Why Some EAs Are Becoming More Valuable While Others Are Becoming Easier to Replace

AA EP 10 Rachael
===

[00:00:00]

Candice: Hello, and welcome back to the Admin Avenues podcast. My name is Candice Burningham, and I'm your host. And today I have [00:01:00] special guest Rachel Bonetti, who needs no introduction, but let's give her an introduction anyway. Rachel, welcome back to the show.

Rachael: Thank you so much for having me. It's an absolute

Candice: it is an absolute honor for us because not only are we having you back on the show, but we are having you back at the Admin Avenues conference this year, which I'm so excited about, ~uh, ~and which we're gonna ~kind of~ title this episode Why Some EAs Are Becoming More Valuable While Others Are Becoming Easier To Replace, which is what you're focusing on at the conference.

And we're adding a master class this year, which is super exciting. The people spoke, and we listened.~ Uh,~ so that's gonna be awesome. So the day after each conference, we're gonna have a master class with,~ uh,~ Rachel. It's a small group. ~Um,~ it's very interactive. You're not gonna be sitting there. It's from 10:00 till 3:00 as well, so it's a shorter session.

You're not gonna be sitting there just watching all day. You're gonna be asked to interact and do things with this. But Rachel, welcome back. As I said, ~uh, ~every time we speak to you, the admin profession, ~you know,~ has changed. ~Um, ~and I think [00:02:00] that's a good thing. It would be pretty stagnant~ if, ~if we were just sitting here while the world is changing around us.

But ~I, I love the way that you are--~ I'm loving your socials. I'm loving the way that you're getting people to think differently,~ um,~ about the way that the profession is changing.

Not just, ~you know, ~jobs are going or this is that, but it's actually that no, the prof-profession in itself is actually changing, and you're challenging the way people think about that.

So your sessions always get people thinking, ~uh, ~differently about their careers. And I know the keynote that you're gonna be delivering this year is gonna be exactly that.

So let's start with the title of your keynote,

Why Some EAs Are Becoming More Valuable and Why Others Are Becoming Easier To Replace.

It's a pretty bold statement. ~Um, ~let's talk about that

Rachael: Where do you want me to start with that? Like why, why the topic? Why I think it's... Yeah.

Candice: it's a timely topic, so talk us through

Rachael: I do, and I know that, ~you know,~ the choice of words might ruffle some feathers, but I haven't chosen those words for effect. ~Uh,~ it really [00:03:00] is a reflection of what I'm seeing, both in the market, in conversations with executives, and what I'm seeing from EAs themselves that I trained inside organizations in my course in a lot of different capacities.

There is a really big shift that is no longer a hypothetical, philosophical. It's not abstract anymore. The role is changing. It feels like every other week we're seeing another offshoring headline about not just EAs, but all back office support, and that extends to payroll, HR, so many other roles in organizations.

And technology has enabled organizations to lean down a little bit, and I think it's not pay-- it's not doing anybody any favors by pretending these things don't happen. And I think facing into shifts like this, really material shifts, are actually what can empower people because if we hide from what is really going on, then we're at the mercy of it.

But when we're empowered, we can actually have a chance to take things into our own hands and [00:04:00] build out, ~uh, ~careers that we're still excited by, even though they might look different, today and into the future

Candice: And they are going to. I mean, what I did as an executive assistant,~ i- i- like,~ if I was to walk in today and do the role that I did during my career, it doesn't exist anymore. Like, a copilot does a whole heap of what I used to do.~ It, it, it's, you...~ I wouldn't be able to walk in and be able to go pick up ~where I, ~where I was at.

I've had to, ~uh, ~for myself, update in AI, in capabilities, in agents, in everything that's going on because the world wants that, and the first people they kinda look at to be doing that is EAs,~ is,~ is the admin space, to be like, "Well, what are you doing? Teach, show me. Teach me. What are you..." Like, but yeah.

Anyway. Look, the word replace might, ~uh,~ make people a little uncomfortable. Is that intentional?

