Amber Youngren - Executive Assistant and Office Manager Lead at Forged Fiber 37

Amber

Thanks so much for having me. I'm very excited to be here today.

Jeremy

Awesome. What city are you in?

Amber

So I'm in Littleton. So basically a suburb of Denver.

Jeremy

Love it. Love it. My brother's in Arvada. Okay.

Amber

Yeah. Yep. That's just north of me. Do you due north of where i live so yeah nice so we're gonna get into a lot of good stuff today but before we dive in what is your favorite thing to do when you're not working so um outside of work i'm a huge live music person um concerts are my happy place and my taste is really all over the place so I love classic rock. I love metal. I love a select few pop artists. And then on the complete other side of the spectrum, I also love live musicals as well. So just being in that theater and then hearing that first note hit really just gives me chills every time. So, yeah. Nice.

Jeremy

Awesome. And then do you have any pets or kids or none of these?

Amber

I have like a whole slew of both. So I have two adult sons and one adult stepdaughter. And then they're all grown and out of the house and doing their thing. And then we also have two doggies at home. We have a chocolate lab and we have a boxer and husky mix. So they keep us super happy every day. They're so sweet.

Jeremy

Nice. Love it. Well, let's jump into your career journey. For the last several years have been working toward um moving up in the executive assistant world. And part of that was going back to school to finish my degree that I had started over 20 years ago. I'm like, it's time. I want to finish it so that I can use this and really build up. So I did that, got my Bachelor of Science in Business Administration not too long ago.

Amber

But I had that clear goal. I wanted to grow and and really move toward kind of an EA kind of chief of staff type of role. So that's what drew me to the current title that I hold right now, which is really, it's a position that is super exciting because it kind of straddles the worlds of executive assistant in the traditional sense, and then also a lot of chief of staff. type of day-to-day responsibilities as well. So yeah.

Jeremy

Gotcha. Nice. let's go back in time a little bit now. Why, why did you get into the assistant role or what is your favorite part about it? Like when did you see it as a career, all those things?

Amber

Yeah. So, um, my path to the EA role definitely was not linear, um, I had actually started my career, as you had mentioned, in hospice nursing, which has really shaped just so much of what I think about care and support in the human side of health care. So eventually I did move into the corporate world for a little while and realized that I had this natural ability to bring order back. structure and this calmness to fast-paced environments. And so that's what led me into the executive support roles over the years. So that's how that came about. And I think my most, I would say a favorite part of it being really the unpredictable nature of it, right? I think so many people would probably say that as well, where you do have some predictable parts of your day, but a lot of it can be unpredictable. I don't know how many days at the end of the day I thought as I'm heading home, I'm like, that's definitely not what I thought I was going to be working on today. But it was certainly, you know, a great change of pace and it's just very satisfying. Yeah.

Jeremy

Yeah, that's one of my favorite parts. It's like, you're never bored, right? You're never... No. There are some assistant roles that might be a little more boring than others, but... True, true. There's never a dull moment, for sure.

Amber

Right.

Jeremy

Awesome. Well, what about the chief, you mentioned chief of staff, you know, obviously your title is unique with the strategic commercial assistant, but what skills do you think that you developed to essentially open the doors for this operations or chief of staff type role going from gatekeeper to strategic leader?

Amber

Sure, sure. So I think when assistants start thinking about moving into operations or chief of staff work, the skills that matter most are the ones that you can operate beyond the day to day and actually influence how the organization runs. So it's less about mastering every tool and process and more about demonstrating that you can see that whole system. And not just your corner of it. So I think what really would open some of those doors would be the ability to think in patterns and connections. When you can look at a situation and understand how one decision will ripple across teams and timelines and priorities. And leaders start to see you as somebody who can operate at a higher level. altitude when you start showing those. So I think also maybe decision support is another big one. So if you're already the person that your executive turns to when they need like context or clarity or a quick read on the situation, I think that's a sign that you're building the right muscles that you would want to have for these type of positions. And Maybe another one I would add is maybe cross-functional influence being kind of a third pillar. So it's about getting people aligned, moving in the same direction, and following through. So when you can bring that clarity to really ambiguous situations, You can get groups unstuck and without, you know, being that actual CEO position, you just have that line of sight across multiple departments that allows you to have those skills.

