I was never just an assistant.

I always wanted more. For more than 13 years, I fought the perception that comes with the title. I didn’t want to just schedule meetings for my leaders; I wanted to be in them. I wanted to help solve problems beyond the calendar, and I wanted every leader I supported to know that I not only wanted to do more, I was capable of more. I made sure every one of them knew I was ambitious. I’ve written a job proposal asking for more responsibility to every CEO I’ve ever worked for. None of them led to a life-changing moment or a significantly different role. For me, that was never the point. It was an urge inside me to let the people I worked for know I wanted to bring more impact to the company than anyone expects from someone in my role.

I once had a role where I was treated like I had nothing more to bring to the table than ordering catering, stocking the fridge and making sure the mail was picked up. Those were the core parts of my job. Every Tuesday, I ordered catering for the entire leadership team meeting, and every time I walked in to hand out the food, the meeting ceased to exist. Not one word was spoken, on any topic, while I was in the room. It was like a server bringing food to a table at a restaurant: the conversation pauses until they leave. Why couldn’t I be in the room? Why couldn’t I hear even one sentence of what they were talking about? That has always stuck with me. I never wanted to feel like I wasn’t good enough to sit in a leadership meeting.

I believe the shift has to start internally. You decide what you want, and you go after it, because no one is going to go after it for you. Setbacks are reassurance. My entire time in that role felt like a setback, but it was really reassurance of who I am and what I want. That’s what took me from the assistant who delivers food to the table to the partner who delivers impact at the table. And once I broke that barrier, I realized I wanted to help other assistants do the same.

— JJ