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. Welcome back to the Whole Assistant Podcast. Today I am talking all about the power of connection. And as I was reflecting on this topic, I was reflecting on how many people I have placed in my life, how many people I've sought out to be in my life that have been really impactful. People like my therapist, people like my coach, people like mentors and that sort of thing.
Annie Croner:
And just the power that I have gleaned from those relationships, the immense knowledge that they possess, and then also for me to unlock my true desires, to unlock what I'm about, to unlock the fullness of me as well. They've been really instrumental in that. I also think about my best friends and the fact that they started out as administrative professionals. Two of them, Valerie and Rebecca are their names. And Val and I started working in the theater office back in college. Together. She did admin roles to pay the bills. She's now a thriving therapist who lives in Canada.
Annie Croner:
And my best friend Rebecca lives here in Denver and she's an actor, writer, producer, and also an executive assistant by day. So I'm just thinking about all these people that I've connected with over the years and how we have built each other up and how we have cheered each other. And I just don't think that I would be the person I am without their influence. So I did want to hop on today and just share about the power of connection. I know that these roles can often feel really isolating and we can feel siloed in our roles, and to some extent that's a requirement of the job, right? Especially if you're privy to sensitive information. You're supporting a C suite executive or a high level executive, and you are aware of things coming down the pike that most people aren't aware of. Of course you're going to feel a little bit of that isolation. And we can isolate ourselves without even realizing that we're actually doing that.
Annie Croner:
So there are some costs of living in isolation, of not tapping into your network, of not developing a strong network of support professionals, particularly as it relates to this podcast episode, because I'm here to serve you and most of you our executive assistants or administrative professionals. So what, when it comes to the context of our roles, we really need to be mindful to grow our network. I also put out a course earlier this year that shares with you how to land your dream role. And one of the things that I cover in that course is the invisible job market. And so 70% of jobs are never even posted. And so how do we tap into those roles and how do we actually get in front of somebody for those roles? Or through networking? Seriously, through your network. So networking can be super powerful. And for the context of our conversation today, I'm going to keep the conversation more broad and we're going to talk about connection, but of course we're talking about anything community related.
Annie Croner:
We're talking about learning networks, networking, executive assistant communities, all of that. And how can we leverage those communities for our growth, but also to feel less isolated and less alone. And. And there is a cost to the isolation, right? Because there is no sounding board. If you are doing it alone, you're the person who's being resourceful. And look, one of my core values is resourcefulness and resilience. So I will say that I'm in good company there because most of us are very resourceful, we're very resilient, and unfortunately, we rely on ourselves too much. That's kind of a byproduct of that resourcefulness piece is turning to yourself a lot and not actually leveraging those in your network that you may know, those in your community that you may know, and developing those connections.
Annie Croner:
So sounding boards are very, very important there. Again, I mentioned earlier on in this episode that I have a therapist. I also have a coach. I love both of those people. They are sounding boards that I have hired and paid to give me wisdom and solid strategies for leveling up my mindset, for managing myself, for reflecting back to me what's going on within myself. Because sometimes when you are so close to things, you can't actually see clearly through the wee. It's really challenging and it's really fascinating about this is that I coach executive assistants for hours and hours every week, and yet I still am not always privy to my own blind spots. I still am unaware of some of those blind spots.
Annie Croner:
So having somebody that you can bounce ideas off of, even if it's just a colleague to point out those blind spots is a solid strategy for leveling up. It is a solid strategy for growth and it will propel you forward. Also, another kind of cost of isolation is fewer resources. What I love about tapping into a network full of people is that you're going to get different life experiences, you're going to get different backgrounds, you're going to get different levels of experience, you're going to get a variety and literally hundreds of years of experience at your fingertips and you are going to feel well resourced because you have a community backing you, which I love. And last but not least, the last cost of isolation is that you're not hearing what's working for other people, you're not hearing what other people are going through. And oftentimes we can tend to think that we're the only person going through something when in fact that's not the case. If you're going through it, chances are somebody else has gone through it or is going through it as well. So I love the idea of tapping the power in any room I'm in full of executive assistants and inside leveled up.
Annie Croner:
We are doing that on a regular basis. We actually have collaboration calls where it's just people coming to share their wisdom, it's people coming with their questions to source the power and knowledge in the room. Granted it's a virtual room, but in the zoom room. So that's what I love about the power of community. And there are just so many great benefits to connecting with others there again, you have years of experience to pull from. Instead of just your own knowledge, which can be limited based on your own experience, your beliefs around what's possible for you will also be challenged, which is so awesome. I too am a member of a coaching community as well and my coach is based in Ireland, which is just so much fun. For a long, long time I was the only American in the group.
Annie Croner:
We now have another American in the group as well. But what I love about it is that we are all running our businesses but all of our businesses look so different and I have this set of beliefs around what's possible for me and, and when I show up to these calls or group calls, I am constantly challenged with regards to what's possible for me based on what's what everyone else is think it thinks is possible for them. There are people in our group who are running multimillion dollar companies and I'm like, oh my gosh, how can I leverage their knowledge to get me to the next level in my business, to get me to the next income level, whatever the case may be. And so we just need that sounding board. Sometimes we just need somebody to reflect back to us what is possible or share what has been possible for them so that we can kind of adopt a similar mentality and begin to expand and grow what we think is possible for us. I'm going to give an example of this. I had in the last round of Leveled Up, a gal who was dealing with a very tricky executive. And it seemed like this executive may have had some narcissistic tendencies.
