Amber Youngren is the executive assistant and office manager lead at Forged Fiber 37. In this episode of The Leader Assistant Podcast, Amber discusses the evolving role of the Executive Assistant. She shares how EAs can become strategic leaders by developing skills for operations and Chief of Staff roles, building deep trust, managing up, and acting as the organization’s ultimate connector to translate observations into actionable insight and bring alignment across teams.
LEADERSHIP QUOTE
The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.
– Peter Drucker
CONNECT WITH AMBER
ABOUT AMBER
Amber Youngren is executive assistant and office manager lead at Forged Fiber 37. She began her career in hospice nursing and brings over 20 years of experience in healthcare, most recently in administration for ambulatory care and pediatric surgery. Amber has more than 25 years of expertise supporting CEOs and senior executives across healthcare and technology sectors, driving strategic initiatives and operational excellence. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and is dedicated to fostering executive alignment and producing exceptional outcomes across the organization.
–––
THE LEADER ASSISTANT ACADEMY
Enroll in the on-demand, AI-powered professional development resource for Leader Assistants who want to level up. Learn more -> The Leader Assistant Academy.
THE LEADER ASSISTANT BOOK
Download the first 3 chapters of The Leader Assistant: Four Pillars of Game-Changing Assistant for FREE here or buy it on Amazon and listen to the audiobook on Audible. Also, check out the companion study guide, The Leader Assistant Workbook, to dig deeper.
JOIN THE FREE COMMUNITY
Join the Leader Assistant Global Community for bonus content, job opportunities, and to network with other assistants who are committed to becoming leaders!
THE LEADER ASSISTANT PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP
To learn more about how you can join growth-minded Leader Assistants, check out our Leader Assistant Premium Membership for ongoing training, coaching, and community.
LEADER ASSISTANT LIVE EVENTS
Check out our constantly updated schedule of events for admins and assistants at LeaderAssistantLive.com.
SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe to The Leader Assistant Podcast so you don’t miss new episodes!
You can find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, and Stitcher.
Join my email list here if you want to get an email when a new episode goes live.
LEAVE A REVIEW
If you’re enjoying the podcast, please take 2 minutes to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts here. Each review helps me stay motivated to keep the show going!
–––
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
AMBER
Thanks so much for having me. I’m very excited to be here today.
JEREMY
Awesome. What city are you in?
AMBER
So I’m in Littleton. So basically a suburb of Denver.
JEREMY
Love it. Love it. My brother’s in Arvada. Okay.
AMBER
Yeah. Yep. That’s just north of me. Do you due north of where i live so yeah nice so we’re gonna get into a lot of good stuff today but before we dive in what is your favorite thing to do when you’re not working so um outside of work i’m a huge live music person um concerts are my happy place and my taste is really all over the place so
AMBER
I love classic rock. I love metal. I love a select few pop artists. And then on the complete other side of the spectrum, I also love live musicals as well. So just being in that theater and then hearing that first note hit really just gives me chills every time. So, yeah. Nice.
JEREMY
Awesome. And then do you have any pets or kids or none of these?
AMBER
I have like a whole slew of both. So I have two adult sons and one adult stepdaughter. And then they’re all grown and out of the house and doing their thing. And then we also have two doggies at home. We have a chocolate lab and we have a boxer and husky mix. So they keep us super happy every day. They’re so sweet.
JEREMY
Nice. Love it.
JEREMY
Well, let’s jump into your career journey. For the last several years have been working toward um moving up in the executive assistant world. And part of that was going back to school to finish my degree that I had started over 20 years ago. I’m like, it’s time. I want to finish it so that I can use this and really build up. So I did that, got my Bachelor of Science in Business Administration not too long ago.
AMBER
But I had that clear goal. I wanted to grow and and really move toward kind of an EA kind of chief of staff type of role.
AMBER
So that’s what drew me to the current title that I hold right now, which is really, it’s a position that is super exciting because it kind of straddles the worlds of executive assistant in the traditional sense, and then also a lot of chief of staff. type of day-to-day responsibilities as well. So yeah.
