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The Power of an EA: Reclaiming Focus, Capacity, and Impact at the Executive Level

  • Writer: The WW Team
    The WW Team
  • Feb 19
  • 4 min read

The strongest leaders aren’t the ones who do everything themselves.They’re the ones who know how to build support around them.


In our recent Wednesday Women fireside chat, The Power of an EA: Reclaiming Focus, Capacity, and Impact at the Executive Level, we explored a topic that too many executives quietly wrestle with:


Why are so many high-performing leaders still trying to do everything alone?


In partnership with Base — a company redefining what executive support looks like — we unpacked the myths, mindset shifts, and real-world transformations that happen when leaders stop white-knuckling their workload and start building intentional support systems.




The Invisible Weight Executives Carry

If you’re a founder, CEO, or senior leader, you likely recognize this feeling:

  • The constant Slack pings

  • The inbox that never quite hits zero

  • The mental ticker tape of “I should…” running nonstop

  • The 7–10 p.m. catch-up sessions that bleed into family time


As Base President Sara Altuna put it during the session, executives often don’t seek help until they’ve hit a wall. The common thread?

“There’s too much weight on them.”

And that weight isn’t always just logistical.

It’s emotional. Strategic. Psychological. It’s the anticipatory thinking. The constant tracking. The sense that if you don’t catch it, no one will.

Over time, that invisible load becomes the biggest barrier to operating at your highest level.


The Mindset Shift: Support Is Not a Weakness

One of the most powerful parts of this conversation centered on what holds leaders back from hiring an Executive Assistant in the first place.


The most common reasons?

  • “I haven’t earned it yet.”

  • “It feels selfish.”

  • “I should be able to handle this.”

  • “I don’t have time to onboard someone.”


Let’s gently challenge that.

Needing support is not a sign that you’re incapable.It’s a sign that your scope has expanded.


As Paige McPheely, Founder of Base, shared, so much of this hesitation is internal:

"Leaders have to give themselves permission."

And for women especially, there’s often an added layer of cultural pressure. We’ve inherited a definition of leadership that celebrates endurance — the CEO sleeping on the factory floor, the founder grinding through exhaustion.


But endurance isn’t the goal. Capacity is. The best leaders don’t center everything around themselves. They expand the shared capacity of the team.


EA vs. VA: What’s the Real Difference?

Another key takeaway from the webinar was clearing up confusion around executive support roles.


A Virtual Assistant (VA) may execute defined tasks based on clear SOPs. If you need inbox sorting or repetitive admin handled, that can be a great fit.

An Executive Assistant (EA), however, operates as a strategic partner.


An EA:

  • Thinks alongside you

  • Pushes back when priorities drift

  • Anticipates needs

  • Protects your focus

  • Helps you operate in your zone of genius



One example shared during the webinar was that An EA might not just manage your calendar — they may challenge whether the meeting should exist at all.

That’s not task execution.That’s leadership leverage.


The Unlock: What Actually Changes

So what shifts when executive support is working well?

Here’s what we’ve seen — both in the webinar stories and in real partnerships:


1. The Mental Load Lightens

That constant ticker tape of “shoulds” quiets down.

You stop obsessively checking Slack.You trust someone to filter signal from noise.Your brain gets space back.

And space is where strategic thinking lives.


2. Feedback Becomes a Superpower

One of the biggest unlocks Sara highlighted was simple — and often overlooked:

Clear, candid feedback.


Executives assume their preferences are “best practices.”EAs can’t read minds.

The partnerships that thrive are the ones where:

  • Preferences are stated clearly

  • Feedback flows both ways

  • Expectations are aligned early

When that loop is strong, relationships go from “not sure this is working” to “this is the best EA I’ve ever had.”


3. You Take a Real Vacation

Paige shared a phrase that stuck with everyone:

There’s a difference between a family trip and a “precious vacation.”

A precious vacation is when:

  • You’re not constantly checking in

  • You trust your proxy

  • You believe things will be handled

That level of trust isn’t built overnight.But when it’s there? It’s priceless.


Why Women Leaders Especially Deserve This Support

We also addressed an important question:Why does it seem like men more often have executive assistants?


Part of it is historical precedent.Part of it is confidence.Part of it is compensation inequity.


The message behind it is clear: Support should not be a luxury reserved for a few. It should be accessible to the leaders who are building companies, raising families, and carrying multiple roles simultaneously.


And as Leslie beautifully reframed:

"If you can’t justify [getting an EA] for yourself, justify it for your business.You will lead better because of it."

You Don’t Have to Do It All

One moment from the webinar summed it up perfectly. The world is big and beautiful.There are people who love doing the things you hate.

Read that again.


There are people whose zone of genius is:

  • Structuring your week

  • Building SOPs

  • Creating systems

  • Tracking follow-ups

  • Turning your voice notes into action plans


Leadership isn’t about doing everything.

It’s about doing the right things — and empowering others to do the rest.


The Question to Ask Yourself

If you’re feeling stretched thin, ask yourself:

  • What would I remove from my plate tomorrow if I could?

  • Where am I tolerating overload instead of acknowledging capacity?

  • What would operating at my highest level actually look like?


And maybe the most important one: What is it costing me — and my company — to keep doing this alone? Because the strongest leaders aren’t martyrs. They’re builders. And sometimes the most strategic move you can make isn’t launching a new initiative. It’s reclaiming your focus.


If this conversation resonated, we encourage you to:


You deserve leadership that breathes.

And you don’t have to carry it alone.

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