Annie Croner:
Welcome to The Whole Assistant Podcast, where assistants come to embrace their badassery and discover how to show up more strategically for their careers, their executives, and most importantly, themselves. I'm your coach, Annie Croner. Join us as we dive into the skills, strategies, and mindset that will help you unleash your full potential. Let's go. Hello. So this month on the podcast, I have been sharing some mindset shifts that will help you clarify how you want to show up, help you think about your value proposition in different ways and affirm everything you're currently doing in your current work environment. And also just kind of help you level up how you're deciding to think about your current role. I think that often what comes naturally to us, we assume, because naturally to everyone.
Annie Croner:
But that is not, in fact, the case. Right. It has not been my experience that that is the case. Anyway, so today we're talking all about making the shift from Chaos Coordinator to the anchor. And look, guys, I think we have all, at one time or another, used the term chaos Coordinator to describe what it is that we do. But words matter. And I just want us to consider that there may be a better way of thinking about what it is we actually offer the value we bring to the table that is different from a Chaos Coordinator. And so I'm going to be sharing a concept called being the anchor today, like the anchor on a ship.
Annie Croner:
And we're going to look at how these two ways of thinking about our roles differ. So there again, words matter. Words are how we define and articulate the value we bring to the table. Words can either add value to what we do, or words can devalue what we do. So let's look at the term Chaos Coordinator. Is this a helpful way of looking at yourself and your role? Do you want to spend your time coordinating chaos, or would you rather kill chaos altogether? For me, being the Chaos Coordinator implies lack of process. It also implies lack of organization. It also implies that you're ingesting frenetic energy, that frenzy that can happen, especially in certain work environments.
Annie Croner:
I know that in certain environments, environments, particularly startups and nonprofits, there can just be a lot of whack a mole energy and frenetic energy with the constant changes and the constant evolution. And we can tend to ingest that. And so I do think that it's really important that we don't. And I'm going to share a story, so. Oh, man. A long time ago at this point, I was speaking at an event, and a friend of mine was also speaking at an event, and this friend brought somebody to help her. And the person that she brought didn't really have a lot of experience working with speakers. And this person's energy was just really all over the board.
Annie Croner:
And her energy ended up kind of affecting the rest of us in an interesting way, in that because she was frantic and she was running around like a chicken with her head cut off, we also felt inclined to do the same. Like, we met her where she was at without even recognizing or realizing it. And so I do think that it is important to actually frame our roles in a helpful way that will help us show up to be the calm in the storm, instead of feeding into that frantic energy, that frantic way of being, and that frantic mentality. All this to say that in ingesting frenetic energy is also something that just happens for a lot of us, because a lot of us are really empathetic. But I will offer that perhaps a better way of thinking about your role is to be the anchor and not the chaos coordinator. Like, I like to think about myself and how I want to show up in crazy situations, and I want to be the calm in the storm. I don't want to feed into that frantic energy. I don't want to feed into the crazy.
Annie Croner:
So I prefer to view the administrative role as being the anchor. So you're solidly holding the ship down while others around you are tossed around by the waves on the surface. Your executive can be up on the waves, riding the waves, tossed around by the wind, tossed around by the waves. And you can be solid. You can be that person that is a grounding force for your executive. You can be that person that is a grounding force for your team as well. And this is also a great way to there again affect company culture, because if you are able to think clearly, if you're able to remain calm while everyone else around you is frantically running around like chickens with their heads cut off. That can just add so much value.
Annie Croner:
So, so much value. First of all, there are many benefits to being the anchor. One of those benefits is objectivity, because whenever we are frantic and we feel rushed or hurried, we aren't thinking objectively. We just aren't. And I think also there again, another benefit is being that calming presence for your executive and that calming presence for your team as well. And I have to tell you guys, this is something that I struggled with as an executive assistant more often than not, until I actually recognized and realized the value of being that calming force, until I actually recognized in myself that I didn't have to ingest my executive's energy, ingest maybe a teammate's energy that is feeling anxious that the anxiety around me, it wasn't required for me to take that on and ingest all of that. So it can be really challenging to not give into that because a lot of us there again are empathetic. I know I am and I know I certainly was as an executive assistant as well.
Annie Croner:
But I do think that we can make the transition from chaos coordinator to anchor. And the first kind of step in this is to just lay down that frenetic energy and embrace what I like to refer to as a powerful calm. So it's not that we aren't going to be doing things at a clip. It's not that we are not going to be optimizing and and be ultra productive. It's just that we're going to do it from a much better place. You will be more productive, you'll think more clearly and ultimately you're going to be more effective as a business partner if you remain clear headed. And we remain clear headed by remaining calm. And we remain calm by staying in our own emotional lane.
