Luiza Jarocki - Senior Executive Assistant at JP Morgan Chase

Jeremy · 0:22

Hey friends, welcome to Episode 390. You can check out the show notes at leaderassistant.com/390. And today I'm excited to be speaking with Luiza Jarocki. Luiza is Senior Executive Assistant at JPMorgan Chase, and also author of the book, The Seat Outside the Office, Lessons in Leadership from 25 Years as an Executive Assistant. Luiza, thanks for joining us.

Luiza · 0:49

Yeah, thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

Jeremy · 0:52

I'm going to be very authentic with the audience right now and just have to let them know that we just wrapped up a 35, 40 minute amazing conversation, back and forth interview with you. And at the very end of the conversation, I went to hit stop recording and realized that there was no stop recording button. And then I freaked out for 10 seconds and realized I really freaked out after 10 seconds of checking my zoom settings and realizing that I never hit record. So in 300 plus 300 plus interviews that I've recorded over the years, I've never done that. And there's always a first time, I guess. And so, yeah, it was a great conversation that only you and I will ever hear. So we're going to re restart. Luis is very gracious and ready to rock and do this again. So yeah, we're gonna we're gonna jump in. And again, appreciate you, your patience with me as I screwed up the best of us.

Luiza · 2:01

That's okay.

Jeremy · 2:03

But let's let's jump right in. So what city are you in? And what do you like to do when you're not working?

Luiza · 2:10

I am in Chicago, just outside of Chicago, but I call Chicago my home for the last 30 years. What I like to do outside of my work? I grew up on the 80s music. I have a deep love for the old hair band music from the 80s. So if they ever come to town, I try not to miss them. Live music in general is something that kind of keeps me grounded and having a lot of fun and disconnect from all the craziness that we do. And I also travel. I do like to travel. I've been in a lot of places all over the world. It's interesting to see how others live and just to explore and it varies from hiking to cruises to Just typical vacation at the resort. No favor in particular of any kind of recreation as long as it's travel. So I do like those the most. And then I read a little bit if I have time.

Jeremy · 3:26

Yeah, we talked a little bit in the non-recorded version that you liked Bon Jovi and Coldplay.

Luiza · 3:32

Yes, I'm a huge fan. I'm a huge fan. I've been to, I don't know how many, a hundred, if not more, of his shows. And you asked me which one was my favorite and I still, even the second time around, I can't pick a favorite band. Panchovi was my first one. And I'm gonna be a little biased because I do like him a lot. But the most interesting and fun would probably be Coldplay. Pink put out a really, really good show, too, that I've been to. And then I don't have a favorite. I don't have a favorite.

Jeremy · 4:18

You know, I've kind of been doing this for several years now. When did you start or have you started doing the whole wear earplugs to concerts? I don't. You don't? Okay.

Luiza · 4:31

I don't. I, no, I embrace it. It's, yeah, you have deaf, especially after Metallica or ACDC who were in town last year in Chicago. Uh, yeah, it's, uh, it's a little hard to hear, but no, I'm, I'm all exposed. No earplugs.

Jeremy · 4:54

Nice. Yeah, I got to the point at some point in my life where I was just like, like, I'm too old. I get I get headaches, I get whatever. I'm like, I'm gonna wear earplugs.

Luiza · 5:04

No, no, I'm rocking with them.

Jeremy · 5:07

Nice. Well, what, uh, tell us a little bit about your career, then how did you become an assistant in the first place?

Luiza · 5:14

This was by accident, actually. I had no plans, absolutely none, zero, of what to do with my life after college. I did start in my senior year of high school as a teller in a midsize bank in Chicago. It doesn't exist anymore and got bought out through the acquisitions and mergers. And I was a teller for a long time. It was a good career, white banking, purely selfish reasons because I wanted to be off on federal holidays, so an extra day off. And it was time to decide, like, what do you want to do? You're graduating college. You can't be a teller. Not that it's not a great job. It's just I knew I had something more in me and that college degree to back it up, sort of. And it happened by accident. I was part of the tuition reimbursement program with that employer. Part of the deal was to submit a transcript at the end of semester. So I went, it was my final year, still completely not knowing what to do. The HR was located conveniently for me on the very end of the hallway. So as I got off the elevator and I walked all the way to the end, I walked by all these offices with all these big shots with glass doors and these women sitting outside dolled up and with beautiful flowers and as I walked by I looked to the left and I looked to the right I'm like oh I can totally fit in um this is what I wanted to do um that vision kind of sort of came right there instantly and I got to HR I returned my um transcript I asked to speak to the recruiter she put me in touch with one and I kind of said this is what I want to do like one of these women right outside your door and she said yeah that's totally doable you fit um just you know flip through the job postings which back then early 90s was very early 90s were hand delivered to the branches um chained to the wall and big stack of papers like stapled and so the next day uh I talked to the recruiter a little bit and she she gave me her blessings like yeah yeah go for it you're you're you're gonna fit in You have the credentials, you have the stuff that we're looking for at the very bottom. You can find something. And I did. The next day I started looking, I found something. I called the least possible glamorous job out there. It had nothing to do with fancy. It was in the basement of an escrow department. but anybody window and the door to I think it was an atrium or something. And that's where I started. Very, very, very bottom. But I liked that I had a system in it. It carried some future in that title because the later I flipped through the pages, I'm like, okay, so we can kind of evolve the role can evolved. And it did for me. But from that moment in that basement, I knew that I want to sit where all these women were sitting eventually down the line. It took me 25 years, but I made it. So yeah, that's no vision, no plan, no, no, absolutely nothing. It's just something sparked and I followed my vision. I, it's important to stay connected to to what you want to do. And if you don't know what to do, that's okay. Because not knowing what you do will lead you to figure out what you do want to do.