Annie Croner:
Of course, I'm not a therapist, so I'm not going to diagnose this person, but it seemed like there was probably something like that going on. And there was another person in this group who had worked with a terrible executive prior and was able to offer her wisdom. Instead of just me showing up and coaching, we had a community surrounding this person and encouraging this person. And what I love about that is that this person ended up feeling less alone. This person ended up feeling like they were resourced, like it wasn't their fault. I know that for a lot of us when we're dealing with challenging personalities in the workplace, it can tend to affect our confidence. And. And I just love that we were able to surround and support this person.
Annie Croner:
But it wasn't just me. It was the group that was surrounding and supporting this person. It was the group that was encouraging this person to. To stand up for themselves, to take back control of their life, to take back their power in so many ways. And I love that. That's what I love about working in group environments. And it's what I love about coaching in group environments as well, is because it's not just me. More often than not, there's somebody else there who has been there before, and it's just really, really cool.
Annie Croner:
And so this can help us get unstuck faster, which, as you know, I love this for us because I'm all about getting unstuck. And the faster we can get unstuck, the better. And how we do that is by surrounding ourselves with other voices that are there to support and encourage us. Okay. I think too, that connecting with others can be incredibly validating of our experience. It reminds us that we're not alone there again. And this leads to increased confidence. And also, guys, our brains are literally wired for connection.
Annie Croner:
When you think about the dopamine, the oxytocin, the mirror neurons, how all of that works together, most of those things are triggered in the context of community, in the context of other people being present. And when we don't have those things, when we don't have connection, we can tend to face loneliness. We can tend to burn out faster because we're trying to do all the things and we feel unsupported or alone in our roles. And so just not a good winning combination for success, for longevity. So here are some strategies to help you cultivate connection. And I will say that connection doesn't just happen, especially for most of us. Like I said, I'm a member of a coaching community. I have a therapist.
Annie Croner:
I've got another community of friends and whatnot. I had to cultivate those relationships, and especially with the coach and the therapist. I'm paying those people. I'm paying those people to be a resource for me. I'm paying those people to point out how I'm choosing to think about things and to point out my own blind spots. And whatever type of connection you're looking for, whether it's an organic connection with friend, whether it's a mentorship or whatnot, being really intentional about creating those connections will go a long way. I was reflecting on this earlier as I was penning this podcast episode and as I was coming up with this idea and as I was kind of fleshing out my ideas when it comes to connection. And I was also reflecting on my high school and college days where connection just came so easily because you're in the same place and you're spending hours a day with somebody or a group of people, you just develop this bond and connection.
Annie Croner:
And I would say that that happens sometimes in the workplace with admin teams or learning networks and things like that. But more often than not, it is going to require much more intentionality. Now that we are adults, it just will. And that can be frustrating sometimes. I know for me, trying to find friend groups here in Denver, it's been a challenge as well, trying to make sure that I'm being intentional with it. And if I neglect to reach out to people, that's on me. So I am very aware of this reality that if you want to have a good burgeoning network around you, if you want to develop connections, you're going to have to do it with some intentionality. And there are several amazing administrative communities online.
Annie Croner:
A ton, actually. There's Lauren Bradley of the Officials. There's Becky Kaopuni and her and her group, the EA Social Club, which meets in a variety of cities around the U.S. there are just a lot of really great resources. There's Jeremy Burrows and a leader assistant, and he's got an online group as well. There's connected assistants. There's so many groups that you could leverage and connect with. And also I would highly encourage you to be growing consistently your network on LinkedIn.
Annie Croner:
The reason for this is there again, I just created a course for job seekers. If you want to tap into the invisible job market, you're going to have to have a network around you, you're going to have to be really mindful about growing your network, even if you were currently employed. I always encourage people to constantly be growing their network on LinkedIn. If for no other reason, then that will be a great resource for you. I had a connection reach out to me one time and she was looking for a very specific pen in a very specific color and she needed to go out and buy the physical pen because they were down to the wire and it was a last minute request. And so she called me just asking if I happened to know of anybody who had this pen or anywhere I could look. And I just happened to be sitting next to the home manager, my last employer, who used to be a jeweler, and he had this great resource for this pen. You never know what your network will provide for you.
Annie Croner:
And I know that sometimes it feels weird because we're like, you think you're just asking for things from people? No, you're going to be contributing things too. You're going to be contributing your brilliance, your expertise. And I always encourage people to give more than what they expect to get to any connection that they have. And this is why I'm giving away so many free resources all the time. I had somebody hop on a discovery call with me last week. You know who you are if you're listening to this podcast episode. And she's, man, it just seems like you really care about your community. It seems like you're really invested and you really want to see everyone succeed and it just seems like you give away a lot.