Rachael: No, like I said, it's not,~ um, ~for effect. It is a reflection of what is actually going on. Like, we can't ignore the stories that are coming out, like KPMG choosing to offshore their EAs, PWC, and it's actually not just isolated. I see a lot of EAs [00:05:00] trying to explain it away. "Oh, well, that's professional services," or, "That's consulting," and it's not the case.

~Um,~ I think although, you~ you know, when we,~ when we get rid of these roles, there's always a sacrifice in some way, and that might be around culture,~ um,~ continuity for institutional knowledge. But in the short term, it's delivering what the organization wants, which is cost savings. So it's happening. So it's not for effect.

It's not to be dramatic. It's not to be controversial. It's literally a reflection of what I'm seeing

Candice: Yep. Agreed. I agree. ~Um, ~people don't like hearing some hard truths with it as well. So~ we, we,~ we are gonna use those words because that is what is happening. ~Um, ~and just, ~uh, ~a clarity on that point, like, I think a lot of people were,~ uh, uh,~ put a lot of hate on KPMG for that, and it happened at, it felt like a bad time.

But,~ you know, I-- ~they felt they were the last of the four to do it. Like, all four of them have offshored a huge amount of their business support.~ Um,~ and it wasn't, like, a shock. They knew it. ~They,~ they had put in a program where they were developing people offshore. So keep your ears to the ground ~in,~ in your company's people and ~see what, ~see what's going on.

[00:06:00] Listen and ~lis-~ talk to other people at networking events and be like, "What's happening with you guys? What are you looking at? What are you doing? What, what's your firm doing?"~ Um,~ so we hear a lot about AI changing the workplace, but you often say AI isn't actually the biggest change happening. What do you think is really driving this shift?

Rachael: It's actually ~the,~ the environment around executives. So if they are working under different conditions, and they're dealing with different market conditions and trying to stabilize organizations, stay competitive, do all the things that boards want them to do, like, earn more with less, ~um, ~overheads.

If all of those conditions are changing and layer on top of that the state of the world at the moment, whether it's tariffs or oil prices and inflation, ~how, ~how are we to expect the type of support the people around them don't need to be different at the same time? And I still see so many EAs who aren't alive to this, and they, you know, really operating in a bubble of, ~you know, it--~ all I have to do is my role and understand [00:07:00] the executive's calendar, and I'm being, ~you know, ~really base about it ~and, ~and ~you know, ~just for the, ~for, ~for time's sake because I can talk about this forever.

But that's not what it is. Like you can literally read the signals of what is coming if you are a~ a genuine,~ genuinely strategic EA by looking up and out and not just, ~you know,~ living in your own ~ex-~ world. So it shouldn't be a surprise to anybody if they're watching the world change around their leader that the type of support they are going to need will change.

And yes, AI and automation are part of it, but it also, it starts with conditions as well.

Candice: ~Hmm. ~And you've worked with lots of executives and teams across many organizations. ~What,~ what are leaders expecting from admins today that perhaps they weren't expecting a few years ago?

Rachael: You know what? It's,~ It's, ~different everywhere, and it depends on the nature of the work within the organization, like what they actually do, the purpose of the company. But the biggest bugbear that I'm hearing at the moment is they're not seeing their EAs lead. They're not seeing their EAs [00:08:00] actively and proactively reshape their role to be fit for purpose for now.

People are waiting for a formal PD rewrite. so many different things, and they're giving their power away, and execs are looking and thinking, "Well, ~you know, ~why aren't you leaning into AI and automation more than you are? Don't wait for me to tell you to create these things and do these things and make changes.

You show me what's possible." And I did put a post up that said, ~you know, ~"Wait, your EA does that for you?" This is what execs are telling me more than ever this year. They're comparing notes, not, ~you know,~ like getting in a powwow and having a talk about it, but it's like they're hearing things. Like, "Oh yeah, my EA did that or did this," and they're like, "What?

Hang on." And they're looking around like, "Well, why isn't mine doing the same thing?" So it's not... I can't-- It's not one specific thing 'cause it's different everywhere, but it is that sense of why aren't you leading this change for yourself, is the thing I see the most

Candice: Do you think that's, they're not necessarily empowered to go out and get the [00:09:00] training? Or do you think people are just waiting for this to be the opportunities to be given to them?