Jeremy

Love it. Love it. So I love the line of sight line. You know, I've always thought that we have a very unique perspective on our direct executives that we support on their goals and their problems and the pain points and everything. you know, the drama sometimes, but then also the, the company as a whole, because we see how that interacts and connects with the rest of the company too. So line of sight is a good way to put it like that.

Amber

Absolutely.

Jeremy

So what about, do you work for a team or with a team of assistants? Is there a team manager, team lead for the assistants, or are they all kind of just reporting to their executives? Just curious how that works.

Amber

Right. As far as the company that I'm at right now, we are just in the phase of really growing and expanding. It's a super exciting time to come on board. I'm an earlier add to the company. And so we don't have a team of executive assistants. So the team I would say that I work with is really just our executive leadership team. And what I'm super excited about and what I think this whole episode will probably hit on is being able to get to that point where you're really seen as part of the executive leadership team and not the you support the executive leadership team. So I've been very fortunate that my current leader has been very open to expressing internally and externally that I'm part of that team, a working part of that team, and not somebody that is on the outside or the perimeter supporting him.

Jeremy

That's great. That's great. So let's talk a little bit about confidence. What, how do you have confidence to manage up and really like, you know, you mentioned those, those skills, like decision support and things like that. How do you have confidence to go to your executive and say, Hey, I think we should make this decision or, Hey, you, you need to make a decision. I've done some research and I think this is the decision you should go with.

Amber

Yeah. Yeah. So so managing up is kind of like one of those buzz wordy phrases a little bit. But but what the way I see it is it's really about creating the conditions for your executive to operate at their highest level. So it's not about control and it's not definitely not about people pleasing. So at its core, I think what it is really kind of taking that mental work. off of your executives plate. So they're constantly bombarded with information, decisions, competing priorities. And so when you can manage up well, you can filter that noise and then surface what matters and then frame things that in a way that it makes them easier to act upon. So, you know, taking the, you know, this messy scattered information and turning it into something digestible for your executives. So, Clear summaries, clear visuals, simple next steps. So you're not just like kind of passing the buck, passing things along. You're transforming them into something usable.

Jeremy

Love it.

Amber

Yeah, I would say that is one of the main things as far as like managing up. And if you're touching more on, you know, having the confidence to actually bring something to your executive where you some of us may feel a little nervous about bringing something forth as far as, gosh, I really think that my executive needs to do this and I'm not really sure how to say it. without stepping on toes, I just head straight for it and say, and I'll even use those words sometimes and say, look, I don't want you to think I'm stepping on your toes because that is not why I'm in your office right now. I'm in your office because I think we need to do A, B, and C. And I think we need to do that because of this situation and really just hit it straight on and let your leader know that you're not bringing something up to put barriers up or to be confrontational in any sense of the word. It's really just trying to both align and make sure that they're aligned with you as well.

Jeremy

Yeah, because it's not a dramatic, emotional thing. It's a business conversation, right?

Amber

Absolutely. Absolutely. Like when you can frame it in a way that it is taking the conversation to a goal that you're both interested in and trying to take that emotion away from it that that is really helpful to just frame that conversation and literally you know purposely say um you know the the goal of of doing what i think we should do right now is you know a b and c so that it's very clear why you're suggesting what you're suggesting and not um You know, Amber's being dramatic this afternoon and she is asking for, you know, the following things because she is frustrated with, you know, something or somebody, but it's really about, you know, getting to the end goal.

Jeremy

Gotcha. So kind of related to that would be building trust with your executive. Yeah.

Amber

Yeah.

Jeremy

How have you done that over your career, just building that deep trust between that partnership?

Amber

Gosh, that's such an important part of the relationship between an EA and their executive is that deep trust. And it goes beyond, I mean, I'll mention here in a second, I had some thoughts on discretion, but it goes beyond just that. It's a mix of consistency, judgment, and the sense that you're making their world easier and their decisions sharper. So really, reliability is that foundation. Doing what you'll say you'll do, following through with what you're chasing, and then showing that your world is solid. So discretion is definitely an equal layer. Executives need to know that what they share with you stays with you, right? And that you can handle that sensitive information without drama, that you can stay calm and steady. when things get stressful. So definitely just that consistency, good judgment, discretion. And then I think just that kind of last like cherry on the top would be That deeper trust comes when an EA is able to provide that strategic insight. So you're not just executing tasks, but you're thinking ahead and you're spotting patterns and you're helping your executive make better decisions. So you can become somebody that they lean on. I would say in that moment, it's when you're taking a half-formed idea and then giving it back to them clearer and actionable is when you take that step into a deep trust.

