Episode Details

I had the honor of speaking with Maaike Knoester for an interview on the 5 Star Assistant Podcast to discuss my 20-year career as an Executive Assistant, my book The Leader Assistant, and the journey of producing over 360 episodes of my own podcast.

In this conversation we talk about challenging misconceptions about our profession. The greatest misunderstanding is that EAs are merely "one-trick ponies" focused on scheduling and expenses. In reality, we are strategic partners who see the whole picture for our executives. Internally, the biggest barrier I see is a lack of confidence, often stemming from attaching personal worth to job performance.

To combat burnout and build a sustainable career, I emphasize two core principles:

• Detach your worth from your work. Your value as a person is separate from your job performance.
• Set clear boundaries. I made it a point with my current executive to log off on the weekends because you cannot truly help others long-term if you don't take care of yourself.

Finally, when it comes to being busy, I see "multitasking" not as doing two things at once, but as the critical skill of prioritizing and context switching effectively between diverse responsibilities.

Thank you, Maaike, for the opportunity to be on your show, and for asking such great questions!

Show notes -> leaderassistant.com/373

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