In this episode, Catherine Wright shares her varied career journey leading up to her current role as an Executive Assistant to a CEO. She discusses the importance of understanding the business you work for, being a connector between teams, and adding value wherever possible.

Some key pieces of advice Catherine offers:

• Be meticulous about diary management - think through all the details like agenda items, travel/transition time between meetings, focus time, and your executive's well-being
• Remember that your own time management is just as important as your executive's
• Constantly keep learning and building your network
• Don't be afraid to take ownership and be assertive when needed in managing your executive's schedule
• Find ways to add value and make an impact, even with simple things like organizing social events
• Tackle your most dreaded task first thing (eat the frog) to make the rest of your day easier

Catherine also shares some of her favourite tools like OneNote, Asana, and good old-fashioned to-do lists. Her story illustrates how initiative, resilience, and a service-oriented mindset can enable an EA to become a true partner to their executive and make a difference in their organisation.

The EA Campus