Jeremy · 9:25

So yeah, I love I love how you had that vision. What if you could go back in time and say something to your younger self? What advice would you give?

Luiza · 9:36

Many, but After all this time, I would probably say the first one is to slow down. You can't achieve success overnight. It's a process. You can't go from A to Z overnight. So slow, slow down. And later on, I would say stop. believing that you have to prove your worth every single day. That's not what our job is about. And you don't have to run yourself into the ground to earn respect. Um, because that's what I thought I have to do. It's like, okay, I'm just an assistant, you know, who's going to take me seriously. And no by by working yourself into the ground um it's not how you earn respect and and speak up this came very very late um in my career speak up you don't have a voice you don't have things to say um and and another thing is to trust myself a little earlier into the game because that trust in myself came later um yeah and you know, caring deeply about the work and the worth that I brought into the position, not the weaknesses. Don't pay attention to the weaknesses because that's not a good motivator, just a strength. And yeah, bottom line, slow down. Slow, slow, slow down. Yeah.

Jeremy · 11:25

So fast forward now back to today and how have you continued to grow after 25 years in the profession?

Luiza · 11:37

I stay very curious. Um, I believe that growth never stops. Uh, never rather you're at the beginning, the, the, the middle of your career or towards the end growing is, um, is big, I believe in growth. I still ask questions. I ask a lot of questions all over everybody around me. Um, I just ask questions, especially if I don't understand. I ask questions. Um, I do learn from others, uh, whether it directly pertains to my job or not. I, I am curious and I do learn, um, from others by observation is, is big. Um, and I pay attention to what's going on around me, what's going on in my boss's world, what's going on in their direct world. And I do stay open to new ways of thinking. How can I reinvent what I did a week ago? Kind of, yeah, the new ways of thinking. Yeah, because our experiences can teach you many, many things. But curiosity will keep you relevant. I think that's if it makes sense. Yeah.

Jeremy · 13:04

Love it. What what's one thing that you've seen that separates a good or an average assistant from an exceptional one?

Luiza · 13:18

I would say consistency. The excellence isn't imperfection. It's nobody's perfect. It is actually showing up with care and integrity every day. I cannot emphasize and stress integrity more than it's the exceptional professionals. That's what I would call us. I think details matter for us. I think details are crucial because they ultimately create trust in the manager. So those little things we pay attention to that nobody would, by that it creates trust and they know to trust us because we will look after every little thing. and to I think exceptional think sort of like sort of ahead of the game. We can predict a lot of things. It's like sort of playing chess, not checkers. You kind of know when the next move is going to go and you try to stop them before they make a decision. So thinking ahead, communication, I think that's a difference between good from exceptional ones. And what can you do to make somebody else's job easier? I think that's also very, very important. So take on more things, pick up more skills. Yeah.

Jeremy · 15:04

Yeah. Consistency is so big. I think that, you know, so many people are like, oh, the get rich quick scheme or the overnight success story. There is no such thing as fast success. And it's like, you just got to show up day in and day out.

Luiza · 15:22

Yeah.

Jeremy · 15:22

That'll grow trust and respect and the interest will compound. So. Yeah. I love that one. Okay, so there's a lot of AI talk going on. You know, you've been in the role for a long time. What skills matter the most today?

Luiza · 15:44

Technical skills matter. They're important. We can avoid them. They're everywhere. They change as we speak. And now AI is entering the market and all of this and you can you can teach someone technical skills and you can teach them how to use the software. But I think it is harder to teach a composure integrity. You can't teach someone quickly how to have a composure and good judgment. I think it's harder to teach Adaptability, that's an important skill because our job changes constantly. Political awareness, I think that's important. And discernment, I think those are the skills that are harder to teach. Not impossible, but harder to teach. I think, yeah, without those. Yeah, it's hard to do our job today.

Jeremy · 17:00

Yeah. Discernment's one of my favorite ones. It's, you know, it's one of the chapters in my book and I just think it's such a critical skill, especially, yeah, especially in the age of AI. Um, so, okay. So you wrote a book. Uh, why, why would you put yourself through that torture? I've written a book. I know that it's an emotional rollercoaster. Uh, I know it's hard work. Uh, why did you write a book and what's it about?

