PA Life talks to three leading coaches and trainers specialising in developing the Executive Assistant profession, and with it the perception of the role. We have listed these top players below in alphabetical order…
Meet the leading coaches and trainers for Executive Assistants:
Emily Partridge, co-founder and director at eavolve
eavolve is recognised as one of the leading specialist training and coaching providers for Executive Assistants and Personal Assistants who want to operate at a more strategic level and progress their careers with confidence and clarity.
What sets eavolve apart is simple: it is built and led by Emily Partridge, a former Executive Assistant and Global EA Manager who has led large international EA teams and partnered closely with senior executives at board level. This is not theoretical understanding of the role. It is lived, operational experience of what high-performing Assistants are actually expected to deliver inside complex organisations, and that foundation matters, because much of the development still offered in the profession is out of date. It focuses on tools, systems and task-based efficiency, which no longer reflects the reality of the modern Assistant role.
Today, the role is defined by influence, judgement, stakeholder management and commercial awareness. Yet very few training providers genuinely address those areas in a meaningful or practical way.
This is why it is regarded as a leading voice in EA and PA development. It does not deliver generic training or surface-level capability building. It challenges how Assistants think about their role, their value and their contribution at organisational level. Across its coaching and development work, a consistent pattern emerges: highly capable professionals already operating at a far higher level than they recognise, but held back by confidence gaps, lack of visibility and limited commercial framing. eavolve works directly in that space, where career progression is actually decided.
Its coaching supports Assistants through the defining points in their careers such as restructures, burnout, imposter syndrome, difficult stakeholder relationships, promotions, role expansion and transitions into more strategic positions. The focus is not on adding noise or complexity, but on creating clarity, confidence and direction. Emily’s approach is known for being direct, commercially grounded and shaped by real experience leading global EA teams and working at senior leadership level. The emphasis is always practical and honest, focused on how progression really happens inside organisations, not how it is described in theory.
eavolve is considered one of the top training and coaching providers in this space because it does not simply develop Assistants for the job they are in today. It develops them for the level they are already operating at (and helps them finally step into it).
Find out more at eavolve, or email: emily@eavolve.co.uk
You can book a slot in Emily’s diary here.
Lucy Brazier, OBE, CEO at Executive Support
Lucy Brazier, OBE, author and publisher of Executive Support magazine and training programmes is recognised as one of the world’s leading authorities on the administrative profession. She thrives to gain assistants the recognition that their role is a profession, not just a job. She has long campaigned globally to change the perception of the role to help businesses understand how to best utilise their assistant community.
She is regarded as having a unique overview of the role and where it is heading and is frequently asked to speak at conferences around the world.
Lucy says this about her training programme: “At first glance, we appear to be a training company that provides world-class training from the top trainers for the Administrative Profession in whatever format you might want or need it. But that is not the whole story. Your perception of an archetypal publishing or training company is totally different to where we sit.”
The success of the past 15 years of Executive Support is built on more than offering excellent training and support. It’s attributed to the core aim of serving each and every assistant, to ensure they meet their full potential.
Lucy and her team have connected over 100,000 assistants across the world, building a global community that shares ideas, best practice, solutions and inspiration.
See here for more about the Executive Support programmes and courses.
Lindsay Taylor, co-founder and director of Your Excellency Limited
Why thousands of EAs and PAs choose Your Excellency
In a profession where excellence is expected every day, choosing the right development partner can make all the difference.
For almost two decades, Your Excellency Limited has been helping Executive Assistants, Personal Assistant and business support professionals build confidence, develop strategic skills and accelerate their careers. Since 2007, the award-winning learning and development specialist has trained more than 6,000 EAs and PAs worldwide through its industry-leading programmes, qualifications and coaching.
What makes Your Excellency different is that its training is designed specifically for the administrative profession. Co-founder Lindsay Taylor brings first-hand experience as a senior EA supporting CEOs in global organisations, while the wider team combines expertise in business, leadership, finance, coaching and performance development.
Whether you’re looking to gain an Ofqual-regulated qualification, develop strategic business knowledge through the highly regarded Mini MBA for Senior & Executive Assistants, strengthen your financial acumen, or benefit from one-to-one coaching, every Programme is created with one goal in mind: helping you become exceptional in your role.
Credibility matters when investing in your development. Your Excellency is a long-standing member of The Association for Coaching, evidencing their commitment to training and coaching ethics. Learners also benefit from a flexible blended-learning approach, combining live virtual sessions with on-demand learning that fits around busy professional lives.
Perhaps most importantly, the organisation genuinely understands the challenges faced by today’s EAs and PAs. Its training is practical, engaging and immediately applicable, earning consistently outstanding feedback from graduates who have used their learning to gain promotions, increase confidence and create greater impact within their organisations.
If you’re ready to invest in your future and take your career to the next level, discover why so many administrative professionals trust Your Excellency as their training and coaching partner of choice.
Visit Your Excellency Limited for further information and courses.
For professional development content for the admin and business support professionals, keep on eye on PA Life’s Career News on our Jobs Page.