Rachael: In some respects it's both, but I don't believe anybody needs to be empowered. Like, if the writing's on the wall and you've got Copilot and you've got Power Automate, why are you waiting to-- for somebody to tell you or give you training, especially when you can talk to Copilot and say, "Here's a bunch of tasks that I do every day.

Help me figure out which ones I can automate." To me, there is literally no excuse anymore. Like, none.

And yes, you might, meet resistance around the things that you want to change, but that's different than at least trying. And one of the biggest excuses that I hear, and it's a very valid excuse and it's one I feel as a business owner too, is like, I've got so much on, I'm overwhelmed.

Where do I start? It's like, just start with one thing. And even before you even think about what technology am I using, the question to ask, and it's one that execs ask themselves every day, is, what problem am I trying to solve? Like, start with [00:10:00] that, because that is what will help you figure out which tool to learn.

There is, there's something new every day. I'm finding it hard to keep up, but it shouldn't be, ~um,~ the excuse to not move forward in some

Candice: Yeah. I remember when Copilot first came out, I said to my brother who works for Microsoft, "How do I learn how to use this?" He's like, "You literally ask it. Tell it what you want out of it." I'm like, "What?" He goes, "Ask it, 'How can you help me? How can you help me as an EA? How can you...'" And I was like, "Oh, all right.

So yeah, I don't need someone to teach me. It will teach me." Yeah.~ It's,~ it's wild though because we never had that before. ~That's a, ~it's a new way of being like, hang on, I own this. I can own my own training within this.~ Um, ~yeah. So you talk a lot about growing divide within the profession. What are you seeing that makes you feel this divide is real at the moment?

Rachael: It's definitely real. I mean, you only have to look on LinkedIn and look at some of the posts, ~um, ~where EAs have completely reshaped their role and their value, and then talk to EAs who are still focused on getting [00:11:00] through their task list alone. I mean, it's not an imagined thing. It's an actual data point, and I work in, ~you know, ~as you said, a lot of different organizations.

I'm in a different organization pretty much every week, and I see it even within teams. I might see one person who is going all out for thinking about, you know, thinking differently in their role, and then others who feel like, well, no one has actually said to us, "It's time for you to change," so till that happens, I'll keep going.

The divide is there. It's a very real thing

Candice: Yeah. ~Um,~ and in your keynote you say that it isn't about working harder,~ that~ that's refreshing because many EAs already feel like they're stretched and doing the most that they can,~ but it's, it... ~And it's not about doing more. So what is it about, do you think?

Rachael: It's about seeing your work differently, what could be, and your executive's world differently. So no, it might not be putting more things on your plate, but it is still work because you're having to invest the energy and headspace into reimagining your role and letting [00:12:00] go of, ~you know,~ inherited ways of working, and they might still be working and still be fit for purpose, but are they still-- Are they the right way to operate?

Is it what's going to carry us forward? And of course, ~you know,~ there will-- It's a little bit misleading 'cause ~it's, ~it's not, ~you know, ~you have to take on more work, but you also do have to learn new things, and that will take time. So it's investing time now that'll free you up later

Candice: But I guess in other ways it is shorter as well. Like I used to, and I'm sure you did as well, used to sit there for 48 hours before a board meeting going through every single pack, reading everything, pulling out the bits that I thought were important to my executive. Like you can now, with permissions and if you've got the right security settings, put that through your form of AI and be able to say, "Right, pull out the parts that are relevant to this or my executive or this project."

Like there's also a, ~a, a~ great initiative there to be able to cut down the workload of making sure you're across your executive's work

Rachael: Yeah, exactly. It's so much easier to surface the things that matter the most now. There's [00:13:00] almost no excuse to feel like, "Oh, well I don't have visibility," or, "I'm not sure what that means," when you have, ~you know,~ technology that can make it relevant for you. I don't know, what a time to be

Candice: what a time to be alive. All right, so without giving too much away, what are some of the characteristics or behaviors you're seeing in EAs who are becoming increasingly more influential? And I think this goes with like, ~you know, ~even what you're seeing in the EA Academy,~ um, ~your training, everything

Rachael: Really bold and brave people, and people who are happy not to be perfect, to be really honest. There's a lot of perfectionism and people pleasing in the EA profession. It's people who are happy to look at the way things have always been done, a process, something that's got a lot of different fingerprints all over it, for example, and say, "I know this has always worked, and someone worked really hard to get this process into place.

