Interview with Diana Brandl

Senior Executive Assistant at Top Management Levels

A sought-after Office Expert, Speaker, and Interview Partner

Introducing Our Expert

Diana Brandl has nearly 20 years of successful experience as a Senior Executive Assistant at top management levels, having worked for companies such as ratiopharm, Sony, Mister Spex, and Babbel. She is deeply involved in promoting the role of Executive Support Professionals and has held positions on the board and as a regional leader for IMA (International Management Assistants) Germany.

As a freelance author for various publishers and professional magazines, she conducts seminars and workshops and speaks at both national and international conferences. Her main topics include New Work, Personal Branding, Digitalization, and Leadership.

As a sought-after office expert, speaker, and interview partner, she frequently travels both domestically and internationally. Her first book project, Chefsache Assistenz, was published in October 2018 by Springer Gabler. In 2020, she released her second book Die Assistenz in der digitalen Transformation and the dossier Future Skills. Additionally, in early 2020, she launched the world's first German podcast for the Executive Support Professionals career, The Future Assistant, where she interviews former assistants and Chiefs of Staff to Barack Obama, Princess Diana, Oprah, and Jeff Bezos, among others.

She has been nominated for the Digital Female Leader Award and named Woman of the Week by Global Digital Women. She works with companies around the globe, lectures on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce (IHK), teaches for the House of Commons, and is a LinkedIn Learning Instructor.

Changing Assistant Roles: New Skills and Roles

Dear Diana, thank you for taking the time to talk to us today about the role of Executive Support Professionals, such as assistants. To start, here's a frequently asked question: How has the job changed over the last 20 years?

It’s interesting that you ask about the last 20 years—I’ve recently been reflecting on the fact that I had 20 years of experience as an Executive Support Professional before becoming self-employed. Let me take you back to the time of my training.

Back then, I still learned shorthand. Although we no longer used typewriters, I had to be proficient in shorthand for both English and French. Looking back at how my boss and I organized ourselves, I realize how grateful I would have been to have some of the tools available today. Our work was so paper-heavy that assistants couldn’t be the trend scouts they can be today. From exploring exciting tools, efficiency management, and future skills to further developing into an agile work assistant, today’s assistants can take a lot of ownership and responsibility.

How can ownership be concretely exercised by Executive Support Professionals?

The evolution of Executive Support Professionals from generalists to specialists can take many forms. I often see the role of culture manager and feel-good manager. While leadership often provides structure, assistants and Chiefs of Staff can have a huge internal impact by covering the cultural side. This can take shape in mediation or conflict management.

There’s also room to take ownership in process optimization, particularly in meeting and session organization. Since meetings are the largest time blocks in calendars, Executive Support Professionals can have a tremendous impact here. This ranges from solid preparation to moderating the meeting and preparing the content. In our highly digital world, more and more assistants and Chiefs of Staff are stepping into these areas, moving from the second row to the first. I find this particularly exciting because it increases visibility for the assistant's brand.

You once said the role is shifting “from managing to shaping.” How much initiative is required?

We encounter a variety of personalities in this field. With the changes in AI and automation, we see an accelerated self-sufficiency among executives. The new generation of leaders is much more independent—they master the relevant systems and tools. Some assistants are meeting this shift with the necessary foresight, understanding that many traditional tasks will fall away in the coming years. For this reason, some assistants are transitioning into strategic business partner roles, where they contribute to and help shape strategic decisions.

What skills have become more important?

There’s currently a strong focus on hard skills. You need to master various apps and software, know the right prompts for AI programs, and have solid digital competence. Executive Support Professionals are very proactive in these areas. In the AI Index Report, assistants were listed among the professions already deeply engaged with AI. I find that encouraging because it highlights the importance of lifelong learning in this role. It’s also a reminder of the soft skills that remain essential in this profession. Diplomacy, emotional intelligence, and creative instincts are areas where humans will still outperform AI. That’s why I believe AI and our new technologies will become the assistant’s assistant. You can prepare yourself for this—and many already are.

The Changing Executive Support Role: What’s Behind It?

How fast is this process moving?

The assistant sector has been slow to adopt digitalization. Some still don’t see the urgency and are very focused on their bosses. The mentality is, "If my boss doesn’t use it, I don’t need it." In these cases, I try to shake things up a bit. How do you know your boss will still be by your side in 10 months?

With the pace at which the work environment is evolving, it’s essential to adapt and further digitize the workplace. This is crucial for attracting new talent. Generation Z wants to work with tools, they want to work digitally, and they’re not alone in that. Digitalization is also key to retaining existing talent. Unfortunately, this realization is often dependent on individuals.

Do you see structural reasons for this?

If we’re honest, many companies only woke up to this during the pandemic. It acted as a catalyst for digitalization, and in some cases, companies didn’t even have the necessary hardware to allow their Executive Support Professionals to work from home. Fortunately, much has changed, and structural conditions are now aligned with advancing digitalization.

I compare it to a fast-moving train. We all choose whether to get on or not, and I think it’s dangerous to stand still. There are big opportunities on this train to drive exciting projects, act with vision and agility, and strengthen and future-proof your role as an assistant or Chief of Staff.

Modern Meeting Organization

How do you see the opportunities for modern meeting organization?

In many companies, meeting organization is still very paper-heavy. There are often no clear processes and roles, which is especially challenging in hybrid settings. Agendas and formats are often not well thought out, there’s no co-moderator for the chat in hybrid meetings, and not all agenda items get covered. In such cases, efficiency is lost because people think they can handle it all alone.

In your opinion, how efficient are meetings today?

I’m a big fan of reducing meeting times. Instead of 60 minutes, meetings are now often 45 or 50, which already has an effect.

However, communication and organization still often fail in advance. For instance, where the agenda and minutes are stored isn’t always well thought out. Sometimes the agenda is in SharePoint, sometimes in OneDrive, sometimes saved locally and sent via email. I recently heard of someone writing narrative minutes, which I could hardly believe. The potential for efficiency is often untapped, and there are many possibilities with coaching, tools, and automation.

What’s particularly important to you on this topic?

The principle of “from manager to shaper” is especially important to me. Executive Support Professionals can and should take their roles into their own hands by continuously asking: Where can I streamline processes? When am I a consultant? When do I give feedback? Where do I pitch topics? We can be a bit bolder and more specific, bring more statistics and numbers to the table, and draw attention to our issues.