Judy Bingenheimer - Executive Assistant to the CEO of MEC

Judy · 0:00

Hi, I'm Judy Bingenheimer, and today's leadership quote comes from Brian Tracy. Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily, even if you had no title or position.

Speaker 2 · 0:15

The Leader Assistant Podcast exists to encourage and challenge assistants to become confident, game-changing leader assistants.

Jeremy · 0:32

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Judy · 1:32

Hi. Thank you.

Jeremy · 1:34

What part of the world are you in?

Judy · 1:36

I am in Jackson, Wisconsin, just outside of the Milwaukee area.

Jeremy · 1:41

Awesome. Are you from that area?

Judy · 1:43

I am. I'm born and raised Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

Jeremy · 1:47

Nice. Do you like the cooler weather up there?

Judy · 1:51

Not even a little bit. It's just something I've become accustomed to.

Jeremy · 1:57

Nice. How about hobbies or kids or pets? Anything about you personally?

Judy · 2:08

I have all of those things. I have my husband, I have a 22-year-old daughter. I have my dog, Jackson, who is spoiled rotten along with the 22-year-old daughter. Then I'm very big into the country music scene, and then we also like to travel.

Jeremy · 2:28

Awesome. Where do you like to travel to?

Judy · 2:31

Anywhere I can get an adventure I'm okay with. I'm actually leaving tomorrow for Belgium, so I'm really excited for that.

Jeremy · 2:39

Wow. Yes. That's a little bit of a trip.

Judy · 2:43

I am terrified, but excited. I've never been on a flight that long and I'm not a good flyer, so it should be interesting, but.

Jeremy · 2:51

How long is it?

Judy · 2:52

Eight and a half hours.

Jeremy · 2:55

Yeah, that's a long flight. That's a long flight. I did. The longest one I think I've done is, it was a 14 or 16-hour flight, and I think we got delayed two hours on the tarmac before it took off. So hopefully, you have a better experience than I did.

Judy · 3:19

Yeah. No, thank you.

Jeremy · 3:22

All right. Well, let's jump right in then. Tell us a little bit about your career and namely, how did you end up becoming an assistant?

Judy · 3:33

So I became an assistant. I had a child very young and I was working at McDonald's, which I wanted to find something with a little bit more stable hours, something where I didn't have to give up all my weekends and that had a career path to it. I had helped my family take care of my grandfather and I was taking care of my daughter, so I didn't go the normal path of high school than college. So I had a friend who had an opening in his company and the hiring manager took a chance on me. And she hired me to be the general assistant for a satellite building. And then I just worked my way up from there. I became a dedicated assistant, moved into an EA role. I've supported a numerous amount of roles, multiple executives. And then I just, you know, there's a little bit of imposter syndrome that kind of comes up because everybody I worked with had a degree. And so I felt like I had to be 10 times smarter and work 10 times harder. I had an amazing career at FIS before I joined MEC. And but unfortunately, not unfortunately, but we had a facility in Jacksonville, which was our headquarters, and I'm based in Wisconsin, and I knew I wasn't going to move. And all of the more advanced opportunities were in Jacksonville. And even though I really loved what I did, and with the team I did it with, I wanted to push myself. I was getting comfortable. And if I'm too comfortable that I'm not, I need to push myself because I feel like I need to be in a constant state of some sort of terror in order to feel like I've accomplished something. So recruiting manager reached out to me from MEC, and the rest is kind of history where I started working with the CEO and the entire C-suite. Currently, I think it's five executives I support, including our CEO. And yeah, it's not the normal path probably, but if it was the normal path, I probably wouldn't have chosen it because I seem to like the ones that are a little bit more difficult.

Jeremy · 5:55

So you were at FIS, is that right?

Judy · 5:59

Correct.

Jeremy · 6:00

Almost 16 years. Yes. What was it like trying to make that decision to move on?

Judy · 6:08

It was one of the hardest decisions I think I've ever made. I worked with an incredible team of leaders. I had three leaders I supported before I left. I had built a network that was incredibly strong. There was, I was kind of the go-to for a lot of people because I had been there so long and I had the tribal knowledge a little bit and so it felt safe. But I also felt like somebody was willing to take a chance on me 16 years ago. It's time for me to take a chance on myself. And so I made the jump and I couldn't be more happy with where I ended up. I thought my team before was incredible and they still are incredible people. I still keep in contact with them. My new team is just as phenomenal. I am able to support five executives, including the CEO, and they have been nothing short of amazing. And I couldn't be happier with the decision I made to go to MEC. I got very lucky.