But how about if we try a different way now?" And be met with resistance, and be able to share a business case or tell a story about why we should at least trial [00:14:00] something new. It's those people who don't give up when they meet brick walls or they meet people who, you know, resist. It's how they can overcome those challenges and bring others on a journey as well.

That seems to be a common thread, and also the people who are not waiting for the permission. So there was one EA in one of my in-house trainings. After the session, she wrote to me and she said, "I heard everything you said about the power of tech now and the case studies that you shared. I went straight to the top to our CIO, and I said, 'I wanna be the EA point person.

If you only give one license to a back office function for every new, ~you know, ~thing that we roll out, it has to be me, and I will bring everybody on the journey.' And they said, 'Great, no problem.'" So many EAs sit there and knock on the door for licenses, and they're knocking on the wrong doors as a starting point, or they're not telling the right story about the impact that it will have if at least just one person becomes the point person.

So I don't know. There's a lot of good stories like that

Candice: great. And it's [00:15:00] great to see that admins are jumping in on those kind of things that... It really is like, anytime there was something new throughout my career, even when we were doing Microsoft training, like I remember when I worked in investment banking, they'd have lunchtime sessions where you could upskill in Excel and Microsoft, and it's like, what?

Well, why stop doing that? Like, it's different tech now, but why not use your lunch hour to upskill in something? And if you, don't know what you're doing with it, ask one of the IT guys to sit with you and talk you through it. I remember I had to do that in London with Concur. I was like, "What is this?"

~Now,~ now I just wanna put that out of my brain as I'm...

Rachael: Also have YouTube as well. Like, you know, you can jump onto TikTok, Instagram, you can fi- like there's, there's so many different ways to learn now. I really feel like, ~um,~ the excuse of, "Well, I've never needed it before, I don't need it now," just doesn't fly anymore

Candice: And it's ~fair, ~fair comment to make. Do you think there's any habits or ways of thinking like, that you believe are actually holding [00:16:00] experienced EAs back, like even when they're increasingly capable?

Rachael: Yes, it's that the thing that made you great once is going to be the thing that will keep you great into the future. it's a willingness to unlearn of, of what it means to be a great EA now and to become a beginner again in, in some respects of the role. ~That is, ~that is the biggest thing, and that's a hard thing to let go of, right?

If you've always been given a gold star and the high ratings to suddenly say, h- you know, really have a moment of self-reflection and go, ~uh,~ is this the stuff that is still holding value? Because nine times out of 10, most of it isn't

Candice: And one thing I love about your work is that it isn't fear-based, it's practical. So for someone listening who's worried about the future of the profession or what their, what it looks like for them in the future of the profession, what would you say to them?

Rachael: It's not that, I do like it to be practical, but at the same time, I'm absolutely not a trainer that will pay lip service, so I'm very honest about where things are at. [00:17:00] So while, yes, we're in this period of enormous change, I see it as being the most exciting moment of the entire history of the admin profession.

Like, how exciting to be liberated from all of the junk and the rubbish that bogs us down that we have to do because there was nobody else historically to do it or ~nothing, you know,~ nowhere to channel it through technology, and it just opens up the potential to do so much. But instead of being overwhelmed by, "Well, what is it?

What will it free me up to do?" Like, feel empowered to just get curious and start to figure it out yourself and create your own, design your own role and career path that feels exciting. Like, it should feel really liberating. I can think of 20 things that I used to have to do that I would be excited to never see again

Candice: Yep. I think about when I was at SBS, I had an assistant because there was so much admin that needed to be done because it was part-owned by government, so everything had to have a, a [00:18:00] PO attached or whatever. That could all now be done by AI, like just magical how, how quick those things could be taken off you.

