REACH - A Podcast for Executive Assistants

This is part one of our two-part series with Heather Keenan, President and CEO of Key Events. With this series, we’re pivoting the conversation by inviting some of the most distinguished resources, companies and service providers we think it’s vital for you to know about. In this episode, event planner extraordinaire, Heather Keenan, gifts us with her wisdom and advice around carrying out a successful virtual event. As many of us are sheltering in place, virtual business events have become our new reality and yet planning something like a completely virtual SKO is new territory for most of us. With "essential” things like LP and board meetings, town halls, and fundraising events still needing to happen despite COVID-19, it’s imperative that EAs find a virtual workaround to keep these events on the calendar.

Whether it be an intimate happy hour held via Zoom or a fundraising event via webcast, Heather gives her tips for pulling off things like experience, engagement, and even virtual pupus! Spoiler alert – you may find yourself telling your Executive to channel his/her favorite character actor, aka Brad Pitt, because presenting in front of a camera is totally different from speaking in front of a live crowd. Join us for this timely and informative conversation!

Many EAs would say their relationship to their executive is a core contributor to overall job satisfaction in the EA role. In this episode, Rowe Hoffer, Senior Executive Assistant to the Co-Founder and Chairwoman of Mozilla (who she’s supported for almost 9 years!), talks to us about what it means to be a tenacious EA when combating workplace challenges. More specifically, Rowe speaks to working relationships that may not be “ideal” or considered the “perfect match” in nature and how to game plan for when things aren’t rainbows and butterflies. While it’s wonderful when you have instantaneous rapport and a seamless partnership with someone, it can be unrealistic to expect perfection in a working relationship, whether it be with an executive or a colleague. Demonstrating resilience and tenacity through these challenges is a skill that Rowe has developed throughout her career and in this episode, she shares her personal experience of what that really looks like. Plus, you’re in for a real treat when we ask Rowe who she would love to support and why. Hint: this individual has performed a Superbowl half-time show!

In this episode, we’re tackling your COVID19-related questions and concerns, Q&A style and guerilla-style. Yes, kids may interrupt, doorbells may ring, tea kettles may whistle, but our priority here was to address your very relevant and legitimate questions in a timely manner even if that means raw and un-cut. Whether you were recently laid off or you’re feeling vulnerable right now to a potential lay-off, or simply want to provide the best level of support and service you can to your executive during this time, this episode is for you! Joining our host, Jessica Vann, to help tackle your questions is Maven Recruiting Group’s very own Director of Accounts and Growth, Gillian Lopez, who works directly with our clients and who has a direct line to the thinking of hiring managers and what matters to them right now. While adjusting to today’s reality is hard, we hope this episode gives you some solutions and hope for how you, as an executive assistant, can continue to move forward despite COVID-19.

With the increasing popularity and buzz surrounding remote EA work, we decided it was time to get some real insight from a remote Executive Assistant in our network. In this episode, we interview LJ Cohen, remote Executive Assistant to the Partners of Uncork Capital (formerly known as SoftTech VC). In this episode, LJ addresses everything from the importance of asking the right questions in the interview process to ensure success in a remote role to setting up boundaries within her personal life to create a home environment that supports her work to dealing with situations like her executive having trouble connecting to a video conference when she isn’t physically there to assist. Listen in as LJ dives into the nuances of remote support and shares with us what it’s really like to work from home on a daily basis. (Hint: it’s not always pjs, slippers and a cup of tea!) Our hope is that after listening to this episode, you’ll have a clearer sense as to whether remote work is for you and what questions to ask of yourself and others before taking the leap.

