💬 Quote of the Week

💼 A Personal Note from Joshua

🧠 Feature Insight

How Senior-Level EAs Earn Influence Before They Need It

Executives don’t suddenly start valuing your opinion because you spoke up in one meeting. Influence is a slow build, made up of small but intentional moments that position you as a trusted advisor over time.

Here’s the framework I use with my executive clients:

1️ See the Bigger Picture

Stop reporting tasks, start connecting the dots. Speak about patterns, implications, and risks, not just updates. When you can link your work to cross-department priorities or the company’s quarterly goals, you move from executor to strategic contributor.

📌 Example: Don’t say: “I updated the launch timeline.” Say: “I adjusted our launch timeline to align with marketing’s Q3 push, which protects momentum heading into our fundraising round.”

2️⃣ Pre-Position Ideas

Senior leaders rarely adopt an idea the first time they hear it, especially in high-stakes meetings. Instead, plant seeds early. Use prep calls, casual conversations, or written pre-reads to introduce your perspective. That way, when it comes up later, it’s familiar, and more likely to gain traction.

3️⃣ Operate Like a Trusted Advisor

Executives respect those who think like peers. Instead of delivering information and waiting for instructions, give them your read on the situation and a recommendation.

📌 Try this format: “Here are the top 3 risks/opportunities I see, and here’s what I recommend we do.”

🧠 Executive Coaching Corner

Executive Power Prompt: Building Influence in Advance

This week, identify 3 opportunities to pre-position your thinking with senior leaders. Use moments like prep meetings, status updates, or even casual conversations to frame your perspective before the decision-making moment arrives.

📌 Use this reframe format: “By doing [task], I helped the business [strategic outcome].”

Track the responses you get. Over time, you’ll notice your input starts carrying more weight.

🎯 FINAL SUMMER SERIES INVITATION

This is more than a training invite. It’s a call to step into the identity the future demands.

The assistant profession is at a turning point.

AI, automation, and shifting executive expectations are rewriting the rules. The old model — “Be reliable, be efficient, keep things moving” — is breaking.

The marketplace is asking new questions:

• “Can you think with me, anticipate for me, advise me, and help me lead?”

• “Can you create measurable strategic value across my entire organization?”

If you don’t start redefining your role now, you risk being defined by the outdated version of it.

That’s why on Tuesday, August 20th at 11:00 AM EST, I’m leading the final session of our Breaking the Career Ladder Summer Series:

“Breaking the Career Ladder: Redesign Your Future Before Someone Else Defines It”

You’ll learn:

✅ The framework for moving from task executor to Strategic Assistant™

✅ How to align your role with the top priorities of your executive and organization

✅ How to make your value visible at the highest levels of decision-making

This is one of the last chances to join before the series ends, and before another quarter passes, where you could have been seen, heard, and valued at a higher level.

Here’s to breaking ceilings.

Joshua Washington,

Senior Executive Coach