JEREMY
Gotcha. Nice.
JEREMY
let’s go back in time a little bit now. Why, why did you get into the assistant role or what is your favorite part about it? Like when did you see it as a career, all those things?
AMBER
Yeah. So, um, my path to the EA role definitely was not linear, um, I had actually started my career, as you had mentioned, in hospice nursing, which has really shaped just so much of what I think about care and support in the human side of health care.
AMBER
So eventually I did move into the corporate world for a little while and realized that I had this natural ability to bring order back.
AMBER
structure and this calmness to fast-paced environments. And so that’s what led me into the executive support roles over the years. So that’s how that came about. And I think my most, I would say a favorite part of it being really the unpredictable nature of it, right? I think so many people would probably say that as well, where you do have some predictable parts of your day, but a lot of it can be unpredictable.
AMBER
I don’t know how many days at the end of the day I thought as I’m heading home, I’m like, that’s definitely not what I thought I was going to be working on today. But it was certainly, you know, a great change of pace and it’s just very satisfying. Yeah.
JEREMY
Yeah, that’s one of my favorite parts. It’s like, you’re never bored, right? You’re never… No.
JEREMY
There are some assistant roles that might be a little more boring than others, but… True, true. There’s never a dull moment, for sure.
AMBER
Right.
JEREMY
Awesome. Well, what about the chief, you mentioned chief of staff, you know, obviously your title is unique with the strategic commercial assistant, but what skills do you think that you developed to essentially open the doors for this operations or chief of staff type role going from gatekeeper to strategic leader?
AMBER
Sure, sure.
AMBER
So I think when assistants start thinking about moving into operations or chief of staff work, the skills that matter most are the ones that you can operate beyond the day to day and actually influence how the organization runs. So it’s less about mastering every tool and process and more about demonstrating that you can see that whole system.
AMBER
And not just your corner of it. So I think what really would open some of those doors would be the ability to think in patterns and connections.
AMBER
When you can look at a situation and understand how one decision will ripple across teams and timelines and priorities.
AMBER
And leaders start to see you as somebody who can operate at a higher level. altitude when you start showing those.
AMBER
So I think also maybe decision support is another big one. So if you’re already the person that your executive turns to when they need like context or clarity or a quick read on the situation, I think that’s a sign that you’re building the right muscles that you would want to have for these type of positions. And
AMBER
Maybe another one I would add is maybe cross-functional influence being kind of a third pillar. So it’s about getting people aligned, moving in the same direction, and following through. So when you can bring that clarity to really ambiguous situations,
AMBER
You can get groups unstuck and without, you know, being that actual CEO position, you just have that line of sight across multiple departments that allows you to have those skills.
JEREMY
Love it. Love it.
JEREMY
So I love the line of sight line. You know, I’ve always thought that we have a very unique perspective on our direct executives that we support on their goals and their problems and the pain points and everything. you know, the drama sometimes, but then also the, the company as a whole, because we see how that interacts and connects with the rest of the company too. So line of sight is a good way to put it like that.
AMBER
Absolutely.
JEREMY
So what about, do you work for a team or with a team of assistants?
JEREMY
Is there a team manager, team lead for the assistants, or are they all kind of just reporting to their executives? Just curious how that works.
AMBER
Right.
AMBER
As far as the company that I’m at right now, we are just in the phase of really growing and expanding. It’s a super exciting time to come on board.
AMBER
I’m an earlier add to the company. And so we don’t have a team of executive assistants. So the team I would say that I work with is really just our executive leadership team. And what I’m super excited about and what I think this whole episode will probably hit on is being able to get to that point where you’re really seen as part of the executive leadership team and not the
AMBER
you support the executive leadership team. So I’ve been very fortunate that my current leader has been very open to expressing internally and externally that I’m part of that team, a working part of that team, and not somebody that is on the outside or the perimeter supporting him.
JEREMY
That’s great. That’s great. So let’s talk a little bit about confidence.
