You’re Going to Be a Great Leader!
The following is adapted from The Leader Assistant, by Jeremy Burrows.
I still have a handwritten note from leadership guru and bestselling author John Maxwell. I met him when I was nine and asked him to sign a copy of his book, Leadership 101: Inspirational Quotes & Insights for Leaders.
His note read:
“Jeremy, you’re going to be a great leader! Your friend, John C. Maxwell.”
At that very moment in 1993, I saw my future. I was destined to be a career executive assistant who would one day write a leadership book for assistants. Actually, that’s not even close to the future I saw — I thought I was going to be a baseball player. But that note from my buddy John left an imprint on me. I remember thinking, “Me, a leader? Wow. I thought only the rich, famous, or powerful were leaders.”
Andrews Glacier
Location: Andrews Glacier in Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park, CO
Elevation: 11,000+ feet above sea level
My sixteen-year-old self watched my fourteen-year-old brother lose his grip, slide down the Colorado mountain glacier, kick his heels into the ice in a desperate attempt to stop, then vanish into a crevasse.
Our group had just hiked four hours up Flattop Mountain to Hallett Peak, and our return route included crossing Andrews Glacier before beginning our descent. My dad, brothers, and I were with a couple we’d just met who offered to be our guides for the day. They weren’t professional mountain-trail guides, but they were Colorado residents and owned a Toyota 4Runner.
My brothers and I were dressed for the late August weather: shorts, T-shirts, treadless tennis shoes, and light jackets. Hiking in the summer is great because you can pack light, and it’s nice and warm until you get above the tree line. It’s windy and freezing at the top, but since we don’t typically stay up there for long, we tough it out.
In the dead of winter, Andrews Glacier is frozen solid and packed tight with snow. We’d seen dozens of pictures of people taking leisurely strolls across the snow-covered glacier. However, we soon discovered that in the summer, Andrews Glacier is an entirely different beast. During the day, the sun melts the top layer. Overnight, the bitter cold causes the top layer to freeze again. Instead of a “hard pack” trail that day, the surface was nothing more than a sheet of ice with streams of water trickling down.
The Confidence to Climb
Ignoring the “Hidden or open crevasses. Descend with extreme caution.” signs, we stepped onto Andrews Glacier. At first, it wasn’t too steep, so we had good traction. Several minutes later, the incline sharpened and our treadless shoes could barely grip the ice. We considered turning back, but realized we were already halfway across the glacier. To get more traction, we sat down and scooted on our rear ends.
After a few long minutes, we stopped to reorient ourselves. We were cold, wet, and scared. We were stuck in the middle of a giant glacier, with no confidence in our ability to travel the next few feet, let alone make it across. My dad did what many do when their life is in danger: He said a quick prayer asking God to guide and protect us the rest of the way.
A few seconds after my dad said, “Amen,” Jacob slipped and disappeared into the ice. “Jacob!” I screamed. “JACOB!” There was no response for what seemed like hours. Time froze and my heart sank. Would I ever see my brother again? Would I be able to stop my fall if I slipped?
The silence broke with a faint but clear “Get me outta here!” We could barely hear Jacob’s cries because he had slid so far from us. Our de facto guide slowly worked his way down to my brother, then reached out his hand to help Jacob out of the gap in the ice. (Jacob later told us that when he fell into the crevasse, he landed on a ledge of snow. When he took a step to climb out, the snow collapsed underneath his foot and all he could see was black.)
The Shift
As Jacob emerged, we were thankful and relieved he was alive. However, our relief quickly turned to doubt as reality hit us square in our cold faces. We still had at least another hour of carefully inching our way across the ice, hoping our footing would hold.
We were in the middle of a dangerous glacier with no proper equipment, no professional trail guide, and no idea whether our next step would hold or be the end of us. We were colder and damper than before, and I was shaken to my core. I’ll never forget the fear and uncertainty I felt in that moment as I doubted my ability to survive. The confidence that got me up the mountain was gone.
A Career Glacier
Location: My home office in St. Louis, MO
Elevation: About 500 feet above sea level
Fast-forward sixteen years. My executive is suddenly fired. I’d been his assistant for six years and worked at the organization he founded for twelve. I went from thinking I’d be there for twelve more years to suddenly wondering where I’d be in twelve days. Should I leave the organization to which I’d given everything? Or should I stay to see how the reorg shakes out?
With my executive gone, I had time for some long-overdue self-reflection. And I realized that work had been my life. I was burned out. I needed to reset.
After many sleepless nights, I decided it was time to move on. I knew leaving would not be easy, but I had a vision to guide me: I wanted to be healthy, and I wanted to help other assistants and executives do the same. So I resigned and set out to turn this newfound vision into a business.
Panic Before Clarity
Several days later, while looking out my garage office window at my wife, Meg, and our toddlers, Weston and Silas, playing in the yard, I felt panic rising in my chest. Most businesses fail. Even the ones that succeed generally take a few years or more to turn a profit. How would I support my family in the meantime? We decided to sell our house and downsize our life to lower our expenses. But I still needed a full-time day job while I built my business on the side.
I had no resume, no network, and no alternative stream of income to buffer our finances. I lacked experience in the for-profit world and had no community of assistants to lean on. I went from thinking I was ready for an adventure to lacking the confidence to take the next step. I was shaken to the core again. I thought I was prepared, but when reality hit, I froze — just like I’d done on Andrews Glacier sixteen years before.
The Shift
After regrouping, I decided to put one calculated step in front of the other. I put together a resume. I started to network. I launched a blog. And as I did, the missteps that led to my burnout, and the subsequent feeling of freefall became evident. I’d neglected relationships, thinking I didn’t need people. I’d thought taking care of my executive was more important than taking care of myself. I’d failed to learn more tactics to develop myself. And I had an incomplete understanding of what makes an assistant a game-changing leader.
You’ll face many glaciers of all shapes and sizes throughout your career. Some you’ll see a mile away, but others will surprise you. A glacier can be a job change, like it was for me, or it can be a deadline that gets moved up, a promotion, an executive who micromanages, a toxic coworker, a high-pressure project, a complicated calendar, a recession, or an intense negotiation with a vendor.
Being a Leader Assistant is not for the faint of heart. If you’re looking for a “cruise control” option, look elsewhere.
If you’ve had similar doubts about your leadership potential, it’s time for a paradigm shift. Assistant, you are a leader.
For more advice on becoming a confident, game-changing assistant, you can find The Leader Assistant on Amazon.
JEREMY BURROWS is a longtime executive assistant, international speaker and trainer, and host of the #1 podcast for assistants: The Leader Assistant Podcast. His passion is helping assistants and executives lead well without burning out. Jeremy has worked with CEOs, professional athletes, Fortune 100 board members, billionaires, pastors — and their assistants — in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. He’s currently executive assistant to the founder and CEO of Capacity, an artificial intelligence SaaS company. He lives in St. Louis, MO with his wife, Meg, and their boys, Weston and Silas. To connect with Jeremy or learn more about his training resources for executives and assistants, visit GoBurrows.com.
