Ron Ashkenas Contributor

In many large organizations, executive assistants, chiefs of staff, schedulers, and advisors surround senior people; and that’s in addition to direct reports who handle particular subject or functional areas. The purpose of this entourage is to leverage the senior executive’s limited time — to sort through the myriad of issues and requests, establish priorities, filter out low-value activities, and keep the executive focused on where she or he can make the most difference.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ronashkenas/2014/05/06/how-to-break-through-executive-isolation/?ss=ceo-network