Annie Croner:
Because it's going to be impossible to actually add value and be that calm in the storm if we dive into the pool with our executives and if we dive into the pool with our teams when everyone else is freaking out. So I do think that a lot of us have empathy and so a lot of us are not even aware that we're doing this, but we totally are. We're totally giving in to this negative energy. We're totally giving into this frantic thing that happens, this busyness that happens that isn't productive. And look, I'm all for remaining busy if you're being productive while you're being busy, if you're being intentional, intentional while you're being busy, if you are hitting the high ticket items that need to get done and off your plate, the high value things. I am all for that. What I am not about is kind of there again jumping into the pool with our executives, taking on their emotional state as our own. Failing to recognize the boundaries that we have emotionally with the people around us, failing to recognize that we can turn the tide in our favor and anchor the entire office and anchor our entire group of colleagues if we are able to remain calm.
Annie Croner:
And it's just such a great reputation to have too. Right? So when I think about this type of calm energy, the powerful calm as I like to call it, it's just gonna be so much more empowering to act from that place than to feel pushed around by our circumstances, to feel pushed around by everyone's emotions around us, to feel pushed around by the tide as opposed to being that anchor. And I do think it's gonna be important for us to recognize what is yours to own and control and what isn't. So what is yours to own and control are your thoughts, your feelings, your actions, which then create your results. So there again, you're going to stay in your own lane emotionally, and then recognizing what is out of your control, which is how your executive chooses to show up, which is how your team chooses to show up. Right. So recognizing that power comes from the calm, and then choosing to remain calm despite the chaos around you, Again, it's easier said than done. But I do think that one key strategy to actually embracing calm is to give up this identity of being the chaos coordinator.
Annie Croner:
I wanna be the place that chaos goes to die. I wanna bring death to the chaos. And I want to set up systems for everyone's success. I wanna set up systems for my success, for sure. I wanna set up systems for my executive success. And the way that we do that is by releasing this idea that things have to be chaotic in us, even though they're chaot. We always have control over our inner world. We don't always have control over our external world.
Annie Croner:
And look, it's natural for the external world to sometimes infiltrate the inner world. But what I like to do and what I encourage my clients to do is I just put my hand on my heart like, okay, this is mine to own, that's theirs to own. And just remind yourself, kind of coach yourself through that. You don't have to ingest your external environment. And also, if your external environment is toxic, I am not going to advocate that you stay in that environment either. We get to decide how we show up on purpose for any situation. And that includes chaos, and that includes these environments that are more fast paced. There's a difference between being fast paced and chaotic.
Annie Croner:
Right. I work at a clip. I work very fast paced. But it is seldom that. I am working from a place of chaos and disorganization. Normally I am working from a place of intention that I have lined out earlier in my day, my plan for the day, and I execute, and I do it at a decent pace. So I'm not saying that we don't wanna get things done. I'm not saying that we want to twiddle our thumbs or kick back and not do anything.
Annie Croner:
I think that our brain often goes to extremes, like either you're steeped in chaos and you're managing all the things. You're doing it from a frenetic energy or you're calm and you're kickback and you aren't doing anything. You're just kicking back, eating bonbons and watching Netflix. I am not advocating for either one of those things. What I am advocating for is intentionality and a reframe of your role and a reframe of how you're showing up for that role. So in order to stay injective, we are going to have to release this idea that we are Chaos coordinators. We just are. And there again, words matter.
Annie Croner:
So I really encourage you all to adopt this idea of being the anchor, being that calming presence, being that person your executive turns to when they are feeling a little out of control, when they are feeling overwhelmed, even if you are feeling a little bit of the overwhelm as well. It's such a value add to your executive. It is such a value add to your team. And look, we are all a work in progress. So if you can remember as the chaos is swirling around you to return to yourself in a meaningful way and ask yourself in that moment, how do I want to show up for this? Do I want to show up feeding into the chaos or do I want to shut the chaos down entirely? Do I want to be the anchor for my executive and team or do I want to be up riding the waves with them, feeding into that energy? You always have a choice. So that is what I have for you guys today. I hope you find it helpful and I hope that you can make the mindset shift from Chaos Coordinator to being the anchoring force in your executive's life and world. Okay guys, that's what I have for today.
Annie Croner:
That's all for now. Hey, before you go, don't forget to grab my free strategic planning session guide. This stealthy playbook will help you and your executive find clarity on their priorities so you can make a greater impact. Go to wholeassistant.com/guide or click the link in the Show Notes to snag your copy. And if you're loving the podcast, please subscribe, leave a review and share with another assistant ready to level up. Thanks for listening and until next time, keep embracing your badassery.