Jeremy

Love it. Let's talk a little bit about what you said earlier about kind of the cross-functional skills, being a connector for the organization. Can you share a moment when connecting the dots made a big difference?

Amber

Sure. And there's really, when I think of connecting the dots on something like this, there's like three components to that. It's like spotting tension or friction, and then building a bridge to fix said tension or friction, and then transforming that outcome. The tension, I had noticed some tension going on between some groups here internally where we've had a new suite that has opened up with new staff that we've moved some people over to a different side of the floor, which opened up a bunch of offices. And, you know, our execs are all running fast, so they certainly are not, you know, honed in on gee, I think so-and-so should have this office and this office. They're off and doing other things. But I started to hear and see some rumblings of some of the groups thinking or saying, I think my team has been here longer. I think that we should have these offices that have the better windows and those sort of conversations. I'm like, gosh, this is going to possibly bubble up and get noisy and doesn't really need to. So What I did in connecting those dots is I went ahead and just stepped in and brought those leaders together. So they're a step below the executive leadership team. They're directors and managers. Brought them together and we've been working the last couple of weeks as far as literally looking at the space plan and talking about strategic direction with their teams. Like how many folks do you have? How many are going to have in three months, six months, in a year? what other teams do you work with most frequently? How do you work mostly together? Are you needing to collaborate often and literally need to share a space sometimes? So instead of fighting over the windows, we're able to get into a mindset of collaboration and growth. And we're pretty much at a point right now where we're about ready to take a kind of finalized version to the executive team to just rubber stamp to say, okay, move forward and get everyone settled in so that they wouldn't have to deal with it. So it's really like seeing those ripples across departments. And when you can, you know, trying to keep that noise to a minimum for the executive leaders, it's certainly something that that i would be able to handle and and not have it bubble up yeah yeah it's nice to take initiative see you know see it be aware of it spot it like you said and then figure out okay can we resolve this or at least come up with a plan to resolve it right before you know yeah like i said bubbling up and becoming a big issue with the Exactly. And then, you know, just bringing it to this exec team for them to have the peace of mind that their directors have already, you know, signed off on this. They've already been involved. They're aware so that they know. Great. Now that, you know, some people will be moving offices. I'm not going to have to take this to my director and have them, you know, feel emotional or, you dared be upset with the decisions made, they were already involved in it. So, yeah. Awesome.

Jeremy

Well, Amber, this is great. I know there's lots of good topics, lots of good lessons learned from a great career in executive support. So I appreciate you taking time to share your story a little bit and share a little bit of insights. My pleasure. Really valuable. To kind of wrap things up, I would love to hear, though, what's one thing you want every assistant listening to remember?

Amber

Yes. I would love every EA listening to this particular episode to know that you're not just supporting leaders, you are a leader. So when you own your own career path, when you're communicating with clarity, when you're connecting those dots, when you're seeing that line of sight, you have become that strategic leader on your team.

Jeremy

Love it. Well said. Couldn't have said it better myself, Amber. Thank you so much again for being on the show. What's a good place for people to reach out if they want to connect and say hi and network?

Amber

Yeah, absolutely. So they can find me on LinkedIn. Just do a search, I would think, for Amber Youngren, And happy to connect there.

Jeremy

Awesome. Yeah, I'll put your LinkedIn in the show notes at leaderassistant.com/380. And yeah, reach out to Amber and say hi. And yeah, appreciate it again. I was telling Amber before the conversation to those listening that I was helping my dad dig a trench in his yard right before the conversation. So it's nice to sit down and not be doing manual labor for a few minutes while I talk to you.

Amber

Jeremy was literally in the trenches today.

Jeremy

Exactly. Never a dull moment on the personal front, too, I guess.

Amber

Yes, indeed.

Jeremy

Awesome. Well, have a good one. Best of luck to you. Hopefully, yeah, we'll connect in the Colorado area someday and we'll talk soon.

Amber

Perfect. Thank you.