Sipping on Success: A Toast to Kaleen Skersies' EA Journey in the Tech Industry

Debra Coleman [00:00:10]:

Hello. And once again, welcome back to another episode of Have A Seat, Conversations with Women in the Workplace podcast. I am your host, Deborah Brooke Coleman, thank you for sitting down with me again this for another episode this week. I'm excited. I am so excited to bring you this show. Okay. So you know how, in the past or maybe you don't know, in the past, I have I often say to many of my guests, I look forward to doing another show with you, or I look forward to doing part 2 or another round of this conversation. Because many times, you know, it's time to wrap up the conversation, but I feel like there's so much more to talk about.

Debra Coleman [00:00:47]:

We were so engaging and having such a good conversation that I wanted it to continue. I've been successful about 1 or 2 times already, roping somebody else back for another conversation, but This conversation with Kayleen is absolutely one of those that saw it through. We knew when we when we finished up our conversation last time that that we wanted to do a part 2. And so I'm so excited to bring you round 2 of my, of, of my conversation with miss Kaylene Skirzes. Kaylene and I met through usual EA, executive assistant community channels, And, we touched base. We met. We recorded. I invited her onto my podcast.

Debra Coleman [00:01:28]:

She accepted graciously. We had a fantastic conversation. Knew we wanted to do a part 2. We kept in touch even after that conversation wrapped, and things developed, And here we are again having, like, another conversation. Much has changed in Kayleen's professional life since we spoke last, so it was really fun to get caught up on where she's at now. But we also when we were diving into topics for the show, came up Kayleen, I have to give her full credit, came up with Some wonderful topics, and so we're going to explore 2 topics in this in the span of our conversation today. 1st topic is transitioning from non tech to tech within your role, especially within your role as an executive or administrative assistant. That's an incredibly relevant topic.

Debra Coleman [00:02:13]:

I couldn't wait to get her thoughts on that. And then the second topic is how to Structure or how to better maybe structure an existing administrative support community within your company or within your organization. Both of us have had a lot of experience in that particular area, and so it was fantastic to hear Kailene's thoughts on it. She had some really good ones, let me tell you. And so it was really fun to explore. Both topics we felt were incredibly relevant and topical, especially to today's executive assistant and admin assistant as we navigate further and further away from 2020, right, and all of the shenanigans that happened that year. So Let me introduce you quickly to miss Kayleen. Kayleen Skirzi specializes in the holistic support of c suite executives and high net worth individuals as they lead their teams.

Debra Coleman [00:03:05]:

Kayleen is passionate about maintaining operating efficiency, project management, improving communication and workflow, and championing a positive employee experience within her org. I'm telling you that is exactly Kayleen's mojo. That is her vibe, and you will see it shine through in our conversation. So with enough from me, I think I've done enough talking. I want to get you Into the conversation with Kayleen, which I know you will thoroughly enjoy. So without further ado, here is my conversation with miss Kayleen Skirzes, Executive assistant to CEO at Splunk. Well, welcome back everyone to another episode. I am so excited to have With me this week on have a seat, miss Kayleen Skerzis, and can I tell you, this is show number 2 With miss Kayleen, I am so excited to continue our conversation? You know? And she's a fellow executive assistant, and, I'm so often, I will have a guest on the show when we'll jokingly say, oh, we need to do a part 2 someday.

Debra Coleman [00:04:09]:

But Kayleen actually took me up on it. Like, she was like, hey, girl. I've got more stuff to talk about. Book me. You know? So this is exciting. I'm very excited to have you join with us today, miss Kayleen. Thank you for sitting down with me once again.

Kaleen [00:04:21]:

Excited to be here.

Debra Coleman [00:04:23]:

Yes. Me too. Me too. And we just clicked and gelled so well. I mean, lord help the organization or company that ever gets the 2 of us working for it because holy Hannah, we will rule the school in, like, under 30 seconds. We'll be like, this is how Kaylene and Deborah see it. Okay. Okay.

Debra Coleman [00:04:38]:

Just getting on board and yeah.

Kaleen [00:04:41]:

But we go.

Debra Coleman [00:04:43]:

Exactly. So we Kaylene and I talked a little bit before we hit that big red record button, And we have, we've actually been talking for a a couple weeks now about her show, and we've come up with 2. Actually, Kayleen beautifully came up with 2 topics that are pretty relevant, And I what I feel is top of mind for, administrative professionals right now in this workspace we find ourselves in post COVID. So I'm hoping that these 2 topics will really resonate and land with many of you. And as always, I'm sure Kayleen feels the same way. We are Open to continuing the conversation, of course, offline or if you are wanting us to do, like, a part 3. You know, I'm sure Kaelin would love to hop on the mic again and just continue If any thoughts or ideas come out of this discussion, so we welcome it all. Right, miss Kayleen?

