In Part 2 of this interview with Jan Jones, author of "The CEO's Secret Weapon", Liz talks to Jan about the benefits of Exceptional Assistants sharing the traits and habits that allow them to develop outstanding relationships with the business leader they support. Jan shares her perspectives on why the EA is a service professional and how developing relationships with other EA's is vital.
Jan Jones is an author, a businesswoman and an exceptional assistant in her own right talks to Liz about her fantastic book "The CEO's Secret Weapon" and how she started her working life in Sydney, Australia as a 'Girl Friday' working for a small brokerage firm. Jan reflects on how the exacting standards of her first boss have stood her in great stead as she embarked on a career that has taken her around the world and brought her into the company of some of the world's best business leaders. A delight to interview and a delightful interview:)
In this episode, Liz opens up about the challenge of continuing to pursue her podcast journey when every fibre of her being is telling her to run away and hide. She shares how the inspirational writings of Elizabeth Gilbert and gutsy voice of Cynthia Heimel have helped to remind her that Being Indispensable is more than the vanity project she fears others may think it is. As Elizabeth Gilbert says “you will never be able to create anything interesting out of your life if you don’t believe that you’re entitled to at least try”.
In a week where Liz is struck down with Sinusitis and has to take a day off work, she reflects on 'guilt', a most unhelpful emotion and shares how she is working to challenge this negative thinking. The habit of over apologising is also explored with some references to the work of Gretchen Rubin and her podcast 'Happiness', Brene Brown's TED talk and books and Fred Kofman's Huffington Post blog article.
In the first interview for the Being Indispensable podcast, Liz interviews Sonja Firth, an Executive Assistant who epitomises the description 'capable'. Sonja has an eclectic set of skills and is highly regarded by her clients for her knowledge and effectiveness. In addition to being sought after to provide office support, Sonja is in demand as a LinkedIn trainer. Sonja works with businesses and individuals to optimise their presence on LinkedIn.
In this episode Liz gives an update on the results of her LinkedIn survey question and discusses Amy Cuddy and her research on Presence. How we can use power poses to program our mind to show up as more confident and have PRESENCE. Fascinating and inspiring research which shows that tiny tweaks can lead to big changes.
The first in what is planned to become a regular addition to the Being Indispensable podcast library - road ramblings. This episode focuses on the perils of asssuming when making flight bookings for your executive. Liz shares her epic fail when she inadvertently allowed her executive to be booked on a discount air fare.
Liz ruminates on the potential ramifications of Ernst & Young Australia reducing costs by rolling out Virtual Assistants to support Partners and Senior Managers. This is topical given the rise of the VA industry but has implications for the ability of assistants and their executives to work effectively. Does being 'virtual' affect an assistants ability to be proactive and how traditional Executive Assistants need to be clear on their value proposition in order to ensure that they are able to continue to deliver the service levels that will make them indispensable.
In this episode Liz outlines the role serendipity played in her decision to become an Executive Assistant. How a lunch with a friend led her to pursue a career transition to becoming an EA. She discusses the research she conducted into the role of the EA, the skills and capabilities required and the Michael Hyatt article that formed the basis for how she approaches her role.
Being an Executive Assistant can be isolated and lonely. The relationship with the business leader whilst personal and close requires the assistant to maintain distance from others in order to perform the role well. This makes it hard to share experiences and learnings. In this first episode, Liz outlines why Being Indispensable is the podcast for Executive and Personal Assistants to get the tips, techniques and professional insights that will help make them indispensable. Created by an Executive Assistant, for Executive Assistants to share ideas, experiences, workshop successes and epic fails.