With the increasing popularity and buzz surrounding remote EA work, we decided it was time to get some real insight from a remote Executive Assistant in our network. In this episode, we interview LJ Cohen, remote Executive Assistant to the Partners of Uncork Capital (formerly known as SoftTech VC). In this episode, LJ addresses everything from the importance of asking the right questions in the interview process to ensure success in a remote role to setting up boundaries within her personal life to create a home environment that supports her work to dealing with situations like her executive having trouble connecting to a video conference when she isn’t physically there to assist. Listen in as LJ dives into the nuances of remote support and shares with us what it’s really like to work from home on a daily basis. (Hint: it’s not always pjs, slippers and a cup of tea!) Our hope is that after listening to this episode, you’ll have a clearer sense as to whether remote work is for you and what questions to ask of yourself and others before taking the leap.

In this episode our guest, Carina Ruggiero, reflects on some of the challenges she’s faced and how she has not only triumphed, but also used them as a catalyst for career growth and personal evolution. In this episode, Carina talks about how she made a significant mental shift from achieving to serving. Her inspiration? The one and only Tony Robbins. She encourages us to stop taking ourselves so seriously as she puts it, “Sh*t happens, bounce back!” Carina also shares her ninety-nine-year-old grandmother’s advice with us and reveals the silver lining to staring down challenges in the workplace, which in her case led to accepting a role with a top immigration law firm that also reunited her with her husband who was stuck abroad. Who doesn’t love a good love story?! At the end of this episode, we hope you will feel inspired to grow and persevere even when life pulls a fast one on you... after all, EAs have to be resilient. Plus, you’re guaranteed to learn at least three swear words in Italian!

In this episode, the oh so relatable and authentic Anh Castro shares the story of her childhood as a daughter of a Vietnamese immigrant, who grew up in the working-class neighborhoods of Los Angeles and later became an established Executive Assistant and Personal Assistant who supported prominent women like Dianne Feinstein, Kamala Harris and Danielle Steel, and some major figures in the venture capital world. Despite Anh’s humble roots, her will-power, drive and perseverance have allowed her to ascend to the highest levels of success as an Executive Assistant professional. We hope that you will find deep meaning and inspiration after listening to Anh’s heartfelt story.

Success in an Executive Assistant role is predicated on establishing the right practices and behaviors with your executive from the outset, boundary setting, mutual respect and open dialogue. Ligaya Fieler, Senior Executive Assistant at SurveyMonkey, walks us through how she’s personally accomplished these things with her Executives over the years – one story includes how she earned the respect of a traditionally “grumpy” Exec! In this episode, you too will learn how to set the tone for a productive relationship with your Executive from the very beginning in order to create an effective and lasting partnership. Spoiler alert: it involves confidence, honest reflection, prioritization and managing up.

In a service-oriented role, sometimes it can be a challenge to strike a balance between being helpful and supportive of others and their needs while also ensuring you don’t take on too much. We all know that sometimes we need to be able to “manage up” and push back. Chances are, this is probably something that you’re already doing on a daily basis. However, the act of managing up is truly an art, and one that can always be worked on and perfected, and it comes more naturally to some than others. In this episode, Molly McKnight, Executive Assistant at Handshake, discusses the importance of finding your voice and learning to say “no” as a mid-level Executive Assistant. At one point in her career, Molly supported 19 Executives! Learn how she navigated those conversations and made significant progress in the areas of managing up and striking a balance between providing effective support to multiple people and staying sane! Learn you can juggle it all too.

Tanya has always had a passion for leading and mentoring Executive Assistants, starting first with her role as a Staff Supervisor at Merrill Lynch and ultimately landing in a hybrid Admin Manager / EA to CEO role at Okta. In this episode, Tanya shares the history of how she evolved and elevated the EA function within Okta and ultimately created a world-class EA team. From leading by example to teaching more junior EAs how to own the room and exude confidence to bringing in outside coaches to lead trainings on difficult conversations and even coaching the Executive Team on what it looks like to fully leverage their EAs, these are just a few ways Tanya has helped to mold and shape an exceptional EA team. Whether you’re an Admin Manager looking to grow a winning team or you’re an Executive Assistant working on personal development, there are nuggets of wisdom for everyone in this episode.