Athena Executive Services

About Us

Services + Pricing

The Productivity Blog

Case Studies

Delegation 101

For Financial Advisors

Client Testimonials

Executive Case Study

Contact

Let’s Connect

Job Opportunities

Speaking

Privacy Policy

Compensation and the High-Level Executive Assistant

For many, the conversation about compensation can be uncomfortable or even daunting. What is a high level Executive Assistant actually worth? Who decides that amount and assigns a number value?

This excellent article, featuring several thought leaders in the EA space, is for and about the compensation of high-level EAs who support C-Suite and Executive Leadership Teams (ELT). Just how does HR decide what your specific role is worth?

“High level EAs are not being offered the money they deserve because historically there has been so little hard data available about the role, which is a relatively small subset of the larger “administrative professional” job family category.”

 

Who Moved My Cheese? Who Moved My Life!?

This 22-year-old book is still so relevant! On the back cover, you’ll see the names of companies that reveal its age and era. This book is about the different ways we respond to life’s changes. Here in 2020 we might call a new edition of this book “Who Moved My Life?!”

The key characters are two mice (“Sniff” and “Scurry”) and two people (“Hem” and “Haw”), all on a journey to find the “cheese” (what they want in life).

Excerpt:

“The mice, Sniff and Scurry, used the simple trial-and-error method of finding cheese. They ran down one corridor and if it proved empty, they turned and ran down another. They remembered the corridors that held no cheese and quickly went into new areas.

Sniff would smell out the general direction of the cheese, using his great nose, and Scurry would race ahead. They got lost, as you might expect, went off in the wrong direction and often bumped into walls. But after a while they found their way.

Like the mice, the two little people, Hem and Haw, also used their ability to think and learn from their past experiences. However, they relied on their complex brains to develop more sophisticated methods of finding Cheese.

Sometimes they did well, but at other times their powerful human beliefs and emotions took over and clouded the way they looked at things. It made life in the maze more complicated and challenging.”

One thing that happens with Hem and Haw in the book, is that they keep going back to where they saw cheese in the past. They are frustrated that it’s not there and they keep hoping and lamenting about it. All the while Sniff and Scurry keep trying different pathways to see where new cheese might be.

Being an entrepreneur (in any year), or being a human being in the year 2020 requires a lot of Sniff & Scurry!

Where could you be venturing on new paths to find new cheese? (even if that seems annoying or risky?)

 

Fostering Unity In A Diverse Remote Team

Leading your team remotely comes with its own set of challenges and surprises. Technology leaders are paving the way for those freshly navigating this new world of work. 

This article offers some useful tips on how to create team unity and continue to improve your company culture, even while working virtually.

“If you’re looking to expand your business’ borders and hire more remote employees in the future, take a look at these 13 tips from the members of Forbes Technology Council.”

Read more via Forbes.com

 

 

WFH Perils and Predicaments – Part 3

Turning distractions and disruption into value!

The distractions and disruptions that happen working from home, can be turned on their head into something valuable. The annoyance or burden of laundry or dishes can be turned into a “brain break” or a break in the action of a stressful day. Maybe it’s time to get up from your desk and shake off that last phone call. Maybe last night’s dishes sitting in the sink, or drying on the counter, are now an opportunity to do something brainless for 10 minutes.

Do you have a morning ritual? The other day during our “morning ritual” time we decided to purge a closet. We emptied it; decided what to give away; re-organized and consolidated what was left; and put it neatly back in the closet. That was a very satisfying way to start a day! What was a pending, annoying house project that had been on our mind became something that gave us value and satisfaction at the start of our day.

One thing John and I particularly like about working at home together is that it combats the loneliness that can be there sometimes for an entrepreneur. We use each other to celebrate the big and small wins that happened throughout the week. We also use each other to bounce ideas off of. We often say, “Hey, when you have a minute could you look this over for me?” Or, “Hey, how would you deal with this situation?”

John is the chef in the house and while he’s not a formally trained chef, he is a really great cook and I’m so fortunate in these days of not going out to eat that we have healthy, creative and such flavorful meals. (We’re not above ordering pizza however!) My part of the bargain is that I do dishes, and make sure the kitchen is ready by the time he starts preparing dinner. So my breaks throughout the day may include pulling the Instant Pot or the sous-vide out of the pantry and setting it up some time in the afternoon.

John’s brain breaks include watering the plants or doing laundry. When I want some fresh air, I take out trash or recycle to the dumpster.

So, at the end of the day in the home and offices of Apollo and Athena, great work gets done, partnership abounds, and lo and behold a bunch of little things around the house get done. Like I said in my first blog . . . keeping the house neat is important when you live and work in 1100 square feet!

 

Gina Cotner

(Pictured: Delicious Ahi Poke Bowl, prepared by John!)

Communication Secrets of Remote Teams

“Working from home, we don’t have hallway conversations and office parties that strengthen relationships and build trust. Also absent are the contextual clues that help us interpret meaning: body language, facial expression, and tone of voice.

Without context, misunderstandings are more likely to occur. Without contact, trust can quickly dissolve into suspicion. The result, all too often, is a war of words carried out through electronic messages.”

Read More at MichaelHyatt.com

 

 

WFH Perils and Predicaments – Part 2

In our first blog, Gina talked about jointly working from home and how we have managed to be effective. I am going to address how we live (and work) in close quarters and the structures we use to support our sanity and our relationship.

Most of what we have learned about having life sing while working at home in close quarters has come as a result of doing it wrong. For instance, one of the things we discovered fairly quickly is that our working hours had no boundaries. We found that one of us was doing or planning on doing work things during a time that the other was expecting to be social or have down time. As a result, we agreed to “working hours” and “non-working hours” so that we knew what to expect from each other.

We also agreed to find ways to interact with each other during our work time. As Gina noted in our initial blog, we had to find a way to interrupt each other appropriately. So, we ask permission. And from time to time in the middle of an interruption we have to say “enough” in a way that doesn’t diminish the other’s sharing. This is a work in process. We are discovering how to be good at this.

Our partnership also extends to mindset. It is very easy to go to a dark place during these times. It takes something intentional to not let the impact of what is happening leave us upset or even angry. We have a text thread with another couple, close friends of ours, where we create every day what we say this day is for. We want our days to be spent inside of our design rather than living them as victims of these trying circumstances.

So, we recommend:

  • Agreed upon working and no-working hours
  • Ways to interact with each other during working hours
  • Determining what you are up to with each day so that you have the days be yours

Let us know what you think about these recommendations and what you are dealing with. We are rooting for you. Stay safe, be well and know that you are not alone.

John Barron, Apollo Coaching & Consulting