How To Create Leverage With An EA
Anyone can “scale” themselves.
You don't have to be a superhero either.
But you do need to be ruthless about what you work on and how. You need absolute clarity on what your job is, where your company is going, and how you’re going to get there. You need systems running your business.
And you need to learn to let go of the need to do “everything”.
Contrary to popular belief, today’s most successful entrepreneurs aren’t working around the clock.
In fact, if you study any of today’s most successful entrepreneurs, they all share one thing in common:
They spend their time and energy on generating more business opportunities, and very little time worrying about the long list of things that need to get done.
Instead of a to-do list, successful entrepreneurs have a done list.
So today we’re going to focus on what I feel is the most undervalued asset of a CEO, an Executive Assistant, or an EA.
Instead of working 90 hours a week, I work closer to 20, running three businesses.
Three things make this possible:
I say “No” more than I say “Yes”
I prioritize systems and automations
My EA helps me clone myself
Having built seven businesses, I’ve worked with lots of different EAs, and learned hard lessons along the way. I’m not always easy to work with, I’m obsessive, move quickly, and have high expectations.
By far the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that very little of what I do, only I can do. Embracing this concept has been humbling. It's taught me where I add the most value to my business, and where I waste my time.
An EA is a trusted long-term partner for the CEO who has the competency to be a company's Chief of Staff.
They are deeply ingrained in the business to help the CEO scale themselves & the business (or businesses).
My EA is my right-hand person across all three of my businesses and my household. She’s my ride-or-die.
Why Most CEOs Fail Miserably At Hiring An EA
I can’t tell you how many founders I speak to who have tried working with an EA with very little success.
Some have convinced themselves that the work they do is too complicated for an EA to take on. Others don’t understand why their EA can’t read their mind. So instead they give up and go back to trying to do it all themselves.
And it's because of one simple reason. They underestimate the level of trust needed to work closely together. They mistakenly hire an assistant to take care of "tasks", instead of a partner that will help them scale.
This is key. I have zero patience for task-doers. They require too much energy and lack the ability to make decisions on their own. So instead I look for problem solvers with strong decision-making capability.
The most challenging part of delegating is letting go. Trusting that someone else will do what you want and how you want it done is hard.
But it's not a one-way street here. Your EA needs to trust you as much as you must trust them. You can't just expect an EA to jump in knowing how to work with you.
The secret to building mutual trust while onboarding a new EA is shadowing. When your EA shadows everything you do, including emails and meetings, they deeply absorb how you work.
This is where the magic lies.
They'll start to know how you think, how you make decisions, and why. The unlock on your time becomes exponential.
The second layer to building trust is having an operating system in place for how you communicate and work together. This has been game-changing for me. Everything is kept in one place keeping feedback loops crisp and efficient. I use Notion to work with my teams, but you can use any platform that works for you.
How To Create Leverage With An EA
Time is your greatest resource and your biggest bottleneck. By having your EA handle tasks and responsibilities that would normally eat up your time, you exponentially increase your focus on high-level strategic activities. You get to work on your business, not in it.
I’ve outlined below how I like to think about leveraging an EA's skills and capabilities. Notice here that a CEO's EA in this case is not limited to doing routine tasks. That is just a small part of their role.
The EA's job is to significantly create more time and energy for me so I can grow our business. That means they’ll need to level up often, and I’ll invest time and money into helping them gain more expertise along the way. Again, an EA in this case is not just a task-doer. They are here to help me scale.
Here’s how to create leverage with an EA:
Routine Task Delegation: These include routine admin tasks, scheduling, email management, and project coordination. This frees up your time to concentrate on areas that require your unique expertise and judgment as CEO.
Decision-Making Delegation: This one always surprises people, but empowering your EA to make certain decisions on your behalf (with guardrails) removes bottlenecks. Projects and tasks move forward without needing constant oversight, adding speed back into the business.
Process Optimization: Since your EA is hands-on in your business, they can often come up with more efficient ways to do things. It’s a nice segway for them to own workflows and processes.
Communication and Information Flow: Your EA can act as a central point for communication and information flow among your team, so you get important info fast, and your insights and directives are shared effectively. Examples here where I’ve had my EA help are: investor updates, weekly team memos, board decks, and leadership reports.
Strategic Planning and Research: Your EA can help do background research, data analysis, and plan strategic initiatives. You’ll be able to approach decision-making with a well-prepared foundation, enhancing the quality of your strategic insights.
Personal Productivity: Household and personal management are where SO many hidden hours get stolen. Scheduling a doctor's appointment, calling to cancel something, booking a mover, ordering groceries, hiring a housekeeper, lifestyle management, etc. These are all quick to do, but accumulate. Doing 10 tasks that take 5 minutes to do, will eat up close to an hour of your time. What would you do with an extra hour?
EA Skill Advancement: I’m a huge advocate of helping my EA level up. The unique experience they have working closely with me allows them to learn more than anyone else could about how a CEO works. The more they advance in their role, the more value they provide. I’ve had many EAs move into Chief of Staff roles, and one run a startup as the COO.
If you need a little inspiration, here’s a sample list of what I’ve delegated to my EA. Use this list to help inspire you on where an EA could help you create leverage.
Putting It All Together
The ability to delegate effectively is one of the most important skills CEOs need to succeed in their role, but many are reluctant to develop it. We’re sold a story that leaders do it all, know it all, carry it all. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
For me, mastering delegation changed my business and my life. I took for granted what it meant to build resilience as a CEO. Like you, I’ve overcome a great deal in my life, so doing hard things is not new for me. I have a great deal of grit and can overcome anything thrown at me. But what I didn’t realize was that I could lead from a place of calm, instead of exhaustion and reactiveness.
The moment I began delegating I felt my shoulders lift. Suddenly, I wasn't responsible for everything. People and projects moved forward without me. I started leading, instead of just doing.
There is only one difference between CEOs who scale themselves and those who don't: they are ruthless about what NOT to work on.
An EA is a powerful partner for a CEO. Don't underestimate their impact on scaling.
Looking For More In-Depth Help?
Here's a few ways I can help:
⚫️ The 20 Hour CEO: Two-week live cohort where you'll learn how to scale yourself and your business, with 1:1 coaching from me. I share my exact methods, playbooks, and actionable strategies for building 3 businesses to $200M. Join the waitlist to learn when the course opens back up.
⚫️ The 20 Hour CEO Video Replay Course: Created for greater accessibility, this is the exact same course without the 1:1 coaching or community. You'll get instant access to all the templates, frameworks, and playbooks included in the live cohort.
⚫️ The 20 Hour CEO Delegation Mastery: Learn how to make delegating your superpower. Master how to work with an executive assistant to create leverage in both your business and personal life. Launches Apr 15. The course is priced at $500, and I am currently pre-selling it for $300. If you're interested, you can enroll in the self-paced course here.
⚫️ CEO Coaching: Private coaching for early and growth-stage entrepreneurs who want to lead more effectively, while increasing their resiliency. See if we're a good fit here.