JEREMY
What, how do you have confidence to manage up and really like, you know, you mentioned those, those skills, like decision support and things like that. How do you have confidence to go to your executive and say, Hey, I think we should make this decision or, Hey, you, you need to make a decision. I’ve done some research and I think this is the decision you should go with.
AMBER
Yeah. Yeah. So so managing up is kind of like one of those buzz wordy phrases a little bit. But but what the way I see it is it’s really about creating the conditions for your executive to operate at their highest level. So it’s not about control and it’s not definitely not about people pleasing.
AMBER
So at its core, I think what it is really kind of taking that mental work. off of your executives plate. So they’re constantly bombarded with information, decisions, competing priorities. And so when you can manage up well, you can filter that noise and then surface what matters and then frame things that in a way that it makes them easier to act upon. So, you know, taking the, you know, this messy scattered information and turning it into something digestible for your executives. So,
AMBER
Clear summaries, clear visuals, simple next steps. So you’re not just like kind of passing the buck, passing things along. You’re transforming them into something usable.
JEREMY
Love it.
AMBER
Yeah, I would say that is one of the main things as far as like managing up. And if you’re touching more on, you know, having the confidence to actually bring something to your executive where you
AMBER
some of us may feel a little nervous about bringing something forth as far as, gosh, I really think that my executive needs to do this and I’m not really sure how to say it. without stepping on toes, I just head straight for it and say, and I’ll even use those words sometimes and say, look, I don’t want you to think I’m stepping on your toes because that is not why I’m in your office right now. I’m in your office because I think we need to do A, B, and C. And I think we need to do that because of this situation and really just hit it straight on
AMBER
and let your leader know that you’re not bringing something up to put barriers up or to be confrontational in any sense of the word. It’s really just trying to both align and make sure that they’re aligned with you as well.
JEREMY
Yeah, because it’s not a dramatic, emotional thing. It’s a business conversation, right?
AMBER
Absolutely. Absolutely. Like when you can frame it in a way that it is taking the conversation to
AMBER
a goal that you’re both interested in and trying to take that emotion away from it that that is really helpful to just frame that conversation and literally you know purposely say um you know the the goal of of doing what i think we should do right now is you know a b and c so that it’s very clear why you’re suggesting what you’re suggesting and not um You know, Amber’s being dramatic this afternoon and she is asking for, you know, the following things because she is frustrated with, you know, something or somebody, but it’s really about, you know, getting to the end goal.
JEREMY
Gotcha.
JEREMY
So kind of related to that would be building trust with your executive. Yeah.
AMBER
Yeah.
JEREMY
How have you done that over your career, just building that deep trust between that partnership?
AMBER
Gosh, that’s such an important part of the relationship between an EA and their executive is that deep trust.
AMBER
And it goes beyond, I mean, I’ll mention here in a second, I had some thoughts on discretion, but it goes beyond just that. It’s a mix of
AMBER
consistency, judgment, and the sense that you’re making their world easier and their decisions sharper. So really, reliability is that foundation.
AMBER
Doing what you’ll say you’ll do, following through with what you’re chasing, and then showing that your world is solid. So discretion is definitely an equal layer. Executives need to know that what they share with you stays with you, right? And that you can handle that sensitive information without drama, that you can stay calm and steady.
AMBER
when things get stressful. So definitely just that consistency, good judgment, discretion. And then I think just that kind of last like cherry on the top would be
AMBER
That deeper trust comes when an EA is able to provide that strategic insight. So you’re not just executing tasks, but you’re thinking ahead and you’re spotting patterns and you’re helping your executive make better decisions. So you can become somebody that they lean on. I would say in that moment, it’s when you’re taking a half-formed idea and then giving it back to them clearer and actionable is when you take that step into a deep trust.
JEREMY
Love it. Let’s talk a little bit about what you said earlier about
JEREMY
kind of the cross-functional skills, being a connector for the organization. Can you share a moment when connecting the dots made a big difference?
AMBER
Sure.
