Why EAs Should Be Executives

Want a seat at the executive table? Kristine Valenzuela shares why she thinks EAs should become (and should already be considered) executives.

Recorded at APC 2024 and produced by the American Society of Administrative Professionals - ASAP. Learn more and submit a listener question at asaporg.com/podcast.

Leah Warwick: Hi, everyone. I'm Leah Warwick, and you're listening to "The Admin Edge." For those of you listening who are executive admins, do you feel like you truly have a seat at the executive table? Our guest today, Kristine Valenzuela, is an executive business partner who believes EAs should be considered executives. Now, let's get into this lively discussion with Kristine and Zynetta Canning O'Neill, an EA herself and ASAP ambassador.

Zynetta: Hi, I'm Zynetta Canning O'Neill, brand ambassador, event coordinator, cultural leader, and executive assistant. My guest today is executive business partner Kristine Valenzuela. Welcome to the podcast, Kristine.

Kristine: Thank you! I don't know if I could follow that up. I don't have a good byline like this, like I'm an EA.

00:00:54

And I'm not just an EA, though. I'm a career EA. I like to refer to myself as an advocate for EAs. I'm now a speaker. I spoke yesterday. I have another session today.

Zynetta: I love that. Executive assistants wear many hats, and I'm sure you do. Listen, I've stalked you on LinkedIn. I've seen your credentials. You are all that and more. So we're going to jump into some questions here for The Admin Edge podcast, all right? So here we go. What unique perspectives do aspiring EAs bring to executive leadership positions?

Kristine: Okay, so one of the things I feel most passionate about is that I one thousand percent believe that EAs can also be executives, and I'm always looking at my bosses. They think I'm crazy. I don't care.

00:01:46

I'm looking at them like: We do the executive – I mentioned this yesterday. We do the executives' jobs. I mean,  I've had a number of jobs where my boss is in meetings all day, and I'm reading the emails. I'm getting the slides. I'm doing all the prep work so all this guy has to do is come in, review my work, say yes or no, and walk out and go home.

00:02:07

And so it's like I'm trying to promote the fact that we have what it takes. You've got to just believe that you can do it. But one of the main things that I always point out – because I think about, if someone were to put me on the spot and be like, "Why should you be an executive?" We already embody all of the qualities of an executive, right? We've got the tangible qualities. We know how to make decisions at a high level – C level. We're reactive, we're empathetic, we're trustworthy, [and] we have all the integrity. 

00:02:44

But then we've just got all the tangibles and the intangibles of a leader, so why not? I've actually looked at C-level job descriptions that have been open, and I'm like, we do all that. We do all that already. But the main thing is – the reason I almost think we would be better executives than some of the ones – not all of them. We have some great leaders out there. But why we would be even better is that we have some of the best positioning in corporate America. Why is that, Kristine? Tell us why. 

So we have access to the C level. We have access to the top. We know what's going on at the top. We know what the plans are. We know how things are executed or not executed. We know all the loopholes, how the things run at the top. We are also kind of just the everyday employees. We sit in the lunchroom with everyone else. We see the cleaning crew. We know their names. We know everyone at all the levels. People tend to be intimidated by the C-level execs. They think that they're in this ivory tower. You can't socialize with them. 

00:03:56

We're more approachable, right? We're kind of the everyday. So we hear what's happening at every single level of the company. Our executives don't get that. We see what's happening. We hear. We get the chatter. We're not just going to push forward gossip, right? We can hear enough things. And I know. I can amalgamate information and say, "You know, I have heard this like ten times over the past month. This must be a thing. Let's dig into this." And then I dig into it. I bring it to my boss. Our bosses don't get that. I've been the one to be like, "Do you know what's going on in the software department? We've got to do something about this." We're perfectly positioned. We can do it. We can do it. 

Zynetta: I love that response. We do wear many hats, and we are cross functionally in every single department. We have our hands in everything. You do hear the chatter, and you do have that more approachable aspect and characteristic of a coworker.

00:05:00

In my personal experience, people will come to me and tell me things, and you overhear things and you're kind of in the right place at the right time. 

Kristine: You're the armchair psychologist for absolutely everyone in the company.

Zynetta: Right. And I feel like the executive would appreciate you coming back and sharing what needs to be shared. Not everything needs to be shared. Not all the details. Some stuff is just chatter. So I do like that response.

All right, let's move on to the next question. In what ways can EAs prioritize impact and ethical considerations in corporate governance? 

Kristine: I told you this yesterday, that I love this because I feel like I'm already CEO, and she wants to know on an executive level how I would respond to this. And of course I already have a response.

00:05:46

Okay, so prioritize impact and ethical considerations. Anything like this, I think it starts with being a good steward of the company. You have to talk the talk and walk the walk. That is one problem that I see with some executive leaders – again, not all – is that they feel that their mission statement, their ethics or whatever is a thing on their website; it's not something that they live, practice, or they don't even know what it is half the time. That's one thing I look for when I'm looking for a job. I want to see people who are actually doing what they say their company is supposed to do, and it's not just marketing. You definitely have to be a good steward of the company. 

You've got to keep the impacts and ethics on the radar of the executives. Again, it kind of goes back to filtering up the important chatter. 

00:06:44                     

Zynetta: And you know what else? Trust. People trust the EA and people feel comfortable to come to you, and that's why you hear that chatter. That's why you hear –

Kristine: We're honest brokers and we will tell you yay or nay. We can't tell you all of the details – we'd love to, but we can't. But people do feel comfortable more so than going to the C-level executive to tell you, and they know you're going to bring to the table what needs to be brought and maybe a solution to it, or at least bring it to the right table for it to be discussed.