Jeremy · 7:15

That's great. So what's been your, I guess now you're in your 18th year or so of being an assistant?

Judy · 7:25

Gosh, that seems so long, but yes.

Jeremy · 7:28

Well, it's fun because I'm in my 18th year as well being an assistant. So got the same timeline there on our career. But what's been your favorite part about the role? And even today, like what gets you up in the morning and gets you excited about logging in?

Judy · 7:46

It's the fact that no two days are ever the same. I don't know what I'm walking into. It's always an adventure. I don't have to worry about getting stuck in the mundane because I get to do all the things. I get to be involved in everything and it's just exciting. They laugh at me. There was one person joking about how I'm the cheerleader of the team, but it's true. It's just exciting and we're at such a pivotal, critical, important time in the company where we're growing and it's great. To be a part of that and to be welcome in to be a part of that as well is just, it's so exciting that I'm up every day at 4 a.m. ready to get in the office. It takes a lot for me to get up at any time, let alone 4 a.m. but it's great.

Jeremy · 8:38

Nice. What's your least favorite part about the assistant role? This could be just in general over your 17, 18-year career. But yeah, what's maybe one of the most challenging or frustrating parts about the role?

Judy · 8:55

I think, and this is going to sound awful, but the actual administrative side of it, I am terrible at. I mean, I can schedule a million meetings, but stick me with expense reports. I think it's because it's just doing the same thing over and over again. But yeah, expense report, I just did them today, so that's why I feel so strongly about it.

Jeremy · 9:17

Yeah, I'm not a fan of printers and I'm not a fan of expense reports. Oh gosh. Yeah.

Judy · 9:23

Printers are definitely the worst.

Jeremy · 9:25

I hear you on that one, so. Awesome. Well, what is maybe one of your favorite productivity hacks or productivity tips that you've learned over the years that really keeps you keeps you moving forward on your task list?

Judy · 9:49

I have to put reminders on the calendar. The number one lie I tell myself is I don't need to write that down. I'll remember it. But putting the reminders on the calendar really helps in blocking that time to get things done. I also love using OneNote. It's probably my favorite tool in the history of tools, with the exception of a pen and a paper, because sometimes just handwriting a list and checking things off is like the PB&J of the office world. It's just comforting.

Jeremy · 10:20

I'm not on a Microsoft environment, so what's your OneNote? Is there any OneNote practices or tips that you would share with people that are in the OneNote world?

Judy · 10:32

I really like that you can import in the meeting details and do attendance that way. I also like that you can summarize your to-dos, and it'll take you right back to the notebook that the to-do came from. So it allows and you just have shortcuts in order to create the to-do, and it just makes it really easy to stay organized.

Jeremy · 10:55

Nice.

Judy · 10:56

You can tie it back to Outlook as well and have reminders on your calendar. So it's the best of all the worlds.

Jeremy · 11:03

It's like a never-ending loop of the note links to the task or whatever, which links to the calendar, which links to Outlook. Is that kind of what you're saying? It's like that.

Judy · 11:16

That's actually their brand new tool, I believe, is called Loop, and it does exactly that. I just haven't gotten into it yet.

Jeremy · 11:24

That's funny. Awesome. So what is maybe one thing that you wish you would have known about the assistant role, you know, 17 years ago, as you just jump right in?

Judy · 11:42

I think it's to build your network. I think it's in The Leader Assistant, which I read, you had made the point that it is a very lonely role. And so it is so critical to build your network. And it's not that anybody intentionally exclude you. It's just, you know, somebody had asked me, you know, where do we fit on the org chart? Because we don't always, you know, when it comes to especially the higher level org charts, we don't always make it on there. And so I had to explain to them that we're not, we're not in the boxes because we're the lines holding it all together. And but it can get very, it can get very lonely. So building that network is so critical, which is part of why we started the Midwest Admin Connection, to because we didn't have anything in the Milwaukee area, which we learned at an event. So I'm trying to help bridge that gap and bring people together because it just was amazing. It's a weird, weird feeling. You know everybody and you belong everywhere, but you also kind of sometimes feel like you don't belong anywhere.

Jeremy · 12:52

Yeah.

Judy · 12:52

So that was a hard pill to swallow.

Jeremy · 12:58

Yeah, well said. So what's the kind of practically with Midwest Admin, what are you all doing? Are you doing meetups or are you doing online Zoom chats? What's the plan with that?

