In this episode, I chat with Danielle Hill, former EA to the CEO of e.l.f. Beauty, as well as former EA to one of the co-founders of Pandora. Danielle and I talk about getting your seat at the table, handling conflict in the workplace, what executives can do to get more out of their assistants, and the importance of being proactive. Danielle also shares [...]
I remember the moment my former executive was fired. I had been his executive assistant for 6 years and had been at the organization (that he founded) for 12 years. I went from thinking I was going to be at that organization for 12 more years, to all of the sudden wondering where I would be in 12 days. I was a bit shaken [...]
Calling something an “emergency” doesn’t make it a true emergency. Most things can wait. Urgent is rarely urgent. Think about the last time you received a text or phone call from your executive during your off hours. Could it have waited until you were back online to address? Most likely, the answer is yes. This episode is a reminder that urgent is rarely urgent. [...]
I love the internet. I've met so many people online I would have never met otherwise, including today's guest, Annie Croner. This episode was fun because I had already been interviewed by Annie for her website, so it was nice to return the favor and be the one asking the questions this time around. Annie founded Whole Assistant to empower and encourage assistants and [...]
There are dozens of blogs and resources for assistants today, but not many have been around as long as Practically Perfect PA, and even fewer publish content on a consistent basis. In this episode, you get the honor of hearing from Nicky Christmas – the woman behind the Practically Perfect PA movement. We talk about side hustles, productivity for assistants, the nuances between a [...]
How can assistants help build a healthy culture in the workplace? We can start by owning our mistakes. Admitting you’re wrong is not easy, but it is a necessary skill to master if you want to be an impactful leader who builds a healthy culture in your workplace. I learned this valuable lesson about company culture while pushing carts at Walmart in high school, [...]
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 [...]