Kaleen [00:05:29]:

Yes. Welcome it all for sure.

Debra Coleman [00:05:33]:

So the 2 topics we're going to be covering today are transitioning from non tech to tech, And then the 2nd topic is going to be structuring an administrative support community within your organization or an admin community for short, which I love. I have literal asterisk next to that title because, boy, have got some thoughts, and I know miss Kayleen has some really amazing ones too. But so we will, we'll kick it off. We'll with the first topic, we will start with the non tech to tech. And I will quickly say that I love this topic, especially it landed with me when miss Kayleen suggested it because I come from a nonprofit world. But Up until 2021, I was brick and mortar and then transitioned to fully remote. So I feel in a weird way that I went from non tech to tech. So This is a fantastic com topic, and I think that, this is really gonna land with many people in different ways.

Debra Coleman [00:06:29]:

Like, everybody has their own take on it or their own experience. So, miss Kayleen, why this topic? Why did you land on this? What brought you what brought this topic top of mind for you?

Kaleen [00:06:40]:

Yeah. Well, First of all, again, thanks for having me on the show. I'm so excited to be here and just dig into these topics. Specifically, this one for me has, was interesting because of my background, which I think, you know, we talked about last time on the show, Being in the private service industry and supporting high net worth individuals more so on the private side, in their family offices versus a traditional office environment, and I've since, supported some individuals in real estate and, financial services, but my last 2 roles have been with tech companies. The first one is start up And now I'm currently with Splunk. I've been here about 14 months and It's just wild to look back at, a, all of the things that I've learned throughout this the end of my career as an EA And and then some of the changes and differences that I've noticed coming into the tech space, so I would love to dig into those.

Debra Coleman [00:07:47]:

Fantastic. I love it. I love it. Let's dig into that a little bit. What do you mean by that, or what what are some of the major, What do you mean by, like, tech to non tech, or what what does that mean to you when we dig into that a little bit deeper?

Kaleen [00:08:00]:

Yeah. So, For where I am supporting right now is, within the go to market operations team. And, Previously, I'd supported CEOs or principals, within the private service industry, and Those roles were not based around systems and processes, that kept the company itself alive, So I had a very steep learning curve coming coming to Splunk and I think I was prepared for the change but I was not prepared for how much I was going to have to absorb. And as far as the tech space differing from other spaces, I think the the number one differentiator for me, Most specifically at Splunk is that the only thing that's constant is that everything changes. And I'm talking from processes To, org structures and reorging within, the organization you sit within. And then also just the products, like the technology that we're producing and, what we have to keep up with in order to Get new clients and also retain the clients that we have and understanding, sort of, what they need From a very in-depth perspective and maintaining that and I think in a lot of industries, There's obviously, different paths and growth paths, but I feel like it's the scope Of work that you are working on or your career trajectory within some of those industries Is a little more linear than within the tech world.

Debra Coleman [00:09:58]:

Interesting. A little more linear than within the tech world. What do you mean by that?

Kaleen [00:10:03]:

Yeah. I think in order to be successful in tech, you really have to, a, understand The team that you are supporting. So my function as an EA itself is obviously very important in understanding My key roles and responsibilities, from calendaring to travel to expense reports, all of the very, very core functions of the job. But I think in order to have a growth path within tech, you really have to understand the products themselves and the customers that we're supporting. So you might want to remain an EA within the tech world, which is awesome. There's I work with so many wonderful career EAs who are fantastic at their job that I learn from on a daily basis, and it's so wonderful to support alongside of them. But if you are looking for something outside of being an executive assistant, Your career path might look a little more jagged and you might have to actually like level down in order to Gain new skills in a different role, and then kind of re level back up essentially to where you where you would be. I'm I'm referencing Payscale in that regard.

Debra Coleman [00:11:28]:

Mhmm.

Kaleen [00:11:28]:

So it's really interesting because Coming into this role, I really had thought about chief of staff roles as kind of my Next move, and I didn't know if I wanted to do that within within a tech company or not, but I've gotten such great hands on experience in go to market operations that I know that I'm going to be able to continue to build upon and that kind of experience, I don't think I would have gotten in A non tech role. There's just so many different facets in supporting within go to market that I've I did not experience at previous employers or with previous employers.

Debra Coleman [00:12:16]:

You know, that is fascinating, and I never thought of it in the in that term before in the in that way before, I should say, which is Another reason why I just love that you picked this topic. So it sounds like to me a non tech environment for the most part okay. Of course. You know, not everybody's Same. But for the most part, it it you're supporting maybe, like, a CEO or an executive staff member or director, like, some you're supporting a team or someone. And that's all well and good, and that's great. Whereas maybe, then versus in the tech world, yes, that all still happens, but There's a lot, as you mentioned, like, operationally and product wise, product knowledge, client knowledge. There's just so much more like, it like, almost that role expands or just takes on, like, a different like, it sprouts different feathers, so to speak, right, is what I'm Yes.