AMBER
And there’s really, when I think of connecting the dots on something like this, there’s like three components to that. It’s like spotting tension or friction, and then building a bridge to fix said tension or friction, and then transforming that outcome.
AMBER
The tension, I had noticed some tension going on between some groups here internally where we’ve had a new suite that has opened up with new staff that we’ve moved some people over to a different side of the floor, which opened up a bunch of offices. And, you know, our execs are all running fast, so they certainly are not, you know, honed in on
AMBER
gee, I think so-and-so should have this office and this office. They’re off and doing other things. But I started to hear and see some rumblings of some of the groups thinking or saying, I think my team has been here longer. I think that we should have these offices that have the better windows and those sort of conversations. I’m like, gosh, this is going to possibly bubble up and get noisy and doesn’t really need to. So
AMBER
What I did in connecting those dots is I went ahead and just stepped in and brought those leaders together. So they’re a step below the executive leadership team. They’re directors and managers.
AMBER
Brought them together and we’ve been working the last couple of weeks as far as literally looking at the space plan and talking about strategic direction with their teams. Like how many folks do you have? How many are going to have in three months, six months, in a year?
AMBER
what other teams do you work with most frequently? How do you work mostly together? Are you needing to collaborate often and literally need to share a space sometimes? So instead of fighting over the windows, we’re able to get into a mindset of collaboration and growth.
AMBER
And we’re pretty much at a point right now where we’re about ready to take a
AMBER
kind of finalized version to the executive team to just rubber stamp to say, okay, move forward and get everyone settled in so that they wouldn’t have to deal with it. So it’s really like seeing those ripples across departments.
AMBER
And when you can, you know, trying to keep that noise to a minimum for the executive leaders, it’s certainly something that
that i would be able to handle and and not have it bubble up yeah yeah it’s nice to take initiative see you know see it be aware of it spot it like you said and then figure out okay can we resolve this or at least come up with a plan to resolve it right before you know yeah like i said bubbling up and becoming a big issue with the
AMBER
Exactly. And then, you know, just bringing it to this exec team for them to have the peace of mind that their directors have already, you know, signed off on this. They’ve already been involved. They’re aware so that they know. Great. Now that, you know, some people will be moving offices. I’m not going to have to take this to my director and have them, you know, feel emotional or, you dared be upset with the decisions made, they were already involved in it. So, yeah. Awesome.
JEREMY
Well, Amber, this is great. I know there’s lots of good topics, lots of good lessons learned from a great career in executive support. So I appreciate you taking time to share your story a little bit and share a little bit of insights. My pleasure. Really valuable. To kind of wrap things up, I would love to hear, though, what’s one thing you want every assistant listening to remember?
AMBER
Yes.
AMBER
I would love every EA listening to this particular episode to know that you’re not just supporting leaders, you are a leader. So when you own your own career path, when you’re communicating with clarity, when you’re connecting those dots, when you’re seeing that line of sight, you have become that strategic leader on your team.
JEREMY
Love it. Well said.
JEREMY
Couldn’t have said it better myself, Amber. Thank you so much again for being on the show. What’s a good place for people to reach out if they want to connect and say hi and network?
AMBER
Yeah, absolutely. So they can find me on LinkedIn. Just do a search, I would think, for Amber Youngren, And happy to connect there.
JEREMY
Awesome. Yeah, I’ll put your LinkedIn in the show notes at leaderassistant.com/380.
JEREMY
And yeah, reach out to Amber and say hi. And yeah, appreciate it again. I was telling Amber before the conversation to those listening that I was helping my dad dig a trench in his yard right before the conversation. So it’s nice to sit down and not be doing manual labor for a few minutes while I talk to you.
AMBER
Jeremy was literally in the trenches today.
JEREMY
Exactly. Never a dull moment on the personal front, too, I guess.
AMBER
Yes, indeed.
JEREMY
Awesome. Well, have a good one. Best of luck to you. Hopefully, yeah, we’ll connect in the Colorado area someday and we’ll talk soon.
AMBER
Perfect. Thank you.
