The EA Campus Podcast

What does it take to move from being a transactional Executive Assistant to becoming a true strategic business partner?
In this episode of The EA Campus Podcast, I sit down with Gillian Gelston, Executive Assistant at Salesforce, to discuss her career journey from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service to supporting senior leaders in one of the world's leading technology companies.
Gillian shares how she built a successful remote EA career, the systems and workflows that have helped her save time and money for her Executive, and why understanding personality types has transformed the way she works with different leaders.
We also discuss:
How Gillian transitioned into the Executive Assistant profession
Building trust and credibility as a remote EA
The importance of boundaries and protecting your time
Using Slack workflows to streamline approvals and reduce email overload
How a simple budget approval workflow saved thousands in unauthorised spend
Why compliance can be a valuable area of expertise for Executive Assistants
Managing competing priorities in a fast-paced sales environment
Creating a single source of communication to reduce overwhelm
The role of personality frameworks in understanding Executives
Finding your support network as a remote EA
Developing a growth mindset and continuing professional development
The books, podcasts and resources Gillian recommends for Executive Assistants
This conversation is packed with practical ideas for Executive Assistants who want to become more strategic, work more effectively with their Executive, and create systems that make work easier for everyone around them.
Whether you work remotely, in the office, or in a hybrid role, you'll come away with plenty of ideas you can implement immediately.
Training & Courses
→ The Strategic Business Partner Online Course (The EA Campus)
→ Elite EA Course by C&C Academy
Books
→ The Modern-Day Assistant by Lucy Brazier
→ The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor
→ The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Podcasts
→ The EA Campus Podcast
→ The Crodie Files
→ Executive Office Insights
Frameworks & Assessments
→ Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
→ The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin
Technology & Tools
→ Slack
→ Slack Canvas
→ Slack Workflow Builder
→ ChatGPT
→ Google Gemini
→ Google Docs
Learning Resources
→ Slack Academy
→ The Global Skills Matrix for Executive Assistants
→ The Rundown AI
The EA Campus

In Ep98 of The EA Campus Podcast, we discuss the question of whether to trust or rely upon. Why the difference matters for EAs. As Executive Assistants, many of us become the person everybody depends on. We manage the details, keep things moving, solve problems quickly, and often hold together far more than people realise.
But there’s an important difference between being relied upon and being trusted.
In ep98 of The EA Campus Podcast, Nicky Christmas explores how trust develops in the EA role, why being operationally dependable can sometimes keep us stuck in reactive working patterns, and how stronger Executive partnerships are built through communication, consistency, visibility, and confidence in our thinking. In Ep98, we look at: 
Why trust and reliance are not the same thing
How EAs become operationally central in organisations
The shift from task support to a strategic partnership
The small behaviours that build Executive confidence over time
Why many experienced EAs already have more influence than they realise
If you’ve ever felt like your Executive depends on you for everything, but you still want more autonomy, visibility, or strategic involvement, this episode is for you.
Resources and links:
The Difference Between Being Trusted and Being Relied Upon
Read more from The EA Campus:
10 Micro-Behaviours That Build Executive Trust 
From Task Manager to Trusted Partner: Building a Strategic Relationship with Your Executive
Inspiring Trust in Your EA Work
Strategic Business Partner Online Course
Upcoming EA Campus Events
The EA Campus

In this episode of The EA Campus Podcast, Nicky Christmas sits down with Molly Looney, Executive Assistant to the CEO of San Carlo Restaurants and winner of National PA of the Year.
From supporting international restaurant expansion projects to managing charity partnerships, travel, operations, and high-level stakeholder relationships, Molly shares what life really looks like behind the scenes of a fast-moving EA role in hospitality.
The conversation explores the importance of emotional intelligence, building trust with your Executive, learning how to read the room, and why “walking the floor” can become one of the most valuable habits an Executive Assistant develops.
Molly also opens up about:
 ☑ Working with difficult Executives and what those experiences taught her
 ☑ Knowing when to protect your Executive’s time and energy
 ☑ Managing reactive workloads without rigid systems
 ☑ Building strong workplace relationships and culture
 ☑ Why the EA role goes far beyond calendar management
 ☑ Her experience winning National PA of the Year
 ☑ The opportunities available for EAs who want to grow into more strategic roles
This is an honest, practical, and relatable conversation about the reality of modern Executive Assistant work, and the human skills that make the biggest difference.
You can find upcoming EA Campus masterclasses, virtual summits, and events at:
 → https://theeacampus.com/events/
The EA Campus

As Executive Assistants, we are used to working in environments where priorities shift quickly, plans change, and no two days look the same. One minute everything is mapped out, the next you are reworking the schedule, solving problems, and keeping everything moving behind the scenes.
So how do you build a way of working that actually supports that?
In this episode of The EA Campus Podcast, we explore Agile working and how it can be adapted for the EA role. This is not about adding more process or complexity. It is about creating structure that allows you to stay flexible, make better decisions, and manage your workload with more clarity.
We break down what Agile working really means in practice and how you can start using it straight away in your role.
In this episode, we cover:
 What Agile working is and why it fits the EA role 
 How to manage shifting priorities without feeling overwhelmed 
 The Moscow method for prioritising your workload 
 How to use sprints to focus on high-impact work 
 What Scrum looks like for EAs, including simple daily check-ins 
 How feedback loops can help you continuously improve how you work 
If you are looking for a more structured but flexible way to manage your day, this episode will give you practical approaches you can start using immediately.
And a quick reminder. Our annual EA Campus Conference is taking place in London from April 22nd to 24th. If you want to learn, connect with other Assistants, and spend time working on your role, we would love to see you there. You can find all of the details on theeacampus.com.
The EA Campus

In Ep95 of The EA Campus Podcast, Nicky Christmas sits down with experienced Executive Assistant Ronie Williams to talk about what it really looks like to build a long-term career in the EA role.
Ronie has worked as an Executive Assistant for nearly three decades across finance, startups, and global tech companies. In this conversation, she shares how she started her career at 17, the lessons she learned working in demanding corporate environments, and how those experiences helped shape the way she works today.
Ronie now works at the SaaS company Contentful, supporting senior leaders across different regions while also playing a key role in building the London office culture from the ground up. From creating systems that help executives perform at their best, to building an environment where teams genuinely enjoy coming into the office, Ronie shares how EAs can influence far more than their job description suggests.
Throughout the episode, we discuss managing competing priorities, navigating difficult workplaces early in our careers, building trust with executives, and why experience is such a powerful asset in the EA profession.
Ronie also shares practical advice for assistants starting their careers today, including why curiosity, confidence and understanding your executive deeply are some of the most valuable skills you can develop.
If you’ve ever wondered how experienced EAs think about their role, their career, and the value they bring to organisations, this conversation is packed with insight.
Resources Mentioned:
 Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson
The EA Campus