Debra Coleman [00:13:08]:

Is what I'm thinking. Okay. I think that's great, though. Yeah.

Kaleen [00:13:10]:

It is. And you know what? That is not that's not true for Every e a in the tech space. I'm sure we yeah. I'm sure you could have many guests who would argue against that. Just for me personally in, Kind of what my career goals are and the things I want to learn and expand on. This role, This specific executive assistant role within go to market operations has really challenged me and helped me acknowledge what I'm good at what I need to improve at and also, just I have a great working relationship with my boss who also wants me to succeed and to clearly obviously be able to support her really well, but she is good at giving me visibility into the key functions of our organization that I know not all EAs get and it makes me sad for them because I think knowledge is power and the more you're able to sit in specific meetings and understand what the deliverables are from even, you know, my boss's leadership team and understand how all those key components are the driving force behind what we're delivering. Those are just certain aspects of this role that I I didn't even understand that I was going to be able to have when I came into it. Of course, I willed them and and wanted them to be available to me, but The whole experience for me has been really, really wonderful and I and eye opening and has stretched me in ways that, previous roles just haven't.

Debra Coleman [00:14:51]:

And I can tell that. I can absolutely tell that in in how you're telling your story right now and and expressing your thoughts on it. And So much is coming up right now. I'm, like, trying to, like, funnel my thoughts down. I'm like, blah. I just wanna say all the things. One of my biggest takeaways though from what you said so beautifully was That if you in this new day and age, because I I'm I say it's on blue in the face. I totally believe we are in a new day and age.

Debra Coleman [00:15:15]:

If you are an administrative support professional and you have aspirations to to, you know, expand your career, move up your own personal career ladder, whatever that is, You really have to take maybe a teaspoon of what Kayleen is saying to heart in the and I say that because of the of of of what you convey to us that you're exposed to, you know, the different meetings you're sitting into, the different conversations, the different projects that you maybe are are, like, helping out in or that you're you're a part of or that you're exposed to. You it's almost like you have to gone are the days of having just Maybe a 50% vision of a business and how it operates, and I'll if if my executive is happy, that's all I need to worry about. No. I think now we need to be really taking, It sounds like a three sixty view and really see what is your company about, what is it trying to do, who are its clients, What is the product? Who are the competitors? What's going like, you really need just a nice eagle eye view in order to Not only support that those that you support, but in order to support your own knowledge base and your career growth.

Kaleen [00:16:18]:

Absolutely. I couldn't couldn't agree more. And I I think, you know, there's just no downside. There's no downside to the three sixty degree approach. And I think, You know, if if you're new to the administrative space or you're looking to get into the administrative space, keep your eyes and ears open to that when you're coming into your new roles.

Debra Coleman [00:16:40]:

Mhmm.

Kaleen [00:16:41]:

Obviously, there's hopefully some sort of training plan in place for you and you have great mentors along the way, but There's nothing wrong with being curious and asking the questions and really looking outside of your initial scope and and wanting and asking for more, and then setting up your career goals around those things.

Debra Coleman [00:17:02]:

Mhmm. Exactly. And speaking of that, you mentioned a little earlier that you may have to maybe take a step backwards in order to go forward something along those lines, would you care to maybe expand on that a little bit?

Kaleen [00:17:16]:

Yeah. Definitely. I think, you know, there's there's many different trajectories One can take coming out of an executive assistant role. Some people go into HR, some become program managers or Product managers, you know, there's just our skill set is so diverse. Really, I think it's looking at the big picture and what you want to accomplish. You might decide, okay, I would like to become A project manager and that transition from the EA space, if you're a pretty high level EA, you've been doing it for a while and have a lot of experience. You rolling into a project management role might not be the same level, you might not quite make the same salary, but longer term down the road, the skills you're going to be developing and taking A lateral move or even a level down if you have to, depending on how your organization is set up, is really just going to skyrocket you to be successful in in the next phase of your career ladder. So I would encourage people, obviously, we all have bills to pay and we all need to be focused on saving for the future, etc.

Kaleen [00:18:32]:

But when you're looking at your big picture goals, I think it's Super important to say, am I being fulfilled in the role I'm in right now? And if the answer is no and you know that you have a passion for x y z role, really take a long hard look about what what your longer term goals are and what you can Safely and comfortably do, if that were were meaning to take a step back or a different level in in a new role.

