Melody Wilding, author of Managing Up: How to Get What You Need from the People in Charge, joins the podcast to share actionable insights on building strong, strategic relationships with leadership.

Melody is a licensed social worker, executive coach, and frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review who has helped high performers at companies like Google, JP Morgan, and Verizon gain the recognition and respect they deserve.

In this interview, Melody discusses key strategies for managing up effectively, including applying the 4Cs framework, creating Me Manuals for seamless collaboration, and setting boundaries by saying no constructively.

She also addresses how to make invisible work visible, ensure you get credit for your contributions, and confidently advocate for a raise or title change.

Show notes -> leaderassistant.com/400

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As a Leader Assistant, a lot of the work you do happens behind the scenes. My friends at Offsite work with assistants like you every day, and this holiday season they want to say thank you by giving away a $200 Visa gift card to one lucky listener.

Go to leaderassistant.com/offsite by November 23 to enter the giveaway (no purchase necessary).

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The Assistant Habits Weekly Planner is designed to help you lead well through consistent action. It bridges the gap between daily calendar chaos and strategic executive partnership. Learn more -> assistanthabits.com

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Are you ready to level up? Enroll in The Leader Assistant Academy at leaderassistant.com/academy to embrace the Leader Assistant frameworks used by thousands of assistants.

More from The Leader Assistant...

• Free Community -> leaderassistant.com/community
• Book, Audiobook, and Workbook -> leaderassistantbook.com
• Assistant Habits App and Weekly Planner -> assistanthabits.com
• Events -> leaderassistantlive.com
• The Leader Assistant Academy -> leaderassistantbook.com/academy
• Premium Membership -> leaderassistant.com/membership

In this episode of The Leader Assistant Podcast, I sit down with my friend Adam McNair, founder of Elevated Assistant, to explore the deep complexity, hidden value, and real-world judgment required in administrative work.

Drawing from over 25 years of executive support and office leadership across government, corporate, financial, and tech sectors, Adam shares his journey from a teenage ambition of becoming a "lifestyle manager" to building a practical professional development series designed to elevate assistants everywhere.

We dive into what it truly means to look beyond the standard job description and articulate the invisible work assistants perform daily. This includes identifying missing context, anticipating executive needs, and applying strategic discernment.

Adam breaks down his four-part training framework, "The Administration Series," explaining how structured, in-person learning helps administrative professionals build repeatable systems, gain confidence in their decision-making, and connect their daily execution directly to organizational goals.

Show notes -> leaderassistant.com/399

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It’s the last day of the offsite and it was exactly what the team needed. The CEO pulls you aside to say, “Thank you. This was next level.”

Your secret? You used Offsite. They handled the venues, negotiations, and logistics – so you could focus on shaping the experience.

Sound too good to be true? It’s actually within reach. (And it can even save you money.)

See how at leaderassistant.com/offsite.

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The Assistant Habits Weekly Planner is designed to help you lead well through consistent action. It bridges the gap between daily calendar chaos and strategic executive partnership. Learn more -> assistanthabits.com

--
Are you ready to level up? Enroll in The Leader Assistant Academy at leaderassistant.com/academy to embrace the Leader Assistant frameworks used by thousands of assistants.

More from The Leader Assistant...

• Free Community -> leaderassistant.com/community
• Book, Audiobook, and Workbook -> leaderassistantbook.com
• Assistant Habits App and Weekly Planner -> assistanthabits.com
• Events -> leaderassistantlive.com
• The Leader Assistant Academy -> leaderassistantbook.com/academy
• Premium Membership -> leaderassistant.com/membership

In this episode of The Leader Assistant Podcast, I speak with Holly Brown, an Executive Business Partner at Larvotto Resources in Western Australia. Holly shares her career journey from office administration into executive support in the mining industry, and how taking initiative with AI tools transformed her daily workflow and helped propel her career forward into an Executive Business Partner role.

We dive deep into practical AI use cases for assistants–from building automated daily market intelligence reports to crafting briefing notes and standardizing meeting minutes. Holly explains how taking the lead on implementing AI in her organization created significant time savings, allowing her to step into strategic business projects, expand her governance and compliance responsibilities, and strengthen her partnership with leadership.

Finally, Holly offers encouraging advice for assistants who may feel hesitant or fearful about AI technology. Rather than viewing AI as a threat, she frames it as the single biggest career growth opportunity available to administrative professionals today.

Holly urges EAs to remain curious, experiment with tools like Copilot and Claude, and leverage saved time to elevate their strategic impact.

Show notes -> leaderassistant.com/398

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It’s the last day of the offsite and it was exactly what the team needed. The CEO pulls you aside to say, “Thank you. This was next level.”

Your secret? You used Offsite. They handled the venues, negotiations, and logistics – so you could focus on shaping the experience.

Sound too good to be true? It’s actually within reach. (And it can even save you money.)

See how at leaderassistant.com/offsite.

--
The Assistant Habits Weekly Planner is designed to help you lead well through consistent action. It bridges the gap between daily calendar chaos and strategic executive partnership. Learn more -> assistanthabits.com

--
Are you ready to level up? Enroll in The Leader Assistant Academy at leaderassistant.com/academy to embrace the Leader Assistant frameworks used by thousands of assistants.

More from The Leader Assistant...

• Free Community -> leaderassistant.com/community
• Book, Audiobook, and Workbook -> leaderassistantbook.com
• Assistant Habits App and Weekly Planner -> assistanthabits.com
• Events -> leaderassistantlive.com
• The Leader Assistant Academy -> leaderassistantbook.com/academy
• Premium Membership -> leaderassistant.com/membership