Annie Croner:
And she's right, because I do love you all and I do want to see you succeed and I do think you can get a transformation from just listening to this podcast. And so I love to give to my community and when I need something from my community, they are always really willing to give back to me as well. So, yes, we definitely want to be growing our networks consistently. I would also encourage you, if you're seeking mentorship, to consider the people that you look up to and just reach out to them. And here's the deal, if you're seeking a mentor, always buy the coffee, always invite them to coffee and say you'll pay. It just sets the right tone for the relationship and it also says that you respect their time and their energy and the fact that they are willing to meet with you. That is my pro tip for mentorship. I was told this early on in my career and every time I've sought to bring somebody out to coffee, that has Always been my mo.
Annie Croner:
I'm always like, can I take you to coffee? I'd love to chat with you about X, Y or Z. I'd love to get your feedback on this situation. And that has served me really well. So pro tip, if you're looking for mentorship, take someone out to coffee. You can also seek out a coach. That's the great thing about growth and about connection is that you can work one on one with somebody on your skill set, on your goals, on whatever it is you're trying to achieve. And what I love about coaching is that your coach is likely going to point out some ways that you're thinking that aren't helpful for achieving that goal. So we're going to work on mindset.
Annie Croner:
We're going to work on a variety of different things that will help you truly level up and it's going to be catered and focused, specific to you. So that's what I love about coaching. That's also what I love about therapy. And I was just writing someone earlier today and explaining the difference between those two things. Therapy is very much focused on the past and unraveling past trauma or whatever, or unraveling your past so you can understand your present better. Coaching is about achieving a result. So it's about developing the mindset, developing the resilience, and it is very goal focused. So with my clients, what we do is we start out with a values assessment so I can get clear on their values.
Annie Croner:
We also set goals for our time together. I reference both of those things as we step through the coaching process and just to make sure that we're staying on track and that you are going to walk away with the most value possible from the coaching relationship. So it just depends on what you're looking for when it comes to connection. Are you looking for a coach? Are you looking for a community? Are you looking for a group of other badass eas that you can chew the fat with or go to happy hour with or bounce ideas off of? Right. And then you can also start your own learning network in your organization. Last week Ebony Bellhumer came and did a talk for my group on the power of AI and how implementing AI is actually a very human thing and creating learning networks so that we can better understand and implement AI and also the ethics around AI and having those meaningful conversations. And it inspired a couple of people in my community to go start their own learning networks. Now, granted, it's going to be a lot broader reaching than just AI, but this is what I love about community, is that we get these ideas and then we go implement them and then we create other communities and it grows and it blossoms and it's so much fun to watch.
Annie Croner:
And it's so much fun to encourage my clients and my people to go and start their own learning network as well. And then I think last but not least, my final pro tip for cultivating connection is to show up authentically. I will host these networking events, which I'm going to tell you about. One coming up in just a minute here. I will host these networking events and people will show up, but they want their camera off because their makeup isn't done. And I'm sitting here going, what are you talking about? This is a place for authenticity. This is a place for safety. This is a place for connection.
Annie Croner:
Turn on your camera, connect with us. You don't have to show up perfectly. And perfection is never, never the goal. It is always authenticity. It is always connection and encouragement. That is a whole purpose for these networking events. So I'm gonna be hosting a networking event later on this month on October 29th at 12:00 MST. You can go to wholeassistant.com/empowerhour to register for that.
Annie Croner:
And if you just want to start with this event and you want to give it a go and see who you connect with, please come join us. This is going to be an hour and it's going to be an hour of fun. It's going to be an hour of connection. What I do is I put people into breakout rooms with a specific topic so you aren't staring at each other blankly and then I pull you back into the room after a few minutes and there's one story shared from each room and it is just a good time. And I tell you what, I spend the majority of that time laughing because it is just so much fun to hear people's stories. It's so hilarious. And also what I love about this is that everybody walks away feeling more connected. Everybody walks away feeling less alone.
Annie Croner:
Everyone walks away feeling empowered and much more light hearted. So please come join us for this midweek hour of fun, hour of connection and really our power. Because you are taking back your power. You're going to walk away with strategies that will help you level up, that will make you feel less alone. And that is awesome. I'm also going to be sharing about a new offer that I'm putting out there. I'm going to be launching a membership later on this month called the Empowered Seat. And it is going to be a good time.
Annie Croner:
So please join us for Empower Hour. There is a link to register below, so please check out the link in the Show Notes and join us. And also, connection doesn't have to be scary. It doesn't. And I know that we can psych ourselves out and do all the things. And my encouragement to you is to just show up authentically. And as someone who has put herself out there in really big ways online, I'm not everybody's cup of tea. And I realize that.
Annie Croner:
I realize that. And so you probably won't be everybody's cup of tea either. But that shouldn't stop you from creating a robust network, from connecting with others, and doing it from a really authentic and genuine place. Okay, guys, that is what I have for you today. Be intentional. Be whole. That is all for now. Hey, before you go, don't forget to grab my free Strategic Planning Session guide.
Annie Croner:
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.