Debra Coleman [00:19:00]:

I love that advice. Excellent advice. Because I know that can be somewhat of a pearl clutching statement. What? Take a peek what? Go back. But, actually, that's a good thing because as an executive or administrative assistant, you were exposed to another facet of the company that piqued your interest or that you realized you have a talent for or a knowledge base for or an interest in So much that now you're looking to transition into another role or another org of your company, and that's exciting. You know? So, yes, unfortunately, in some cases, you may have to maybe lateral or maybe step back. But like you said, that's gonna slingshot. You know? The like, it's the long game.

Debra Coleman [00:19:41]:

Right? Absolutely. Yep. And it's and like you said, if you're not comfortable making that type of a move, then that's fine too. You know? Like, everybody has like, you, you know, so kindly pointed out Their personal you know, whatever your personal story is, that's fine, but maybe that's something you just keep in your back pocket for another day. But the the What I'm celebrating is the fact that as an EA in this new age, you were exposed to so much more that even opened the thought of possibility of moving into another role. See? That's what is I'm kinda focusing on.

Kaleen [00:20:10]:

Absolutely. No. It it definitely is. There's the the possibilities are really endless. It's just figuring out, You know? And at certain points of in your career, you're you're like, oh, I love everything about my job right now, you know, and that's great. And a couple of years later, you might look back and reflect and say, you know what, these are things I'm, like, I'm really great at, but don't particularly enjoy doing or you're just bored, So really leaning into those career conversations with your boss and your mentors to kind of help set you up for success, I think that's really important and not something that sort of mentorship and guidance, I I did not have in previous roles and I've Found that I have 2 wonderful leaders that are just great at mentoring and giving me very, very straightforward advice, here in here in the tech industry. So it's been wonderful to have them guiding.

Debra Coleman [00:21:05]:

Oh, gosh. That is so great. And I love when you can get support like that externally, especially from those in within your own team. That's just gold. That just you know, you can't put a dollar sign on that. That's

Kaleen [00:21:15]:

No. You cannot, and I can't shout to the rooftops enough about that. So I'm I'm very blessed in that way.

Debra Coleman [00:21:23]:

Oh, I'm happy for you, girl. I know big things are coming down the pike for you, so I I can't I look forward to those taking shape.

Kaleen [00:21:30]:

Thank you.

Debra Coleman [00:21:30]:

It's like, A win for Kaylene is a win for all of us. You know? Oh. Oh, but it's very real. It's very real. And, well, before we We transitioned into what we lightly touched on, which is admin community and finding that inner support to even make these kinds of moves. I just have to quickly just give a a shout out to one of the subtopics we brought up during this tech, non tech discussion. Premeet was acronyms. Girlfriend.

Debra Coleman [00:21:58]:

Oh, yeah. Oh my god. Acronyms up the ying okay. Let me just tell I'm I I no shame. When I started in this new role back in 2021, with an online university fully remote, They are, yes, high you know, they are, nonprofit higher education. However, they are very it's an online university, so very tech heavy, right, in everything they do. Man. Oh, lordy.

Debra Coleman [00:22:22]:

I started a OneNote sheet with nothing but acronyms that I heard, like, within the 1st week of starting. I'm like, What is that? What is that? What is that? That we're, like, probably very, like, industry. You know, I like to say Western Governors University is higher ed wrapped in a tech blanket. You know? And

Kaleen [00:22:47]:

It's so funny because there's obviously acronyms in every industry.

Debra Coleman [00:22:52]:

Right.

Kaleen [00:22:52]:

And, you know, there's those every Everyday acronyms like the BOD or, you know, QBRs for the quarterly business reviews, those I was familiar with. But coming into, specifically into go to market operations, we have all these projects that we are running, so Essentially, our org supports our client is really everyone internally, so we are supporting all the projects and the systems and tools that run that runs Splunk internally and allow everyone to do their jobs and sales and marketing to go out and do what they need to do. There are so many acronyms internally and most specifically for the projects because we name like every project has a different acronym or Titling, space for it and I just I was so overwhelmed the 1st couple of months because I felt like there wasn't a sentence without an acronym in it and I'm, like, sitting in these meetings trying to take notes And it just it finally clicked. Right? It's the repetition and then, obviously, getting to know the teams and what they're working on, again, which is why it's so important for you to be able to have that visibility so you can just even understand what people are referencing. I think that was one of the steepest learning curves for me was coming on, was dealing with all of those acronyms and now, I still don't, Obviously, I have plenty to learn, but I'm in the meetings enough and I understand what we're referencing and I also have Build great relationships with people that I can say, hey. I don't know what that means. Can you which project are they talking about or what does that stand for? Which, obviously, you don't have immediately when you start a new role. So, yes, the acronyms are out of control in the tech world.

Debra Coleman [00:24:50]:

So true. Oh my gosh. Thank you for pointing that out though that, you know, you you Feel comfortable enough to still ask. Like, you you still ask. What does this mean? You know? What does that and I think as EAs and AAs, sometimes we feel like we have to know it all from the jump. Mhmm. But that we've gotta get over that. I know.

