行政助理 辦公室最有影響力的人

If D'Andra Galarza were to come face to face with death, she knows whose life would flash before her eyes: the life of her boss, a president at NBCUniversal Inc.
即便是走到了生命的盡頭，蒂安德拉?加拉爾薩(D'Andra Galarza)也知道她在彌留之際肯定忘不了她的上司：NBC環球(NBCUniversal Inc.)的一位總裁。

After 10 years as Edward Swindler's executive assistant, waking up at 4 a.m. to ensure he makes an early morning flight and keeping the office stocked with his favorite snacks -- oyster crackers, peppermint Life Savers and Honey Nut Cheerios -- Ms. Galarza says she's under no illusions about whose needs come first.
加拉爾薩在愛德華?斯溫德勒(Edward Swindler)手下當了十年的行政助理，她常常早上4點起牀以確保老闆能趕上早班的飛機，並在辦公桌裏塞滿他愛吃的零食——牡蠣蘇打餅、薄荷味的Life Savers硬糖、還有蜂蜜燕麥圈——加拉爾薩說，她極其明確上司的需求應置於首位。

'You work very, very hard . . . so that they can shine and they can do their best, ' she says. 'You're kind of the stage mom.'
她說：你就像是童星們的那些經紀人老媽一樣，非常賣命地幹活來保證你的上司能順利工作，表現出色。

The schedulers, gatekeepers and caretakers of the corporate world are rarely seen, but they have a profound effect on the daily lives of the executives they serve. They do everything from booking business trips, ordering anniversary gifts and arranging pet care to attending high-level meetings and deciding who can and can't meet with their boss. The work can be thankless and often comes at a cost to their own personal lives, but these workers wield subtle influence at a company's highest levels -- and no small amount of power.
儘管這些在大公司裏專門負責制定日程、看管事務和照顧起居的員工很少出現在臺前，但是他們的存在對公司高管們的生活卻有着深遠的意義。從訂購商務機票、購買週年紀念禮物、照顧寵物，到參與高層會議以及決定誰能/不能會見他們的上司，這些人事無鉅細無不負責。這種活往往吃力不討好，還常以犧牲業餘生活爲代價，但這些人對公司的最高層發揮着微妙而不可小覷的作用。

The career path can be uncertain, however, and assistants' fortunes often hinge on their boss's trajectory. If the boss is fired, the assistant can end up in limbo or working for a less senior professional. Yet as automation claims many administrative jobs, the assistants are prized for their business savvy and treated as the boss's not-quite-equal partner.
但這些助理們的職業道路並不明晰，而且他們的未來與上司的未來通常聯繫在一起。如果上司被開除，助理要麼一同走人，要麼轉而爲一個更低層的職員工作。然而，儘管辦公自動化包攬下許多的行政工作，助理們仍憑藉他們出色的業務能力而存在於職場中，並被上司視爲非平起平坐的事業夥伴來對待。

Now, a new networking group aims to emphasize the 'executive' in executive assistant, pampering and pumping up these right-hand workers with nightclub parties, spa sessions and Behind Every Leader, a conference series that is coming next month to Newark, N.J. Among the scheduled sessions: 'Yoga & Meditation for the Executive Assistant' and a boss's recounting of how his EA saved the company after Hurricane Sandy.
現在一個新的社交團體正力圖爲行政助理博得更多的重視，該組織帶領這些上司的得力助手們舉辦夜店派對，一起做SPA療養，並舉行“每個領導的背後”(Behind Every Leader)的系列會議（下個月將在新澤西州紐瓦克舉行）。會議內容包括組織行政助理們一起練習瑜伽做冥想，以及請一位老闆講述他的助理在颶風桑迪(Sandy)席捲之後拯救公司於危難的故事。

Victoria Rabin, the 28-year-old founder of the Executive Assistants Organization and a former assistant at a London hedge fund, says the job deserves some cachet because assisting is an 'incredible career' that only a 'certain breed' can do.
28歲的維多利亞?雷賓(Victoria Rabin)是行政助理組織(Executive Assistants Organization, 簡稱EAO)的創始人，她也曾在倫敦的一家對衝基金公司擔任助理，她說幹那份活應該得到特別的褒獎，因爲助理是一份常人無法勝任的工作，其艱苦難以想像。

