This episode is full of valuable insight from my wonderful guest and new friend, Jess Lindgren, who has over 15 years of experience as an executive assistant – including running her own freelance EA firm for years. Jess is Founder of the Ask an Assistant podcast and Executive Assistant to Pat Flynn – best-selling author and host of The Smart Passive Income Podcast, which [...]
Melba Duncan has trained assistants since before I was an EA, so I am very grateful for the opportunity to interview her on the podcast. 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 [...]
I had the pleasure of chatting with Gina Cotner, who has a team of top notch Virtual Executive Assistants at her company, Athena Executive Services. We talked about the differences between a virtual and on-site assistant, how to get clients if you're a VA, and how to set yourself apart as a high-performing EA. If you're a VA, or are considering becoming one, this [...]
In my decade plus of experience as an executive assistant, I’ve come up with several tricks to a good system for setting up meetings that help me be efficient, helpful to others, and ultimately take control of my executive's calendar. In this episode, I take a break from interviews (don't worry, the next few episodes are some great interviews with great people!) to share [...]
When I first shared the idea to start a coaching business for assistants with my friend John Ruhlin (Author of the book Giftology) he said, "Have you heard of Bonnie Low-Kramen?" I had not, so I looked her up and was so encouraged that I wasn't the only one who had the idea to help assistants be leaders! Since that day in 2016, I've [...]
This episode of The Leader Assistant Podcast features Nick Ginsburg, who is Executive Assistant to the Provost and Senior VP at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. I've never met Nick before (he's in Australia, I'm in Missouri), but he took a risk and "raised his hand" to be a guest on the podcast. Because we are both EAs, it felt like we'd known each [...]
As Chief of Staff, Hallie Warner works closely with the executive team to manage special projects, hire and grow talent, and maximize her executive's reach through events and strategic communication. In this episode of The Leader Assistant Podcast, Hallie and I talk about the differences between an Executive Assistant and a Chief of Staff, managing interruptions, writing a book, working too much, and what [...]
I had the honor of speaking with Monique Helstrom about what it means to lead as an assistant, what executives should look for in assistants, how the EA role provides so many unique opportunities to learn, and that time she got a voicemail from Will Smith. :-) Monique served as Executive Assistant to Simon Sinek – New York Times Best-Selling author and TED celebrity. [...]
What would life be like if you were assistant to the former President of the United States? I had the pleasure of speaking with Peggy Grande, former Executive Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, and author of The President Will See You Now. Tune in to hear Peggy talk about what it was like being an assistant to such a well-known world leader, and how [...]
Most of my guests on The Leader Assistant Podcast are assistants or former assistants, so I’m excited to hear a different perspective on the show. In this episode, I chat with my wife Meghan's long-time friend, and former Purdue pole vault teammate, J Ballentine. J was in corporate America for 11 years, then left to start her own business. We talk about hiring assistants, [...]