Debra Coleman [00:25:08]:

I struggle. I'm holding my hand up. I absolutely struggle with that too, and I did. You know, when I started this role, like, can't ask anybody. I should know. No. You shouldn't. You just started literally 30 seconds ago.

Debra Coleman [00:25:17]:

How do you know? Right? So, yeah, thank you for pointing that out.

Kaleen [00:25:21]:

Absolutely.

Debra Coleman [00:25:22]:

Yep. Yep. So if you are listening and you're like, same girl, same, well, that's okay. Ask for ask their trusted colleague. Like, Tell me, like, on the DL, what does this mean? Like, I don't wanna walk into this meeting looking, you know, uninformed. So yeah.

Kaleen [00:25:35]:

Absolutely. Better to ask. It's better to ask. And and then also, like, I'm always afraid, you know, I'm what if I pass along the wrong information to someone else? I wanna be 100% sure I'm saying the correct, you know, thing as well. So yes. Ask away.

Debra Coleman [00:25:54]:

100%. Ask away. You heard it. Kaylene said it. Ask away. Oh, well, this type of camaraderie and support and just, like, knowledge share and just, you know, chatting It's so important especially between, those of us in our roles. And so that brings us to a beautiful segue into our next topic, which is the Admins community and and a structure of an admin community within our companies, within our organizations, I, for 1, coming from Very work in a very distributed organization with over a 1000 employees, but we have a very robust admin community through our team's channel and other ways. And so I feel very I feel like I'm with I'm I I'm a part of a community even though I work solo.

Debra Coleman [00:26:39]:

You know? So that feeling is there. I feel very much a sense of belonging. But I understand that's not the case always, and so let's talk a little bit about that. Do you currently have yourself some sort of admin community structure where you're at with Splunk?

Kaleen [00:26:52]:

We do indeed, and I'll preface this by saying Splunk is approximately 8,000 employees right now, and we have About 65 or so admins supporting globally, so in all different time zones. We have An admin Slack channel, we use Slack internally and we have, all of the admins who support leadership team members also meet regularly, to just kind of discuss what's going on within their orgs and their execs and to help pass along information that then, we're responsible for cascading down through our org, but It's not a hierarchy thing, it's just a formalization thing to make sure that we are doing the best we can. We do not currently have anyone Fully overseeing the admin function itself, right, everyone is supporting their managers and all the way on up the chain, so they're just within their own organizations and I think that works well, obviously, For job performance and, you know, setting goals, etc, the person that's going to be closest to that is your direct manager. Right? If you're doing a great job for that person and they're happy with your work product and, you know, the way that you're communicating with them, that's that's first and foremost in any job, but I do see a lot of areas of opportunity within, our admin community specifically in that, When I came on board, I just had, like, I think completely different expectations of how the admins were gonna be managed and and, the resources that we'd be given and while we have a ton of corporate wide resources to reference, it doesn't always apply to us, Right. Our roles are very unique to who we're supporting and also the orgs that we're within, so Things like new technology or even like refreshers on how did you, you know, Google slides or any sort of tooling that we might be able to utilize, we just don't have any formal structure for getting people training for those things or asking like, hey, is there a need for this? What are you guys missing right Now, what can we do to support you as Splunk, you know, supporting our admins who manage our most valuable asset which is time, What is it that we can do to support you? So I've had multiple conversations with my colleagues about, like, what else we can do to help, kind of promote and further that that learning environment along and I think it's a group effort right now because no one's getting paid to do it, really. We do have, One resource, which is our HR business partner who who kind of helps with hiring and overseeing certain, aspects within the admin community but she is, you know, she's an HR and has many other things going on and on her plate. So, I think, you know, for me, when I first came on board, I was just like very confused about how it all functions. And we have finally kind of gotten to this rhythm and we lead admin town halls for one another.

Kaleen [00:30:27]:

Right? It's pure led. It's not It's not someone higher up is running these, that they're pure led and we have people from the community volunteer to lead those and I I do think that it just differs, right, at every company and depending how large your organization is, what sort of resources you might have or is available to you but it's funny because this is the other sort of career path I have been pondering in my head is just, I have a passion for mentoring people and I have a passion for seeing people succeed and I'm great at my role And I know that, right? Like, I know that people trust me which is wonderful and I Not saying I knew it all but there there's always plenty to learn. But, you know, at some point in the future, I could definitely see myself being a director of administration and and really help further these groups of admins along and and getting them the appropriate like coaching and mentorship and, the accountability level that I think that they need as well.

