Assist With Impact

 The Being Indispensable podcast is about inspiring and educating you as assistants and OPs and Emma Rhoades is someone I have enormous respect for in terms of her knowledge and expertise in the area of management skills and self leadership.   Emma walks the talk and in Part 1 of our conversation she shares her own experience navigating the career spider frame and how she has arrived at the point...

In this episode Liz explains what Attention Management is and how it differs from Time Management and some tools and techniques for being proactive about managing your attention. There is a school of thought that Time Management is an outdated concept. Instead it's about Attention Management - switching your attention to focusing on achieving a specific result. Maura Thomas defines it as  " ...the...

Decision making and critical thinking fall under the umbrella of problem solving and that is right in the wheel-house of a Linchpin Assistant who is effective and efficient because they possess Power Skills like these. Listen to this episode to hear how I define decision making and critical thinking, why these two Power Skills are in my top ten and a framework you can use to problem solve in your...

In Part 2 of my conversation with Jo Miller we talk about the FIVE leadership types that Jo has identified and the traits of each. Jo does some myth busting around the perception that you need to be a manager of people to be a leader. We focus on HOW you can amplify your accomplishments and Jo takes me through the ways she recommends you can put this into action.  Finally we discuss the trap that...

This week's episode is Part 1 of my interview with the awesome Jo Miller who I have mentioned on the podcast a number of times and dedicated Episode 66 to sharing her method for creating a Shadow Organisation Diagram. If you haven't listened to it you can find it here. https://myeacareer.com/podcasts/indispensable-skills-how-to-develop-a-shadow-organisation-diagram/ In Part 1 we explore:  - Jo's e...

This weeks episode is intended to give you an overview of the Assistant Competency Model created by Liz as well as the Ten Power Skills that propel assistants into the top quadrant as a Linchpin Assistant. These ideas are the result of the years Liz has spent speaking to, training and coaching assistants as well as researching and interviewing hundreds of business leaders to understand the key com...

A solo episode discussing why it's so vital that regardless of how much you love you job you must always prioritise your love for yourself above it.  That can be tricky when you're anxious and stressed about your job security but helping you see that you have options is what I'm all about. Self care anytime is important because we are human beings NOT human doings but in 2020 it's gone beyond burn...

A solo episode ruminating on my own experience thinking of my career as a ladder and struggling at times to feel that I had options and that there were benefits to gain from making a lateral, diagonal or even a backwards move. These days I prefer to think of my career as climbing a spider frame that you'd find in a playground. Up, down, lateral and diagonal moves are all not just possible but enco...

Padraig O'Sullivan or Pod as he is known was the business leader I supported in my role as an Executive Assistant. He was a mentor and informal coach to me and I consider myself fortunate to have come into his orbit.  Pod's reputation as a leading leadership advisor and Top Teaming expert has been established with over 20 years leadership and coaching experience encompassing Australia, Asia, Europ...

Padraig O'Sullivan or Pod as he is known was the business leader I supported in my role as an Executive Assistant. He was a mentor and informal coach to me and I consider myself fortunate to have come into his orbit.  Pod's reputation as a leading leadership advisor and Top Teaming expert has been established with over 20 years leadership and coaching experience encompassing Australia, Asia, Europ...

Robin Sharma is the author of The Leader Who Had No Title and in this episode I share his recommendations on how to lead from where you are and four things you can do NOW to build your leadership skills and the perception of you as a leader. Watch the video of Robin discussing these concepts here : https://youtu.be/u9IEeHqsTDs To find out more about Robin Sharma and this book head to his website ...

Catching listeners up on the content of a free webinar I delivered today sharing the ONE thing I believe we truly need in order to be indispensable. Unfortunately the recording of the webinar is only available to those who registered prior to the event. But the video and slide deck will be available to members of the Empowered Assistant Collective.  The doors to founding members are now open. If y...