Luiza · 17:30

For a while I had an idea in my head that I had a story to tell. I knew that I had a story to tell and I just didn't know how to approach it. Do I tell it to someone? for a very long time. I have things to say. So I did, during COVID, I did take a PowerEA course through a global assistant. It's a phenomenal organization, like coaching for EAs and PAs and So I took one of Trisha's classes and then I took another one and we started talking and sharing things. Fast forward six years later, we're good friends. She's the one who actually pushed me to do this. It's like, you have this tremendous story to tell, put it in writing. Let me just put it in writing. I'm like, who's going to read it? It's like, put it in writing. Just trust me, put it in writing. So I did. And I started typing and what I didn't want this to look like was a textbook. Admin 101, you know, chapter one, how to be a good EA. I didn't want to do this. Other than having this idea in my heart, the project kind of finished by itself and it became a memoir. I didn't plan this to be a memoir. I just wanted to honor our profession. That's what I wanted to do. That was my goal. Other than the holiday day we have end of April. I wanted to honor us a little bit. more i wanted i kind of wrote it in in in a three-way audience um i have a message in there for those eas i was one of them so i know what i'm talking about who feel kind of stagnant in the role they still have a spark they want to do what they do and they love it It's just, it's like one of those, should I stay? Should I go? What do I do? And my message to them is yes, continue doing what you're doing. You just need to change a department or a place of work or organization or a manager. Follow your vision. If you love what you're doing, just go with it. Change your environment. Hopefully, for the generation that enters the job market now, because nobody goes into our professions anymore. Let's be honest, everybody wants to go into technology and all these fancy jobs. And what's that new jobs now? Influencers. I think those are big now. Yeah. Quick, quick money, big success. Right. And all of this. Nobody really goes into our profession, but I'm hoping there is a group of younger professionals who don't know what to do. And all they know how to do is get organized, show up on time. So I kind of want to give them this idea, read it, and try this profession. In my work, it's an interesting job, but it can open so many doors. um you can start as a somebody's assistant but you can go into a project manager you can go into a chief of staff you can we have so many avenues just from our seat that I want to plant this seed in into the younger professionals and then the third audience um are those who got a second chance in life, rather those are moms who after 18, 16, whatever years, they want to go back into the world of job and corporate or what have you, or those who literally have a second chance in life, rather sickness or whatever the situation, the second chance, like what do I do? I've got this opportunity now, try this. It's interesting, you're gonna meet new people and grow and learn and just experience a, I call it a phenomenal profession. I do love it. So that was the idea behind it. But the process itself was a little untraditional, I would say. I just started typing. I just wanted to share my story. Yeah. Yeah. As you mentioned, it's not an easy process, but I was very determined to tell my story. And before I went through editing and all of this, I was, um, very clear that I didn't want my editor to change my story. And I ended up going with another editor because she kind of want to go a different way. And I'm like, nope, this is my story. Um, we're going to do it my way. And we did, and I'm proud of it, I have to say. I pat myself on the shoulder.

Jeremy · 23:03

Yeah, you should. You should. Yeah, it's a hard project to do. It's a good story. A lot of people say they want to write a book. In fact, that's one of the most common things people say is, oh, I want to write a book someday. But the percentage of people who say they want to write a book to who actually publish a book, very, very small. So congrats to you. And I'll link to your book in the show notes at leaderassistant.com slash three nine zero, as well as your LinkedIn so people can reach out and say hi. But yeah, do you have any I appreciate you again being gracious as we had to rerecord this or initially record it. I guess there's no rerecording when you don't record it the first time. But is there any any final thoughts for our listeners that you want to share?

Luiza · 23:47

I what I want to share is I want to leave you with this message that there is a tremendous power behind the scenes because we are usually behind the scenes not necessarily in a big corner office corner but not the office but there is a tremendous power in what we do and just the behind the scenes. I also want to say that the support roles matter. That leadership of ours begins long before anyone gives us a title. We want to lead. Greatness in our From our perspective, it's not about visibility, but it's about the service. And I want to close it up with one of my favorite quotes that's been my North Star for many, many years. And I still share it and I still read it and look at it. It's by Martin Luther King Jr. that not everybody can be famous, but everybody can be great because greatness is determined by service. And this is exactly what we do. And if an executive happens to hear us or read the book, there is an itty bitty message for them too on the end, that if they are fortunate to have a good assistant to keep them involved. I'm not suggesting trading company secrets or taking them to strategy sessions and all of this. No, but keep them involved in the sense of. make them see, if you pull a man into your vision of where you wanna lead the organization or a department and make them involved, you're gonna find yourself a very, very good partner in this and a strategic partner because we're gonna guide you, we're gonna tell you what to do or not to do and we're gonna prepare you and take that burden off of you that we so beautifully take away from our executives. And don't take him for granted. If you have a good one, do everything to keep her and don't take him for granted. We're an asset. Yes.

Jeremy · 26:36

Well said, Luisa, thank you so much again. Again, those listening, leaderassistant.com/390 to check out Luisa's book and connect with her on LinkedIn.

Luiza · 26:46

Yeah, LinkedIn, hit me up, or chat.

Jeremy · 26:48

Say hi and all that fun stuff. So thanks so much for being here today and sharing your story. And we look forward to connecting again in the future.

Luiza · 26:58

Yeah, thanks for having me. I appreciate it.