Debra Coleman [00:31:34]:

I celebrate that title. I love everything you said. I I'm sitting here like a bobblehead shaking my head. I'm alone in my little podcast studio. My dog's looking at me funny. I'm like, you don't even know what miss Kayleen is saying right if you can hear what I'm hearing, yes. Fully support that. Director of administration and, dare I say, maybe even, like, Chief administrative officer, like like, you know, thinking, like, beyond director.

Debra Coleman [00:32:00]:

You know? I'm just getting

Kaleen [00:32:01]:

a bit.

Debra Coleman [00:32:02]:

Right? Right? Yeah. I celebrate that so much, And, you know, because you said it so beautifully, it it it would be nice I'm envisioning having somebody, at like, Within the executive leadership team or within that circle or at least adjacent to that circle, right,

Kaleen [00:32:19]:

who Right.

Debra Coleman [00:32:20]:

Speak for for the administrative community at in those meetings or at that table or, and then turn that around and help uplift as you said. You know? Help uplift, help mentor, Help, identify career paths. Just get that executive level or or director level support that we could that somebody like a central that is really Just for

Kaleen [00:32:41]:

Absolutely.

Debra Coleman [00:32:42]:

Not shared with purchasing, not shared with HR, just somebody for, especially in an organization as your like, larger, like ours are. I think that Yes. I applaud that. Absolutely.

Kaleen [00:32:53]:

I'm I'm sure that other organizations do have, Someone managing the function, so to speak, in a different way than we do. Mhmm. And I would love, like, if you know, I would love to hear from any of those Those EAs out there are, like, happy to have a conversation with you. I would love to hear kind of your feedback on how it works in your in your companies because I there's there's so many things we do really well right now, but there's so much area for opportunity and and really Honing in on giving all of these admins the chance to figure out what they wanna be doing or get them the skills that they need to continue on their career path and not not only just goal wise, but, like, in their day to day jobs, you know. I had I had a a peer of mine reach out and say, hey. Are you open to mentoring a younger EA, she's she's not ready to talk to anyone yet, but she she spoke to me in confidence saying, you know, I I just don't even know where to go for mentorship and I am embarrassed to ask. And that hurt my heart, you know, because She's obviously not getting it, from her manager or direction from her manager. And and that's not to say her manager, Maybe her manager just doesn't know, right? Like, that she she is wanting this guidance.

Kaleen [00:34:21]:

But there's just so many opportunities to To give feedback and to, also listen. Just listen to their story and and hear what it is that motivates them and what makes them great EAs and what else they wanna accomplish within their, You know, their entire career trajectory. So I, yeah. I just think we can do better and Would love to be a part of that at some point, whether that's with Splunk or another company on later on down the line. I'm gonna keep pushing for it, so we'll see what happens.

Debra Coleman [00:35:00]:

I think you should. And, hey, that is a huge compliment that Someone approached you in that way. That isn't that's wonderful, Kayleen. You are doing something right, and people are noticing. That is a huge compliment to you and your and the effort and the work you do. So, Yay. Gold star. I'm giving you a

Kaleen [00:35:16]:

I appreciate that. That's awesome. We have a lot of people doing doing Great things too. Not just me, but, yeah, it felt good. It felt good that someone would say, hey. I have this person I know who Who could use some help and is is a little gun shy right now, but I'm I have an open door policy. I don't it doesn't matter what org you sit in. I'm here to help and answer questions.

Kaleen [00:35:42]:

And if I don't have the answer, I wanna I wanna make sure that you get it, you know, and and and help you get what you need to be successful. So

Debra Coleman [00:35:50]:

Oh, that is awesome. That is awesome. That is a beautiful way of paying it forward. You know? I'm sure you Didn't come by this just overnight. This was this attitude you have and this mindset was probably built over all your years in the, you know, working and being in this role. And so that is what that is the output, you know, is is paying it forward. So I love that. You know, another thing that struck me, really quickly when you were talking about this role and and And the good it can do and the benefits onboarding.

Debra Coleman [00:36:20]:

You know, we talked about, right, the the kind of circling back to the tech to non tech. Man, if I had a Kayleen who was a director of administration that could have, like, onboarded me I mean, not saying anything about, like, who did, like, oh, I partnered with some wonderful EAs who I mean, hats off. They were champions. But let's face it. We've all been there. You're trying to onboard another EA. They may not be in your same org or they may be in your same org, but you've got work to do. But you don't wanna leave this person high and dry, so you're like, Let's schedule 2 hours here.

Debra Coleman [00:36:50]:

Let's do an hour that it's hard. And as and as much as you like, your heart is in it and you want to help this person out because you know what it's like, You're also carrying your own load, so it's kind of a lot to put on, as you said, your peer, even though they may be totally open to it. But if we had maybe a director of administration who that was a part of their bucket of responsibilities, so to speak, to be a little crass. Like, if that was a part of what they did, It would be like this person's onus to help onboard you, to help with the acronyms, you know, to help, like you know? Because Let's face it. The world's moving fast and as and as goodhearted and kind as our fellow EAs or even our executives or managers or directors are, they help us as much as they can, but they have other things too. And so we onboard in a piecemeal. I'll learn it as I go. We're literally building the plane as it's flying.