Zynetta: So let's go to the next question. What are some examples of successful EAs who have transitioned into executive roles? And what lessons can be learned from their experiences?

Kristine: Okay, so that's such a big question. We talked about this a little bit the other day.

Zynetta: As you can tell, we have talked.

Kristine: [Laughter] We've chatted a few times. So my number one example – I have a few here. The number one example is Colleen Barrett. For those of you that don't know who Colleen Barrett was, she was Herb Kelleher's EA. He was the first CEO of Southwest Airlines. He's the one who started Southwest Airlines, a phenomenal company for many, many, many years. He just thought that she was so smart he would take her everywhere and thought: You need to understand the things that I'm doing.

00:08:01

He took her everywhere. And boom, after he retired, she went into an executive management position because he's like, "You're qualified." And I'm like, yes, we need more people to say, "You see what I do. You know what I do. You can do it. Now here you go." And I just always love that example. 

Back after 9/11 – she was actually the president of Southwest Airlines when 9/11 happened. All the U.S.-based airlines, their earnings tanked, obviously. Air travel went down, and understandably so. She is the only CEO of an airline who actually was profitable in the months and years following 9/11. She is the only one. 

00:08:51

Why don't people talk about that? 

Zynetta: Well, we're talking about it.

Kristine: I know. So another good example – a high-level example – is Ursula Burns. She is CEO of Xerox Corporation.

Zynetta: Oh, I love that.

Kristine: She was an EA for many years at Xerox and again another situation [where] she went from being an EA – she was the EA to the CEO at Xerox. He saw something in her, and her first promotion out of EA was – she was the head of one of the business units there, and she worked her way up to CEO. She's now the first female and the first Black female CEO of Xerox, I believe, and she was an EA.

Another great example is Bozoma St. John. She was a former CMO at Netflix. She used to be Spike Lee's receptionist. I want to interview people at IKEA, because IKEA is doing something. They have had not one, not two, but three male EAs to the CEO. And do you know all three of those men have become CEOs of holding companies related to IKEA?

Zynetta: I love that.

00:10:06

Kristine: Jesper Broden, Anders Dahlvig, and Jon Abrahamsson Ring, they were all – they all started out as EAs. They have all become CEOs of various holding groups within the IKEA brand.

Zynetta: I love that example. You know what? We don't see too many males in this field, but I could tell you one thing: there's a lot of males here today and at this conference, at the APC Conference here in Colorado. So I think it's growing. I think that this field is spreading. As long as you can do the job, that's all that matters.

Kristine: We just need the people to give us the stage, because obviously they exist. Some people have done it. Any time I've ever gotten really vocal about it, I just get the looks that, yeah, mm-hm, okay.

00:10:51

But no, no, no. The way I like to tell people is that we are part of the best-paid mentorship program that exists. People and companies globally are clamoring to get into mentorship programs, to mentor with C-level executives, and people spend millions and millions and millions of dollars on mentorship programs because, hello, they're effective. Guess what? We get mentored by C-level leaders every single day. Do you not think we've picked up on how to make decisions, how to deal with those dumpster fires, how to deal with people, how to manage issues? 

Zynetta: This is why we're here at the podcast at "The Admin Edge," to talk about this stuff. All right, so we're going to jump to community member question, okay? So we had some listener questions submitted. They write: "You've spoken about why EAs should be considered executives themselves. What's the first mindset shift an EA should make to start positioning themselves as an executive in their organization? What advice would you give them, Kristine?

00:11:52                     

Kristine: Well, I'll give the advice that I gave to myself and followed for myself and that's – it's a little cliché; I'll the first to admit it. But if you want to get into that executive mindset and position yourself, you have to believe in yourself. You've got to do the work on yourself first. I went to therapy for many, many years. I graduated out of therapy – twice. [laughter]

Zynetta: That's okay.

Kristine: So I've done the work. I'm happy to talk to people about my therapy experience. I've been on medication, had to do all that stuff. I've had to do the work on myself. I used to not believe it. I was – believe it or not, I used to be shy. I used to not –

Zynetta: No! You, shy?

Kristine: I promise you. I was. I really was shy and I can be introverted at times, but I used to not believe. I was just like, ugh, because that's part of what was instilled in me was that: Just don't forget. You're a Mexican woman, and people are going to give you that eye that maybe you're not capable. So I kind of absorbed that a little bit.

00:13:02

I never thought – I was just like, I'm just here. I'm just doing my job. Whatever. But after all of the work, then I'm like, I am doing this job and I'm doing my boss' job. But I did the work. And you've got to do the work. Go to therapy. Read books. Listen to podcasts. Not very message is going to be for you, but you just – 

I was talking to an attendee here who I met – actually, in the front row over there. Pick up on the nuggets that meaningful to you, but just get your hands on all the information. You're going to find the things that apply to you in your life. Pull those in, and that's what's going to help, but just keep doing that work. You can keep your job, too, but just keep doing the work on yourself because that's really the only true way to make it.

00:13:43

I feel empowered enough now that I can stand up and be in a board meeting with executives. We're all the same people. Whatever. 

Zynetta: Yeah, we all bleed red, right?

Kristine: Yes.

Zynetta: And you know what? You represent so much as a woman, as a woman of color, Latin community, executives. You have so much going for you. I'm so excited. And I really want to thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me.

Kristine: Thank you! This has been so much fun.

[music playing]

Leah Warwick: Thank you for listening to "The Admin Edge," produced by the American Society of Administrative Professionals, original music and audio editing by Warwick Productions, with video and audio production at our events by 5Tool Productions. If you like this podcast, please leave us a nice review, five stars, and subscribe. If you'd like to submit a listener question, you may do so on our website at ASAPorg.com/podcast.