Effective vs Efficient: Which is Best?
Executive Assistants serve a niche role as the organizational expert—the trusted adviser who anticipates the needs of a busy executive and peers around the corner to prevent catastrophes before they happen. Executive Assistants must be laser-focused on details, yet possess an ability to zoom out and see the bigger picture, which helps keep the executive’s calendar aligned with priorities.
The truly invaluable assistant will thus be both effective and efficient:
Effective: Working on the “right” things that drive business forward
Efficient: Doing things quickly with fewer resources
You may be scratching your head thinking these are basically the same thing. But here in the 33V community, we would emphatically argue that while both are respectively important, they are actually quite different. And it is critical that Executive Assistants understand this.
This knowledge will ultimately bolster your role as an Executive Assistant and make you more effective—er, more efficient?
…So which is it? Let’s dig in and find out!
What does it mean to be effective?
Effectiveness is the sum of actions that help drive business forward toward organizational objectives, which in turn adds value. Effectiveness can be thought of as the subjective, bigger-picture measure of tracking progress. For instance, teams may readily identify whether they are on target to meet goals using the overall effectiveness of their current projects, initiatives, and performance as the general metric.
To that end, an effective Executive Assistant knows the strategic goals and aligns an executive’s priorities accordingly. The assistant understands the importance of each goal and proactively aligns and prioritizes tasks to further the team’s advancement.
Given time, each small task contributes to the overall success–or effectiveness–of the executive, their team, and the business’s strategic goals.
What does it mean to be efficient?
The pursuit of effectiveness can sometimes become convoluted by tired processes and rote, unnecessary tasks. Hence, to truly be effective, one must also be efficient: produce successful results using less time and resources. Teams can bolster productivity using efficiency as a tangible measure to reach goals more quickly.
The effective assistant takes the understanding of strategic goals and applies that as a framework for the executive’s tasks and meetings. But that process is further refined when the Executive Assistant also identifies unnecessary meetings or tasks that are a drain on the executive’s time and resources. Efficiency removes waste and helps ensure that an organization runs like a well-oiled machine.
Efficiency and Effectiveness: Is One More Important than the Other?
Now that we’ve unpacked effectiveness and efficiency respectively, which is more important? As you may have guessed, the answer is that it depends. There are four distinct scenarios that are useful when thinking about the necessity and impact of effectiveness and efficiency::
Efficient but not Effective
An executive overwhelmed with the number of meetings on their calendar whittles down in-person meetings with clients to mere 20-minute blocks. This may be more efficient, but the work suffers, becomes less effective and loses its customer-focused vision. Ultimately, the organization will lose sight of its goals.Effective but not Efficient
An effective team may produce the right results with limitless time, but the unnecessary processes embedded throughout their journey to an effective solution may be disrupting workflow or draining resources.
Additionally, this will impact the volume of work they can generate, which down the line can reduce their effectiveness overall.
Neither Efficient nor Effective
This scenario is probably more common than you think, as some workers or teams can get caught in what you might call “survival mode”: They’re just trying to produce to meet critical deadlines.The pressure to perform causes inefficiency and erodes the overall effectiveness of any outputs. In such scenarios, the Executive Assistant’s role becomes even more critical as they have the access and foresight to zoom out and pinpoint areas to help the organization get back on track.
Efficient and Effective
A team that operates efficiently works smarter, not harder—and pushes the needle closer to goals using fewer resources. If the organization is running efficiently, the overall product will deliver greater impact and prove to be effective.
The successful Executive Assistant helps the team run efficiently and enhances impact by bolstering effectiveness.
A Balance of Both is Best
As we have learned, what is most efficient is not always effective. And while teams can produce effective work, they may be doing so inefficiently and draining organizational resources, which in time will reduce effectiveness.
Singling out efficiency vs. effectiveness may at times be more important depending on the particular tasks or goals. But ultimately, a careful balance of both is best—and the truly effective Executive Assistant will understand the difference and decipher if and when circumstances may necessitate the pursuit of one over the other.
How to Become Effective AND Efficient: Bring on an Expert
Executive Assistants are truly the masters of putting things into perspective: They zoom out when necessary to align tasks with strategic goals (effectiveness). They also detect unnecessary processes to bolster the use of time and resources (efficiency).
Behind most great executives, you will find a powerhouse Executive Assistant with organizational acumen that helps increase both efficiency and effectiveness.
Contact us today to find your Executive Assistant!
33Vincent has many other resources to help you maximize your time and communication with your executive assistant.