Debra Coleman [00:37:40]:

Absolutely. But if we had a central person who kinda maybe took maybe just the bulk of that, like, 70% of that onboarding. You know what I mean? Like, the the overarching. Like, here's how we operate. Here's how this is where HR is. This is how we accounting and purchasing it. Like, somebody just to kinda give us an overview. You know? I mean, we sit there in HR, and we do the onboarding, the sexual harassment training, and the you know, and all that training and, you know, What hazardous material training or whatever confidentiality? You know? Yeah.

Debra Coleman [00:38:08]:

It would be nice to then say, okay. And then tomorrow, you're gonna sit with miss Kayleen, who is our director of administration, and she will go over all things executive assistants. You know? Absolutely. How to be an executive assistant within Deb and Kaylene's company. You're right? So it's just,

Kaleen [00:38:22]:

I like this company you speak of.

Debra Coleman [00:38:24]:

Oh, I fully support it. I'm gonna go after some venture capitalists. I'm gonna get it going. Okay. But, Anyway, so I that's just why I love what you what the that idea, and let's hope that you are successful in in in in really maybe transitioning into something like that because I think that That's a spark that I would love to see lit and picked up by others.

Kaleen [00:38:45]:

Yes. And, you know, I can't be the only one with these thoughts out there. So there are many, many other EAs who have who are in this situation or have been in this situation previously. So, really, if you're listening, I like, you can blow up my LinkedIn inbox and tell me all the things that worked well and haven't worked well for you, and Yeah. I'd love any suggestions because right now, we just have, you know, we have this great team and obviously, we're Battling time zones and we're all focused on our specific orgs, but really having a way to tie us all together, whatever those suggestions might be, is it's Just super helpful. And I I you know, as long as I'm in the role I'm in right now, I'm gonna continue to Charge forward and make little dents here and there, hopefully, for for the good of the Splunk admin community.

Debra Coleman [00:39:40]:

Yay. I love that. I love that. Love the attitude. Love the idea. And, yes. Absolutely. Reach out To Kayleen, we will have ways to connect with her in the show notes, so please do, to continue the conversation and to give her some your thoughts and ideas.

Debra Coleman [00:39:54]:

If you're trying this out already, if You're into something like this already, definitely let us know how it's going. I would be very curious as that as as that myself. Maybe we can do a part and could say, look. I've done my homework, y'all. Here's the deal. Yeah.

Kaleen [00:40:08]:

So are gonna get sick of hearing my voice.

Debra Coleman [00:40:11]:

No. Never. I won't allow it. Not on my watch. They won't. No. Well, I to be respectful full of time. I don't wanna keep you too much longer here, miss Kayleen.

Debra Coleman [00:40:22]:

This has just been amazing. And as last time, I see a total on ramp to a part 3. So I hope we can definitely do that someday. Do you have time for one quick silly bonus question, though, really quick?

Kaleen [00:40:35]:

Yes. You threw me off with with the last silly bonus question last time. So what do you have for me

Debra Coleman [00:40:41]:

this time? She knows me so well. I love it. I love it. Oh, I promise this is easy. I I do. Okay. Alright. As You've clearly shown us.

Debra Coleman [00:40:52]:

You are 1 busy lady. You've got a lot going on. How do you reset and rebalance? When life gets a little too crazy for miss Kayleen, how do you bring it back to center and refocus?

Kaleen [00:41:03]:

Oh, that's several ways. I definitely prioritize my workouts. That is, like, I've I have to have my workouts. That just helps my mind clear and if I can't get, you know, a a full lift in one day, even just making sure I'm getting outside and getting steps in, I'll actually take Meetings, you know, I'll walk and take a meeting. Like, if I have a 1 on 1, we don't need to be in front of the computer. I and that, like, Resets my brain right then and there. But spending quality time with, friends and family is Really balancing for me. So and as I've gotten older, you know, you know, friendships Change and shift.

Kaleen [00:41:51]:

I really love spending 1 on 1 time with people and and sinking into what they're going through and just being able to focus my energy on on something that's not work related and, is hopefully beneficial to the other other person too. That that that fills my soul of joy.

Debra Coleman [00:42:10]:

Oh, I love that. I love that. I I'm a walker As well, I have a fur baby that I walk twice a day, and I agree with you. When that really just being outside and moving At the same time Mhmm. Yeah. I love that for you. That's great. That is fantastic.