A common problem for EAs (and in fact common to most of us) is struggling to communicate effectively in crunch moments. When it comes to tackling a tricky situation that requires you to speak up, how many times do you find yourself -Avoiding the issue hoping it will go away? -Having the difficult conversation and then it getting out of hand? Episodes where I've discussed tackling uncomfortable con...

I came up with the concept of My Value Star™ when I was post breast cancer, struggling with a lack of confidence and self belief. In Chapter 11 of my book " Coming Home from Breastcancerville " I talk about my 'career wilderness years' after having children and how I lost touch with what made me invaluable as an employee. Somehow it took hitting rock bottom due to breast cancer treatment and recov...

Resources mentioned in this episode Rosanne Badowski book on Managing Up: https://myeacareer.com/resources/managing-up-how-to-forge-an-effective-relationship-with-those-above-you/ Episode 32 Build A Strategic Partnership With Your Executive https://myeacareer.com/podcasts/building-a-strategic-partnership-with-your-executive/ Episode 57 Five Tips To Help Executive Assistants Manage Up https://myeac...

Is your self-worth as an Executive Assistant driven by activity or output?  An output is something you do. An outcome is something that happens as a consequence of something that you do. This episode came about because so many EAs I have been training and coaching are struggling with the feeling that because they're not 'seen' working remotely they are not feeling as sure about the value they're d...

In this interview with Mike Van Vliet we discussed the important terminology that EAs need to understand and the various sources of information that provide insight into how projects are travelling. We also discussed the different project management methodologies that EAs may come across and how they differ.  Finally we talked through ways that EAs can support their manager and influence the proje...

In this week's episode Liz shares a couple of bits of news and also an article that might resonate with you exploring the topic of burnout.  You can find the blog post by Bonnie Low-Kramen here or cut and paste the URL: http://www.bonnielowkramen.com/2020/07/20/burning-out-from-wfm-and-what-do-you-do-about-it-now/ Join the list to hear when the Empowered Assistant Collective doors will open at: ht...

A solo episode ruminating on a blog post that I wrote about EAs adopting what I call a Slinky Mindset. Read the blog post here I've written another post about the way Slinky's can also get tangled up. For Executive Assistants it happens when they're trying to manage unrealistic expectations! Read the blog post here 

In this episode Liz is sharing the projects she's working on including a new membership for EAs called The Empowered Assistant Academy. Register your details so you can be the first to know when the doors open. https://bit.ly/empoweredea Find out more about the coaching, training and speaking we offer at My EA Career. 

Mentoring is one of the most valuable things you can undertake. In this episode Liz shares her advice for finding a mentor and the key elements that need to exist for it to be a worthwhile experience for both mentor and mentee.

I prescribe to the view that respect cannot be demanded, it must be earned. Thinking that you "deserve" respect is a path to unhappiness and frustration. Instead, I recommend taking a proactive approach to earning respect that is based on the elements of my Knowing Assistant Framework: - Knowing yourself - Knowing your Power Skills - Knowing your job - Knowing your boss - Knowing your organisation...

Executive Assistants that I coach and mentor struggle with the feeling of not being in control. What I find is that it's not just a case of 'too much work' or 'not enough support'. When we feel overwhelmed or frazzled there are both internal and external factors at work.  So I've created a workbook that steps you through identifying the inner and outer elements that are in play when you feel like...

As you support your managers and colleagues, families and friends during Covid-19 it's important to support yourself. In particular, your immune system. Ange Sinclair, otherwise known as the Digestive Detective is a qualified naturopath and specialises in helping people improve their gut health which leads to improvements in other areas of wellbeing. Ange left the corporate world and pursued study...

As I celebrate the milestone of making it to 100 episodes I am looking back at my most downloaded episodes and re-releasing them for those of you who are new to the podcast and haven't scrolled all the way back through the previous episodes available in your podcast listening app of choice. Episode 5 was all about the results of a LinkedIn survey I ran asking EAs what was the ONE word they wanted...