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Melba J. Duncan:
Articles & Press Coverage

Articles

Melba is an avid writer and has penned many articles based in her experience and knowledge of the world of specialized management and work assistance. Her work is accessible here:

Graphic of a road over orange background. The road is centered and reaching into the distance, where it turns into an arrow pointed up into light.

The Pathway to Chief of Staff

starts with linking the traditional knowledge of the EA role with new knowledge and skills

Graphic of seven 3D arrows apparently in motion from the bottom left of the screen into the top right toward a target. Each arrow is a different colour.

Invest In Your Potential:

Ensure the conferences in which you participate are champions of authenticity

Graphic of crisscrossing cartoon arms over a white background. One arm and sleeve is red, the other blue. They are shaking hands in the middle, and each have the silhouette of a person walking along the sleeve

A Road Map for the Future for Professional Assistants:

No one can do the work that is necessary to be done in your life but yourself

Graphic of two human heads facing one another. They are each silhouetted and have an abundance of blank chat messages and arrows both pointing toward one another. There are gears behind each, one orange and one blue

Executives: Here’s Why You Need to Pay Attention to This

Evaluating the role of the Executive Assistant

Photograph of Artwork: Xavier Veilhan, Man on the Phone, 2006, painted polyester resin, 27.25′ x 11′ x 7′, permanent installation, Cité Internationale, Lyon. The statue is bright orange against a brick building with many windows. People walking in the background do not reach to the statue's knee.

The Case for Executive Assistants

A good assistant is a crucial productivity booster for a busy executive—one that offers a solid ROI if they are deployed correctly.

Image of Melba speaking. She has her hands raised out to the sides and wears a dark patterned jacket. Behind her are vertical blinds across a large window. There is a table to her left.

An Urgent Message to Business Leaders: Achieving Workplace Equality

What are the fundamental attitudes and values that we must exemplify in our global workplace in order to acknowledge individual contribution, regardless of race or heritage?

Graphic of a circular flowchart titled "The Executive Assistant Continuous Roles of indispensability". It is made of black and blue text and blue curved arrows on a white background. Beginning in the top right, the sections read: "Technology Expert
Up-to-date on all software
Store, process, protect, and retrieve information". This points to: "Manager
No boundaries to common sense
Make no assumptions
Plan and direct day-to-day routines". This points to: "Communication Expert
Service-minded
Listen Well
Brevity
Persuasive and diplomatic skills". This points to: "Business Partner
Consistent flow of good ideas
Ability to work on a team
Matched work habits
Relationship-oriented partnering". This points to: "Support Specialist
Concentrate on execution and delivery
Provide a safety net, see the next step
Precision in details
Flawless execution". This points to: "Leader
Flexibility
focus
Set an example". This circles back, pointing to the "Technology Expert" section. In the bottom right corner, "Property of The Duncan Group Inc" is written in black.

Management, Leadership and Innovation: The Indispensable Role of Executive Support

Constancy, stability, and challenging learning curves have expanded the Executive support role to its present status

Graphic made of a variety of words both horizontal and vertical, in different colours over a dark blue background. "STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP" is the largest and centered, also shown is "innovation", "solution", "connection", "collaboration", "relationship", "strategy", "partner", "growth", "teamwork", "synergy", "business", "investment", and "cooperation".

Indispensability: The Start Point of the Effective Executive Life Manager

This career requires skillful imagination, precise execution, with equal parts of trust and timing, and a range of attributes, perspective, empathy and prior knowledge.

Melba J. Duncan addresses Executive and Executive Assistants at the 2016 Scottish PA Network Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. She speaks into microphones at a podium, and there is a blue projected background out of focus that has her name and picture. The front of the podium has a sign that reads "#ScotPA16".

A Letter to Result-Driven Executives and Executive Assistants: Recognizing and Awarding the Superior Executive Assistant

The role is no longer symbolic; there now is a concentration on the function and its correlation at the level of partnership.

A screenshot of Melba, smiling and facing the camera. She wears a black jacket patterned with dark flowers, and is sitting in a dark chair. In the background there is a colourful painting on a white wall, and a glass pitcher and cup can be seen on a table behind her.

The Essential Assistant

In this video, Melba unravels key concepts and ideas that reflect qualities of successful Executive Assistants.

Graphic of a road over orange background. The road is centered and reaching into the distance, where it turns into an arrow pointed up into light.

The Pathway to Chief of Staff

starts with linking the traditional knowledge of the EA role with new knowledge and skills

Graphic of seven 3D arrows apparently in motion from the bottom left of the screen into the top right toward a target. Each arrow is a different colour.

Invest In Your Potential:

Ensure the conferences in which you participate are champions of authenticity

Graphic of crisscrossing cartoon arms over a white background. One arm and sleeve is red, the other blue. They are shaking hands in the middle, and each have the silhouette of a person walking along the sleeve

A Road Map for the Future for Professional Assistants:

No one can do the work that is necessary to be done in your life but yourself

Graphic of two human heads facing one another. They are each silhouetted and have an abundance of blank chat messages and arrows both pointing toward one another. There are gears behind each, one orange and one blue

Executives: Here’s Why You Need to Pay Attention to This

Evaluating the role of the Executive Assistant

Photograph of Artwork: Xavier Veilhan, Man on the Phone, 2006, painted polyester resin, 27.25′ x 11′ x 7′, permanent installation, Cité Internationale, Lyon. The statue is bright orange against a brick building with many windows. People walking in the background do not reach to the statue's knee.

The Case for Executive Assistants

A good assistant is a crucial productivity booster for a busy executive—one that offers a solid ROI if they are deployed correctly.

Image of Melba speaking. She has her hands raised out to the sides and wears a dark patterned jacket. Behind her are vertical blinds across a large window. There is a table to her left.

An Urgent Message to Business Leaders: Achieving Workplace Equality

What are the fundamental attitudes and values that we must exemplify in our global workplace in order to acknowledge individual contribution, regardless of race or heritage?

Press Coverage

In addition to authoring articles herself, Melba has had press coverage by a variety of sources, including Harvard Business. These have been compiled below:

The Secret Weapon of Great Leaders

Video Interview: Melba Duncan, author of the HBR article The Case for Executive Assistants, explains why technology can’t replace personal support

Photo of two people climbing the side of a cliff. They are both harnessed and one is significantly smaller as they have climbed higher, the second is directly in the foreground of the image. The cliff takes up the left side of the picture, on the right side is a view of half sky and half mountainous forest below them.

What Executive Assistants Know About Managing Up

Article by Nicole Torres: I spoke with Melba Duncan to learn what it takes to be a successful executive assistant – and what other employees can learn from these masters of managing up.

Workplace 2.0 The Future is Now with guest Melba J. Duncan

Video Interview: Bonnie, Vickie, and Melba talk technology, salaries, skills, and much more

Melba Duncan – EA Advocate, Author, Speaker, CEO of The Duncan Group

Podcast Interview by Jeremy Burrows: One of the most life-changing articles I’ve ever read was Melba’s piece in a 2011 issue of Harvard Business Review called, The Case for Executive Assistants – which is still shared far and wide by EAs all over the world.

Melba J. Duncan Named a Worldwide Who's Who Executive of the Year for Excellence in Retained Search and Consulting

Article by Ellen Campbell: Ms. Duncan brings extensive experience in human resources to her training and placement institute

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