Debra Coleman [00:42:26]:

Well, obviously, we're the recipient of all that really well balanced, physical activity because of all the knowledge that you're dropping in this conversation, but, yeah, it's important. Wouldn't you say though, especially for us in our roles, we support others so much that it's so important for us to turn that love around on ourselves.

Kaleen [00:42:44]:

Yes. It it absolutely is. And you know what? One other thing I do Definitely, passion of mine is wine, wine tasting. So, you know, when I when I'm like, oh, The the weekends here, I'm looking forward to going to taste wine, but that's also, you know, I get to spend 1 on 1 time with people doing that too and Bond over wine and catch up. So, yes, that time is precious, and we all need it to to sort of recharge and then be our best selves for work on Monday morning.

Debra Coleman [00:43:17]:

There you go. Absolutely. It can't all be about the 9 to 5. Right?

Kaleen [00:43:21]:

It cannot.

Debra Coleman [00:43:22]:

That can't be your whole story and nor should it. No. No. Definitely a fan of the fermented grape. I get it. I get

Kaleen [00:43:28]:

that love.

Debra Coleman [00:43:29]:

Speaking of that, though, did you wanna mention really quickly the Bell and Bottle Foundation?

Kaleen [00:43:33]:

Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I, you know, last time when I mentioned Bell and Bottle, we were focused on, setting up a Female wine judging panel for, all female wine awards and encouraging both male and female, winemakers to their lines for that, but we've actually now have our our nonprofit status. So we are we've been focused this past year on kind of getting our curriculum in order and our our goal is by next fall To be able to put someone through our kind of coaching program, for small businesses, for female entrepreneurs, whether that be in the wine industry or or otherwise, and, really focused on supporting female entrepreneurs that that whose businesses create community. So more to come there. There's always, you know, fundraising opportunities to to kind of support us and come along, but, yeah, it's it's been great sitting on the board and and, helping kind of shape the future there.

Debra Coleman [00:44:42]:

Love that. And I love the whole women empowerment in business idea. Found it. That's great. And, of course, tying back to wine, always a popular

Kaleen [00:44:52]:

The wine?

Debra Coleman [00:44:53]:

I get it. Yes. Are you getting the hint? Are you getting the hint? We don't need the wine. We need the We need the alky hall to get through life. I mean, my goodness. Oh, well, miss Kayleen, this, as always, has been An absolute joy, and I I just I could talk to you for hours, girl. I love it. Thank you for talking to us about your own journey from experiencing non tech to tech, and then, of course, your amazing insight about forming, you know, a director of administration or getting some structure into, our administrative support community within our companies and organizations.

Debra Coleman [00:45:28]:

I love it.

Kaleen [00:45:29]:

Absolutely. It's been a pleasure, And I can't wait to do it again.

Debra Coleman [00:45:35]:

And that wraps up my conversation with the amazing miss Kaelene Skirzes. I'm telling you, y'all, I Absolutely adored our conversation. It was so fun. And can I admit that sometimes I forgot we were actually We're recording a show because that's how easy breezy it was? Kayleen made it so easy and engaging, and she had such great insight and information sharing. It was fantastic. So thank you. Thank you, miss Kayleen for sitting down with me again, and I look forward to around 3 because lord knows we can definitely find a topic to talk about. As always, everyone, I want to remind you that as what we talked about in the in the show sort of more towards the beginning that if any of what we spoke about today resonates with you, lands with you, or if you have any additional thoughts, especially in the admin Community within your organization, any thoughts or ideas? Or if you currently are engaged with an admin community in your organization or know of or operate in a director of administration role or anything along those lines, please feel free to reach out to Kayleen on LinkedIn and myself as as well as but I also want to definitely extend that invitation, as Kayleen mentioned it, to Anyone who would like to continue the conversation with her or who has some experience in that, she is looking for ideas.

Debra Coleman [00:47:02]:

I think she is really trying to, You know, gather as much information as she can so she can better execute and make decisions where she's at. So please reach out to her. I will have a link to her LinkedIn in the show notes, so please feel free to use that to say hello and to reach out across the interwebs to share what, any information you may have. Also, there will be a link in the show notes to our first part, to our very first conversation we had together, which is also very fun and very, chock full of great information. Let me just say, when 2 executive assistants get together and share Space that involves a microphone and a record button, yeah, just pop the popcorn and sit back because it's quite the show. I'm telling you. But once again, thank you, miss Kayleen, for joining me this week. It was pure joy, and I absolutely look forward to our next conversation.

Debra Coleman [00:47:55]:

And thank you, My awesome listeners for tuning in once again this week. If you found this show a value, please reach out and let me know. There will also be a link To the Have a Seat website, feel free to pop in there where you will find more engaging conversations just like this. So as always, my friend, stay safe, be well, and remember, keep having those conversations.