Founded in 2012, the San Francisco-based networking group has some 1, 000 members, the majority of whom pay $500 to $1, 500 a year in dues to gain access to events and online webinars, and, for the highest-paying, a personal mentor.
該團體於2012年在舊金山成立，團體內約1,000名成員中，大多數每年會支付500美元到1500美元來參與活動和在線研討會，以及聘請一位個人導師，導師費用最高。

Assistants need to bond with one another, Ms. Rabin says, because few others can understand the demands of the job, from tracking down car services in a far-flung city to dealing with a boss's infidelity. Groups such as the 71-year-old International Association of Administrative Professionals have long offered assistants educational and networking opportunities, but several executive assistants say the EAO, whose current members are all female, feels 'sexier' and fresher.
雷賓認爲，行政助理之間應當多交流下感情，因爲少有他人能體會到這份工作的艱辛：一會兒要在一個千里之外的城市租到車，一會兒又要想辦法幫老闆處理婚外情。類似已有71年的國際行政專業協會(International Association of Administrative Professionals)這樣的組織，長期以來一直幫助行政助理尋求教育和交流機會，但一些行政助理更偏愛行政助理組織的氛圍，覺得這個目前全部由女性組成的團體更新鮮，更“令人興奮”。

Anikka Fragodt is considered a celebrity in the realm of executive assistants. Until last March, she was Mark Zuckerberg's right-hand woman. For more than seven years, she planned everything from a toga party for 350 people with 48 hours' notice to Mr. Zuckerberg's secret wedding to Priscilla Chan in 2012. (Only four people knew about it in advance, she says, and the fourth was Ms. Chan's assistant.)
安尼卡?弗拉戈特(Anikka Fragodt)被視作行政助理界的明星。直到今年3月份，她還是馬克?扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)的得力女助手。無論是在48小時內準備好350人的古羅馬長袍派對，還是扎克伯格與普莉希拉?陳(Priscilla Chan)在2012年舉行的祕密婚禮，七年多來，一切都由她來安排。（她說，只有四個人預先知道了這場婚禮，而第四個人是陳的助理。）

Ms. Fragodt describes herself as Mr. Zuckerberg's partner in business as well, helping him prepare for meetings and debriefing other staff members to ensure they understood his wishes. She also adopted her boss's signature hooded sweatshirts and says she could anticipate his needs at a glance.
弗拉戈特也將自己視作扎克伯格的生意夥伴，例如輔佐他爲會議做好準備工作，並聽取其他職員的彙報以確保他們正確理解扎克伯格的意思。她還有一件她老闆簽名圖案的帽衫，並稱自己對他的需要了如指掌。

'It's not like the old days of 'Mad Men, ' where the secretary wears the cute skirt, makes the coffee and does what she's supposed to do, ' says Ms. Fragodt. 'She goes to the meetings and represents the executive, and the partnership is stronger.'
弗拉戈特說，我的工作並不像電視劇《廣告狂人》(Mad Men)裏的祕書那樣，穿着好看的裙子煮咖啡，只做祕書份內的活兒。我會代表高層出席會議，並且我們有着更強的夥伴關係。Adds Mr. Zuckerberg in an email: 'Anikka joined Facebook early on, when we had less than 100 employees, and were basically working out what kind of company we wanted to be. Anikka helped me become a better CEO.'
扎克伯格還在一封郵件中補充道：安尼卡在Facebook還不到100名員工的時候就進入了公司，並一直輔佐Facebook朝着正確的方向運行。她讓我的CEO工作做得更好。

By her final year at Facebook, Ms. Fragodt, 44 years old, was being paid $135, 000 plus a 30% bonus, as well as stock awards that left her 'taken good care of.' She has spent the past few months volunteering, working part-time and thinking about her next career move.
如今44歲的弗拉戈特在Facebook的最後一年收入135,000美元加30%的獎金，並得到了一份足以讓她“繼續過好日子”的股票獎勵。在過去的幾個月裏，她一直忙於志願者和兼職工作，並思考下一步的職業走向。