Judy · 13:11

We're doing all of the above. So we have our first in-person meetup next month. We did a virtual meetup last month. I kind of took June as a quieter month. And then in August, we actually have a book club as well. So we started out with leading without authority, and it was a very tough decision, but I felt like that laid down the groundwork, which so if you are listening to your MinMist Admin Connection person, you have already read The Leader Assistant because that is our next book, because that kind of gives you the practical side of it. And it was a really tough decision which one to choose. And I'm not just trying to say that because I'm on your podcast, but it is, it was such a phenomenal book. I've, you know, and sharing those tips and tricks. So we are working on a website right now. Hopefully, it will be launched soon. And one of the big things is, so every Monday I post, what are your challenges and opportunities on LinkedIn for everybody to kind of comment and chime in and give each other that support? And if you're not comfortable with it, my email address is out there. You know, judy at midwestadmin.com. Let's talk about it because sometimes all you need is a sounding board. Or I'm not sure if this is the right move or just listen to me yell for a minute. I'm happy to do that. Yeah. You know, so we have that piece of it. Then we have our peaks and pits on Fridays. And then quarterly, we're going to do what's your why? Because we don't, a lot of us, I mean, obviously we like the paycheck, but it's not why we do this. You know, to your point and your question on what gets you up in the morning, what motivates you and what makes you excited to do this job, and let's share it and let's talk about it. And so through online chats and through online meetings and through in-person meetings, because we don't, I looked, we didn't have anything in Wisconsin. I went to, during Admin Week, they had the Admin Awards, which is a great program, hosted an event in the Milwaukee area, and we're all talking at our table about how we didn't have anything to bring each other together to really share those ideas and those thoughts and best practices. And so, and there's a lot of great resources out there, but, you know, that face-to-face personal contact. And we're, you know, we're known for the Midwest Nights, so we want that personal connection with folks. And so about three minutes after that conversation, I texted my husband and said, Yep, this is what we're doing now, because if we don't have it, I want to have it. So, and that's kind of how I roll with things, is if we don't need it and I want it, I try to make it happen. So that is kind of the genesis behind the Midwest admin connection and what we offer. And even if you're not in the Midwest, we have virtual meetups and I will never turn anybody away.

Jeremy · 16:14

Nice. Well, that's so awesome. And I always love hearing when more people, especially in certain cities and areas that aren't as hot, if you will, like there's a lot of things going on in San Francisco. There's a lot of things going on in Chicago or New York. And it's always nice hearing as a fellow of Midwesterner to hear about networks being put together in the middle of the country, in the flyover states. So thanks for doing that. And I'll definitely share the link to Midwest Admin in the show notes at leaderassistant.com/291, leaderassistant.com/291. So Judy, thanks again for being on the show. What's maybe, you know, speaking of networking, do you have any good icebreaker questions or networking tips for those listening who are like, you know what, you're right, I need to start networking, but I just need a little nudge.

Judy · 17:24

I think the best thing that, and it's hard for me to get out of my shell, which is really hard to believe as I'm on a podcast talking about myself. But just realizing that if you say something and it doesn't go well, the odds of you interacting with that person again, probably slim to none and the odds of them remembering it five minutes later are even more slim. So don't be afraid to put yourself out there. As far as icebreakers, I'm bigging in the music scene. So I was actually randomly thinking about this on my drive home today is, what is one song that regardless of what you're doing and when you're hearing it, or what you've got going on in your brain, you have to just jam out to. I think that not your theme song, but just that one song that gets you going. It was because 9 to 5 was on by Dolly Parton, and it got me thinking about it because that's mine. I just think it's a great icebreaker. A lot of people connect through music, so it works.

Jeremy · 18:26

Nice. I love it. Well said. Well, Judy, thanks again for being on the show. Is there anything else you want to say to the assistance of the world before I let you go?

Judy · 18:39

No, just build your network. We juggle a lot, and just like anything, you need a strong foundation. Whether it be at work or at home, I have a team that I can call on to support me, to help me support whomever I need to. If you don't have that and you need that, you can reach out on LinkedIn or email me at judyatmidwestadminconnection.com and let's talk about it. If it's on your brain and you need somebody to vent it out to, or you need somebody to connect with, or you need somebody to help with networking opportunities in different groups, I am here to help and just reach out.

Jeremy · 19:22

Awesome. Thank you so much, Judy. I just wanted to be a little bit honest with the listeners because we've had a lot of technical difficulties trying to record this episode. It's just one of the most frustrating things on both ends when you're having a fun conversation, and things are going well, and then Zoom shuts down, or the Internet freezes. Thanks for being patient with all that today, and I'm glad we were able to at least get the conversation going for a while before it crashed again.

Judy · 19:57

Yes.

Speaker 2 · 19:57

Thank you.

Judy · 20:17

goburrows.com.