Here's the template, here's this, here's that, here's what's expected. Put in... You didn't have to even come up with a commentary. It's all done. Oh, just might go back to being an EA.

Rachael: I know, I know. It's kind of exciting.

Candice: it is an exciting time, and I think the more people fear it rather than embrace it and get excited, like you just said, recreating the role.

Like, what... The way you did it was great, and the way I did it was great, and, but imagine if we could redesign it now. Like, imagine if we went back into being an EA now and was like, "Right, I'm gonna set up all my temp- like, templates and agents to do all of that manual work for me going forward." Board packs do completely differently.

Like, everything that it was so admin heavy can be now outsourced, and you can just focus on a completely different role really. ~Um-~

Rachael: Yeah. ~And,~ and it, and if you think about, ~you know, ~what [00:19:00] people used to think, like, like if you take for instance all, ~you know,~ the, the functions that have been offshored, ~ how are, how are,~ how is management actually viewing the value of that work? Like, it's not high value. So being able to story tell and pull out what is, and make sure that you're really connected to what your strengths are that are high value, and making sure they're coming through and being leveraged all the time, and that people know about it, it's really exciting.

Candice: ~Um,~

Rachael: You can tell I'm passionate about it, right? I know people can't see me, but I'm getting very animated.

Candice: But okay, on that, what's one misconception that you think the admin profession still has about creating value?

Rachael: That it's volume-based. How much can I get through? And it being attached to responsiveness. It's not anymore. I mean, those things still matter, but it's more about impact and the work that drives business performance forward, and that is something that a lot of EAs struggle with, is connecting what they do to the work that actually pushes the organization forward in some

way

Candice: And I know we're trying to be vague here 'cause we don't wanna give everything away for what's happening at the conference, but for your[00:20:00]

keynote, if people were to walk away with just one message, what do you hope it would be?

Rachael: More a thought right now than a message because I am in the midst of still building it and I'm really going in and I'm tinkering with it long and hard so I can make it as, ~you know, ~juicy as I can. But it's, I really want them to see their roles and their value and the way that organizations view value differently

Candice: I think that's a great idea, is that people need to be viewing at it differently, and it is different. The role is different. ~The ca- ~Like, I saw your post this morning about the census, and I was like, " didn't know that we weren't..." ~Like, y- it--~ I wonder what they do if you don't have~ a, ~a role that is registered.

Rachael: So ~this is,~ this is a post on LinkedIn, and it's about the... So this, it's census night tonight at the time of recording this, ~um,~ from the Bureau of Statistics. And every, every role in Australia is captured under, like, a main headline bucket. And one of the things that I found on ~a, ~a data digging ~ex-~ [00:21:00] expedition is that ~so many p-~ they're saying, the headlines were saying this time la- in May last year that the role is declining, whereas actually if you look at the data, what's coming out is so many roles are actually working under different titles.

So I don't think that the EA role is declining, it's the EA role as a title as we know it that is morphing. So where they get captured is anybody's guess. And I don't know if I should say this, but I'm gonna say it anyway. So I did reach out to the Bureau of Statistics because so many things didn't sit well with me that was quite out of date, the classification and the duties, like filing, doing personal errands, answering the phone.

Like, we don't do that anymore, right? But,~ uh,~ it's, they were very, very open to meeting with me, which was terrific, and as a result I made a submission for, like, some suggested updates. But I don't know. We've still just got so far to go. And I mentioned to them, "Well, what about chief of staff?" And they said, "Oh, what's that?

It's like a chief executive." I was like, "Oh, no." So, like, there's a lot of jobs that [00:22:00] are not being captured in the right area.

Candice: Yep

Rachael: I know that's a bit of a... Sorry, that was a bit of a red herring 'cause it's on my brain today. But yeah, ~there's a,~ there's a lot. So if you think about the new titles like executive business manager, director of business operations.

