From Chaos to Clarity: Why the Right EA Isn’t Just a Luxury — It’s a Lifeline

“I’ve worked with EAs before, but this time I needed help on both fronts — personal and professional.” — Michelle Kim, RevOps Executive & Startup Advisor

Ask anyone who's worked in go-to-market leadership or founded a startup: the grind doesn’t come with built-in guardrails. It’s fast-paced, high-stakes, and full of invisible labor: decisions, context-switching, emotional support for your team, and the sheer mental load of holding it all together.

Michelle Kim has lived that life at every level — as a fractional RevOps executive, startup advisor, podcast host, and most recently, a caregiver navigating new family responsibilities.

Her support system? Executive Assistant Florence Candel (Flo) - a detail-loving, system-building partner who doesn’t just take things off Michelle’s plate, but clears space for her to think, lead, and live.

*This story is part of a series that features women who work together to accomplish big things. It’s presented with support from our partner Base – a company that matches high-performing executives with exceptional U.S.-based Executive Assistants (the kind who don’t just manage calendars, but become trusted strategic partners).

---

When Life Gets Loud, Leaders Need Real Support

Michelle’s career spans household-name SaaS companies like Zendesk and Culture Amp, where she's led Sales and CS operations. After a sabbatical and short stint as a fractional RevOps Leader, she's looking for her next full time role as a Sales Operations Leader. That doesn't mean her calendar is empty. She advises early-stage founders, speaks on stages, and hosts a podcast interviewing women breaking the tech ceiling.

In other words — she’s the kind of high-achieving woman many of us follow, learn from, or aspire to become.

But when her mother’s care needs suddenly intensified, Michelle was forced to reassess what leadership really required: not just grit, but support.

“I took pride in being efficient and organized,” she shares. “But there came a point where managing it all myself stopped being sustainable. I didn’t need more willpower — I needed a partner I could trust.”

That partner was Flo — a systems-oriented EA with a rare blend of heart and hustle.

“Flo gives me peace of mind,” Michelle says. “If I’ve assigned something to her, it’s handled. That kind of trust is invaluable.”

GTM Leadership Is a Full-Time Mental Load — Your EA Can Help

Go-to-market roles (sales, marketing, revops, partnerships) are built on context-switching. You’re managing teams, running forecasts, unblocking pipelines, navigating internal politics — and doing it all while trying to stay creative and strategic.

Michelle’s been in that fire. And her experience reflects a broader truth: many women in GTM roles are under-supported, over-extended, and afraid that asking for help will signal weakness.

It’s not.

Working with Flo didn’t just lighten Michelle’s load — it made her more effective.

“I can actually think again,” she says. “I spend more time intentionally — on strategy, on creating, on showing up the way I want to.”

Flo doesn’t just manage calendars. She builds infrastructure around Michelle’s life so the energy drain of decision fatigue, task triage, and unprocessed to-dos is minimized.

A True Partner — Not Just a Task Taker

Flo’s path to becoming an EA is as dynamic as the women she supports. With a background in nonprofit management, a stint in corporate at PwC, and a love for small business problem-solving, she thrives when the work is both meaningful and varied.

“I love helping people do creative things by removing friction,” Flo says. “Sometimes that’s billing. Sometimes it’s finding the right podcast tool or creating a better system for prioritizing work. I like figuring out what actually works for the person — not just what looks good on paper.”

Michelle felt the impact immediately.

“My last EA never really got to know me,” she says. “Flo asks about my preferences. She wants to understand how I work. That level of intentionality changes everything.”

Their communication is fluid and personalized. Michelle prefers voice notes and screen recordings, so Flo adapted to that — creating asynchronous, high-context updates that make complex decisions easier.

“We have a Google Space where I can screen record insurance options, narrate what I’m seeing, and send it off. Michelle can review on her own time. It’s efficient, but also deeply human,” Flo shares.

EA Support Is About Fit — Not Just Skills

In conversation, Flo shared our favorite metaphor about executive support that we’ve ever heard: “Finding an EA is like finding a therapist.”

The right technical skills are table stakes. But it’s the fit — the communication style, the mutual trust, the shared sense of ownership — that makes a partnership thrive.

For Michelle and Flo, that fit clicked early. They share updates regularly, check in with curiosity, and flex as needs shift.

And when it comes to what an EA can do? Flo is clear:

“Don’t assume you have to be swamped to justify help. If there’s something in your head that’s costing you energy — chasing invoices, figuring out scheduling, project follow-up — that’s worth offloading. Even if you only need someone a few hours a week.”

That clarity has made Michelle’s life more than just manageable — it’s made her leadership more impactful.

This Isn’t Just Delegation. It’s Self-Leadership.

Michelle’s superpower has always been showing up for others — for teams, for startups, for underrepresented women in tech.

Now, she’s showing up for herself too — by investing in the kind of support that lets her do her best work without burning out.

“Flo helps me protect time to think. To breathe. To be intentional,” Michelle says. “That’s not just support. That’s leadership.”

And for Flo? Helping leaders like Michelle thrive is what lights her up.

“I love seeing someone move from overwhelmed to focused,” she says. “That’s when you know it’s working.”

A Note to the “I Can Handle It” Crowd

If you’ve been telling yourself that you’re fine — that your inbox is under control, your calendar isn’t that bad, or hiring help is just too indulgent — let Michelle and Flo’s story be your gentle reality check.

You don’t need to be at inbox zero to deserve support.

You need space. Strategy. Sanity.You need someone who gets it — and gets you.

That’s the difference a great EA can make. Not just checking tasks off, but clearing the mental clutter that’s keeping you stuck in the weeds.

---

Are you looking for the unlock to hit your professional and personal goals?

Wednesday Women is proud to work with our partner Base — the company pairing high-performing executives with high-caliber, U.S.-based Executive Assistants who go beyond task management to become true strategic partners.

Even the Founders of Wednesday Women work with our own EA from Base — so we know firsthand how transformational the right support can be!

If you’re tackling some big goals this year, it’s time to find out how BASE can help you achieve them. Learn more at basehq.com →