Ms. Fragodt, who will speak at the Behind Every Leader conference in Newark, advises today's executive assistants to be visible, no matter how strange it feels.
弗拉戈特將在紐瓦克的“每個領導的背後”會議中發表講話，她建議如今的行政助理們丟掉顧慮，努力讓自己得到重視。

Melba Duncan, president of the Duncan Group, a search and training firm, recruits high-level executive assistants for salaries ranging from $75, 000 to $175, 000. Bosses want assistants who are knowledgeable about global affairs and economic trends and can help guide big decisions, she says. That means many candidates have graduate degrees, such as an M.B.A. or law degree.
從事獵頭及培訓的鄧肯集團(Duncan Group)總裁梅爾巴?鄧肯(Melba Duncan)對高級行政助理的開價在75,000美元到175,000美元之間。她說，上司們希望手下的助理熟悉全球事件和經濟形勢，能夠幫助制定重大決策。這就需要競職人選具有類似MBA或法學的研究生學歷。

The best executive assistants immerse themselves in the businesses they work for, adds Ms. Duncan, who worked as an executive assistant for Peter Peterson at Lehman Brothers for 10 years in the 1970s and 1980s. If Mr. Peterson arrived in the morning with a book, she would purchase a copy by that evening, she says. 'Not that I would discuss it with him.'
鄧肯補充道，出色的行政助理應當傾注於所從事的業務，她本人曾在上世紀70、80年代之間爲雷曼兄弟公司(Lehman Brothers, Inc.)的彼得?彼得森(Peter Peterson)擔任了10年的助理。如果彼得森早上拿着本書走進辦公室，當天晚上她就會給自己也買一本，她說，這倒不是爲了跟他討論這本書的內容。

Meanwhile, the executives who share everything from email accounts to bank-account data to home-security codes with their assistants say the partnership works best when there's trust and constant communication.
而在那些把電郵、銀行帳戶甚至自家安保密碼都告訴助理的高管們看來，只有相互的信任和不斷的溝通，這種夥伴關係才能高效運轉。

Harry Kraemer, a former CEO of Baxter International Inc. and now a professor at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, says his assistant of 12 years kept him informed about what was happening at the healthcare company and encouraged him to communicate more with employees, pushing him to write all-company emails, share stories about his personal life and dress up as Santa around the holidays.
百特(Baxter International Inc.)前CEO哈里?克雷默(Harry Kraemer)如今是西北大學凱洛格管理學院(Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management)的教授。他說，他的助理12年來一直會把公司裏發生的事情告訴他，鼓勵他多與員工進行交流，於是，克雷默開始給全公司發郵件，跟員工分享自己的生活故事，並在聖誕節穿上聖誕老人的衣服參加大家的聚會。

John Manuck, the chief executive of Techmer PM LLC, a manufacturing concern, says he leans on his assistant, Nicole Brannick, to tell him who he needs to speak with urgently and who can wait. Ms. Brannick is among the first to know when the company makes an acquisition, and she kept Mr. Manuck's cats company when he had to travel for work.
約翰?馬納克(John Manuck)是美國Techmer PM製造公司的首席執行長，他說，在應當與誰儘快會面，而誰可推後這個問題上，他全然依賴助理妮科爾?布蘭尼克(Nicole Brannick)來做決定。布蘭尼克即會第一時間瞭解到類似收購這樣的重要信息，也會在馬納克出差時幫他做照顧貓一類的家事。

Assistants gain status from their boss's high profile. NBC's Ms. Galarza says another executive once tried to wheedle information from her about a private meeting her boss was attending. 'People know I know everything, ' she says.
助理會因老闆高高在上的地位而得到不少的尊重。NBC的加拉爾薩說，曾經有個高管想向她打聽她上司參加的一個祕密會議，她說：大家都知道我無所不知。

'It's sort of like EA code, ' she adds. 'Everybody treats me with kid gloves. If I was working for a VP, it would not be that way.'
她補充道，這就好像助理行業的一個潛規則，大家都因爲我的老闆而額外地敬重我。而如果我的上司只是一個副總裁，就不會是這樣了。