Operations executive manager is another one I've seen recently. They've all stemmed from the EA world and still have EA role components. So the picture that we see in the headlines is often just really not clear, I think, and a little bit unfair 'cause it's clickbaity. That's why if anyone sends me articles about EA roles, I refuse to click them because it tells the press that, ooh, this is a topic everyone wants to read about, so if it's bad journalism, I'd...

please don't

Candice: Yeah. I mean, there was one recently where it had some fantastic information in it about the EA salary survey that,~ um,~ Alicia Fairclough and Yvette Lamb have put together, and it had the title something about AI won't pick up your dog poo. And I was just like, "Oh, seriously?" Like, is that the title? But I guess it's clickbait, [00:23:00] right?

Like it... But yeah, I wish they could focus on the good parts of that anyway. Sorry, Alicia and Yvette, we still think your stuff's cool. ~Um, ~okay. So after your keynote, we're going to be,~ um,~ running the, ~a,~ a master class the next day on all three conferences, and it's about the new value equation. So how does that build on what people will hear during the conference?

Rachael: It's an opportunity to go deeper on it and pull apart some of the concepts that I share. And my classes, especially after, like, post-conference, ~um,~ masterclasses, are not designed for me to be standing there talking at people. There'll be space for discussion. There's going to be space for self-reflection and actually, ~you know, ~reflecting on the way that we're working, ~um,~ what's missing right now, hearing other ideas in the room, and being able to workshop that live and build a pathway forward.

So it's different in that we're actually going to get into the nuts and bolts and under the covers of it and really pull it apart

Candice: Yeah. And who is this masterclass [00:24:00] designed for?~ If it, ~if it, is it only for senior EAs or would it benefit people at all stages of their career?

Rachael: What do you define as a senior EA?

Candice: I think someone that's got like more than five years now. I would have said 10 years, years ago, but now I think five years

Rachael: Yeah. would, I would say that it's for anybody who wants to be clear on the value that they're bringing and making sure that it is value that is still regarded as high value now, not historically. So for however long you've been~ in,~ in your career, and I think there's still a lot of room. A lot of senior EAs think they don't need more training 'cause they know how to do their job really well.

But being able to,~ you know,~ get through your work and follow the processes, ~um,~ and the systems in an organization is only part of it. Like, it's like how do we stay fresh and current? So I think for anybody who has that lens that they wanna stay fresh and current in their work, ~um, I, ~

Candice: ~Yep. I think, um,~ I think I used to be one of those people that was like, "I don't need to go to a conference. I've been doing this long enough. There's nothing for me to [00:25:00] learn," kind of thing. And how wrong that is. Even just going to the conference last year, well, hosting the conference last year, there was so much.

I was there taking notes the whole time, just being like, "Gosh, this is good." It just... E- even if you think you're a seasoned EA that doesn't need to be doing this, you really should be going to one of these events each year to upskill, and even just the networking side of it as well. Like, that was next level as well.

But anyway, I digress. I get very

Rachael: It was great. It was a really, really

good event

Candice: it was. I, I'm very excited that we can triple it this year because I had so many people being like, "Well, what, why'd you only do it in Sydney?" I'm like, "It was my first time. I just needed to know that it worked."

Rachael: Let me get my training wheels off.

Candice: ~Uh,~ okay, so one of the things I found really interesting is the personal value audit participants will complete in.

This is what I love about workshops, is that people will actually do work, not just sit there and stare at a screen. Can you tell us a little bit about what, like, without giving away the [00:26:00] experience, what that kind of involves?

Rachael: It's going to be highly practical and it's going to dig in, ~um, ~it's gonna go beyond the surface level, ~you know, ~context and actually look at the different areas that EAs do contribute value, like genuinely at the highest level in a strategic way, and see how they stack up against that. So it's not about winning and getting the gold star at the end, it's about being really granular and figuring out what areas,~ um,~ are worth your time focusing on and investing in more, and even maybe identifying where you're already doing really well and put more eggs in that basket too.

