The Value of Having the Right People Around You

I’m writing this from Corfu, where I’m taking a little time off and, as tends to happen when you finally slow down, I’ve found myself thinking about work 🙂

I came across an article in The New York Times this week by psychologist Angela Duckworth, about what she calls the “illusion of self-sufficiency”  – the idea that we can underestimate just how much we rely on other people to succeed.

It really resonated with me. Perhaps because I’ve spent most of my career working with EAs, PAs, Chiefs of Staff and other business support professionals, I see this all the time.

We talk a lot about successful founders and CEOs. We celebrate their ambition, their drive, their resilience and their ability to make decisions and keep things moving – and quite rightly. But we don’t always talk about the people around them who make that possible.

One of the things I love about recruitment is getting to know the person behind the job title. And over the years, I’ve met some incredibly impressive support professionals.

The really exceptional ones aren’t simply good at organising a diary or booking a complicated trip. They just get it.

They know what their boss needs before they’ve asked. They know what can wait and what can’t. They can walk into a chaotic situation and somehow make it feel manageable. They know when to take something off someone’s plate and when to say, “Actually, I think you should think about this.”

Often, their biggest contribution is something you don’t see at all.

A problem that never reaches the CEO because their EA dealt with it, a meeting that runs smoothly because someone thought through every detail beforehand. A founder who has the headspace to focus on growing their business because somebody else is keeping everything else moving.

That, to me, is what great support looks like.

The NYT article made another point: asking for help isn’t necessarily a sign that you can’t cope. It can actually be a skill. I think that’s true.

Knowing when you need help, being comfortable asking for it and importantly, knowing who to ask can be a real strength.

The people who really struggle are sometimes the ones who insist on doing everything themselves. (I often still need reminding of this!)

The irony is that the more successful you become, the less sensible it is to try to do everything yourself. Your time becomes more valuable, your attention becomes more valuable and having the right people around you becomes even more important.

And this is where I think the role of an exceptional EA, PA or Chief of Staff can be so underestimated. The right person isn’t simply there to make life easier.

They can challenge you and can spot things you’ve missed. They can bring a different perspective. They can take ownership. They can know when to step in and, just as importantly, when to leave you to get on with something.

There is a lovely example in the article of Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, who talks about his assistant Grete Starheim and the importance of trusting her to speak on his behalf and to tell him when she thinks he is wrong.

That really struck me – because that’s the difference between having an assistant and having exceptional support.

It’s not just about getting things done; it’s about having someone you trust enough to make you better.

Nobody really gets anywhere entirely on their own – and sometimes the person making the biggest difference isn’t the one in the spotlight. They’re the one sitting quietly beside it, making sure everything works.

It’s something we see at Biscuit every day, and probably one of the reasons I still love what we do after all these years 💛

Great support doesn’t just take things off someone’s plate; it gives them the space to do what they do best.

Inspired by Angela Duckworth’s recent article in The New York Times, “I Study Successful People. They Have One Habit in Common.”

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Written by Frances