive's needs. Calling herself a "deer in headlights," Hiatt refused to give into intimidation and instead wrote down all the acronyms she didn't understand, the names she had never heard of, and the articles and books her colleagues continuously referenced so that she could anticipate what Jeff would need from her as his executive business partner.

However, Hiatt would continue to be challenged. Shortly into her role, she was faced with a harrowing helicopter crash in which Jeff was thought to be injured or dead. Yet, as a testament to overcoming obstacles, Hiatt pushed herself to remain calm and take decisive action during the incident, ultimately earning the trust and respect of her boss. As Hiatt reflected, "That broke me out of my nature. My nature was small and timid and perfectionist in mind, and I was really worried of being discovered for all the things I didn't understand. And this broke me out — that fear had been removed." 

The Key Skills of the Future

To highlight the necessity of administrative positions when it comes to the daily operations of companies, Hiatt referenced the 2023 World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs report. Inside, analytical thinking, creative problem-solving, resilience, and technology literacy are all listed as the most in-demand skills necessary to thrive within the job market. Luckily, almost all admins possess these; or, if not, can learn to adopt them. As Hiatt noted, "If you see something on this list that isn't currently within the way you're utilized within your organization... this is the skill you can work on so they can see how indispensable you're going to be."

Aligning Personal Passions and Professional Goals

Using the concept of "ikigai," Hiatt highlighted the importance of finding balance between what you love, what the world needs, what you can be paid for, and what you're good at. By mapping out your individual goals, Hiatt advised, "It's not just all about the skills and the hard work, but it's really about finding passion."

The Win-Win-Win Model and Dual Growth Mindset

When speaking about her experience at Google as a product team member under Marissa Mayer, Hiatt recounted her first performance evaluation where she initially felt confident about her accomplishments, only to be met with unexpected feedback. Told that she wasn't setting ambitious enough goals, Hiatt was encouraged by Mayer to expand her network and take on new challenges. In doing so, Hiatt was able to redefine her role and become an indispensable partner to the team, eventually growing into the Chief of Staff role for CEO Eric Schmidt. This "Win-Win-Win" approach, where personal goals, organizational needs, and mutual growth are aligned, became the foundation for Hiatt's success at Google and beyond.

In advising the APC crowd to do the same, she introduced the "Golden Ratio" of 70-20-10, where 70% of your focus is on core skills (the skills and expertise that are central to your current role and responsibilities), 20% is on adjacent skills (skills that are related or complementary to your core role, allowing you to take on more responsibilities), and 10% is on transformational skills (skills that are completely new and outside your current expertise, allowing you to innovate and take on more ambitious challenges). As Hiatt emphasized, if you devote just 10% of your daily work efforts to transformational skills that push you beyond your current capabilities, you will be continuously challenging yourself and preventing complacency and stagnancy.

Building a Support Structure for Career Growth

To finish out her session, Hiatt emphasized the importance of having a strong support system and discussed the value of mentors, sponsors, role models, and stakeholders. By communicating with your manager/partner/executive and aligning your personal and professional goals, Hiatt advised, "You can create a foundation for long-term success." 

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