But think about are you actually storytelling about your value in the right way so that these things are visible? 'Cause a lot of the work EAs do is under the radar, and in fact is often not noticed unless we do something wrong or it doesn't happen. So it'll be highly practical

Candice: And the kind of work they'll be doing, they'll be given like actual work to be doing during the day, isn't it? It's not a sit in~ and,~ and watch the

Rachael: No, it's immersive. No, it's not. It's [00:27:00] reflection, ~um,~ space for discussion. It's an immersive experience

Candice: we keep it a smaller group as well, because it's very hard to do with 100 people and be able to get people's different opinions and thoughts, and this is a closed room. Only senior EAs can be going into this.~ Um,~ it's a commitment as well, like it's an extra day out of the office. So, ~um, ~it's something that i-it's a real learning commitment to do this masterclass.

So I really hope that people are--~ uh, ~understand that side of it as well

Rachael: And conversely, going back in and sharing with the person that or the people that you support and saying, "Here's where I want my new value equation to sit." Like it sparks a meaningful conversation because too often I see EAs go into development conversations and say, "I just love being an EA." And their boss goes, "Okay, great.

Well, let me know how I can help you." Like it's, ~you know,~ there's part of like stepping up to the dance floor so they know where to meet you so you can tango together, right? So hopefully leaving this, if ~you've-- you know, ~someone does come and they go all in, that they'll [00:28:00] have some clues to help their leader develop them in a more meaningful way and not just this tick box exercise that so often people experience.

Candice: think that's so true. Like I was just gonna say, ~you know, what, what, ~what will participants leave with that they won't get from simply the keynote? And I think you just kind of said it there, is ~it--~ that's exactly what you do. You've got actual tools to go back with and be like, "Right, I wanna have a conversation.

~This is, ~this is where I want changes made. This is what I'm gonna be doing differently."

Rachael: Yeah, and here's where I need support. Who in the organization can help me? Can you recommend an internal mentor? ~You know,~ it's a very different conversation than, "I feel like I need a new title, and I feel like I want more respect," and, ~you know, um, ~"We need to change. I need to learn AI." It's like~ it's,~ it's actually breaking it down and helping them figure out how to help you get

Candice: Yep. Yep. And pains me to ask this question, but if someone was only able to take one day out of the office, how would you explain a bit the difference between going to the keynote or going to the masterclass?

Rachael: Well, I guess ~it's, ~it's not even just about the keynote. It's like [00:29:00] how much, ~you know,~ do they wanna see the content from absolutely everybody~ or,~ or the masterclass? And do they want to walk away with ideas, or do they want an experience where it's immersive, they get support to actually pick it apart and figure out how to move forward?

So two different things. Walk away with your ideas ~and, ~and manage yourself, or you can come along to the masterclass and/or, and we'll workshop it together

Candice: yeah. I would hate to be put in that position, 'cause I would not be able to... I'd be like, "Nah, I'm taking a personal day on, on the second day." Because I hate missing out on things. I hate hearing that someone's gone and done something that I wanted to do, and then I'm like, "Gosh, I wish I'd have stayed for that," or, "I wish I had have done that."

~Uh, ~I saw a retreat recently that I was umming and ahhing about and I was like, "I really wish I had have done that, but maybe next year. Next time."~ Um,~ so look, we often invest so much time developing technical skills and, but, like, your masterclass seems much more strategic than that. So why is now the time, the right, the right time, I [00:30:00] guess, for admins to invest in this type of prof- professional development?

I'm chewing all of my words today.

Rachael: I honestly don't think we can afford not to. ~That's,~ that's the bottom line for me. When you look at how much is changing,~ you know,~ the stakes are so high now, not in a fear-mongering way, but I often say in my trainings, "Do you want things to happen to you, with you, or because of you?" So if you're happy to have things happen to you, that is your role is changed without your consultation,~ uh,~ things fall into your remit that you might not necessarily want to do.

Maybe your function, there's discussion about offshoring or consolidation of roles. Like, if you want to have things happen because of you or with you, then you have to be leading those conversations, and that is about thinking differently and learning to think like an executive

Candice: Yeah. And looking ahead, I know it's hard to do now 'cause I remember people would be like, "Do you have a five to 10-year plan?" It's like, I don't even have a one-year plan, love. Like, w- what does the world look like? But if you could look ahead, what excites you most about the future of the [00:31:00] profession?

Rachael: I think the possibility to finally let go of that just an admin perception, like I think that is less prevalent than it's been before, but actually reshape a role that is recognized as highly influential, highly credible, and something that is responsible for not just stabilizing the health of the organization, but being a key factor of its success, a key pivotal, critical asset that pushes the business forward

Candice: That's so true. I've never seen so many admins being promoted into more senior roles or more senior titles like executive business partners or, ~um,~ what was Rachel Quinn just got promoted to Executive Director of Administration or something recently. Like,~ uh, the role-- ~there's new roles evolving out of it.

So, you know, while they're saying, "Oh, the EA role is disappearing," yeah, into new roles. ~It,~ it's exciting. I don't know why people are looking at like, "Oh, it's, you know, we're not gonna exist anymore." We're always gonna exist. We're just gonna be existing in different capacities

Rachael: Yeah,~ I th-~ I think the people [00:32:00] who are very scared haven't figured out what their place is yet. I think it comes down to that. It's like, what am I great at? ~What,~ what parts that I'm great at still matter? I think it's people who are still trying to find their way around that, that are, that are fearful and not sure how to move forward

Candice: And you're not gonna know and you're not gonna have the clarity of those things if you're not talking about it as well, if you're not, going to-- Even just networking, talking to other admins. What are you doing? What's happening in your world? What's happening in your admin group? Like, most firms have an admin group.

Like, tap in, talk to people. That's the whole, whole point of being a part of an admin network. All right, so finally, for anyone who's listening who's considering joining us at the Admin Avenues conferences this year, why do you think this conversation is one they simply can't afford to miss?

Rachael: For all the reasons I've already said, I think it's not a time to be complacent. It's not a time to wait for things to happen to you. If you wanna feel empowered, being part of the conversation, hearing new [00:33:00] ideas, these things really matter. They're the soundbites that you can take forward back when you get to the office that you can actually build into your goals, your new performance plan, your professional development.

It's just a fresh lens of looking at things, and I think, ~you know,~ the way we've always done things isn't going to help us anymore

Candice: it's true. And also it's always just such a fun day. So come along.

Rachael: a fun

Candice: It's so nice seeing everyone. It feels like a bit of a reunion when you're seeing people. Even there's always like a two to three degree separation, ~like d-~ like, "Oh, I've seen you before." I've s- "Oh, uh, do you work with..." It's just such a nice group.

They're your people. ~Uh,~ they're there to learn with you. No one's better than anyone in that room. We're all just sitting there trying to do our best. ~Um,~ but the speakers are incredible this year. We've got Rachel, who ~I have no h- no...~ I'll make her blush, but I have no qualms in saying she is hands down the best EA trainer in the world.

~Um, ~we have... You are. You are. I've, I've seen around the world, and you are hands down the best EA trainer in the world. We've got [00:34:00] neuroscientists, we've got wellness, we've got, ~uh,~ Informotion doing AI tech training. I mean, it's going to be a full on day. So that's why we've let you have till 10:00 AM the next day for your brain to recover.

~Um,~ and then we're gonna go straight in with the immersive experience with Rachel's, ~um,~ master class. So really looking forward to it. Thank you so much for doing this because I think now is the most important time that admins need to get their head around this, ~um,~ and just take the fear away as well. I think once you feel that you're in control of something and you feel like you've got...

you're empowered by what you know, knowledge is power, right? you can then go into your career feeling like you have more control of it. So really, really excited to have you there again this year. So thank you Rachel Binetti. As always, we will be putting details for-- to connect with her and her website.

And also, if you've not heard of the EA Academy before, you're weird. But, we'll put details of that as well because it's such a great program. If you're not able to be part of it at this time of the year, we understand things are going on in the world. ~Um, ~[00:35:00] Rachel runs this program every quarter, is it?

Rachael: No, it's only twice a year, so it's not back now until January, but the wait list is already, already humming. So

Candice: Okay. All right, so we'll put that in there as well because it's always good to know. All right. Thank you as always for joining us. Have a great day, and we'll see you soon

Rachael: Thanks for having me