Monique Helstrom

Monique Helstrom Elevate Your Executive-Assistant Partnership

Anchoring your question in the work changes how your question is received. It positions you as someone who is thinking a...
06/09/2026

Anchoring your question in the work changes how your question is received. It positions you as someone who is thinking ahead, not someone who is interrupting.

And if you don’t get an answer the first time, it is appropriate to follow up.

“This is still open on my end. Can you confirm direction so I can move forward?”

You're not being pushy. You're being responsible.

06/08/2026

The quality of your questions directly impacts the quality of your work.

And the easier you make it for them to respond, the more likely you are to get what you need.

Need help pulling the information you need out of your executive?
Follow along for more tips or schedule a free discovery call and let's chat!

Assistants: Asking for clarity is not bothering anyone. (Or, at least, it shouldn't be.) It is a necessary part of doing...
06/07/2026

Assistants: Asking for clarity is not bothering anyone. (Or, at least, it shouldn't be.) It is a necessary part of doing any job well.

Your role is to build structure around someone else’s thinking.

You are turning ideas into action and translating conversations into outcomes. You cannot do that without information.

So if the information isn’t being offered clearly or consistently, you have to know how to go get it.

Not aggressively. Not apologetically.
Professionally and directly.

This isn't "being needy". It's doing your job at a high level.

Share this with an assistant who needs to hear it!

06/04/2026

Wow what a throwback! 🤣

Back when I first started experimenting with growing my personal brand as an EA, I did this series called "Truth Drops". The style is very 2010s, but the message remains true today:
We need to stop doubting our value as assistants.

For a long time, I believed the lie that because I was “just an assistant,” my role somehow mattered less.
Less important. Less impressive. Less valuable.

And I know I’m not alone in that.

So many assistants have been conditioned to believe that being organized, resourceful, thoughtful, emotionally intelligent, adaptable, calm under pressure, and deeply reliable are somehow “soft skills” instead of what they actually are:

Business-critical skills.

The turning point in my career happened when I finally realized that support work IS leadership work.

Executives cannot operate at their highest level without strong support, and strong support requires intelligence, strategy, discernment, communication, and trust.

Your role is not “less than.”
It’s different.
And different does not mean less valuable.

So if you’ve been doubting your worth lately, let this be your reminder:
The skills that come naturally to you may be the exact skills holding everything together behind the scenes.

And that matters more than you know!

Assistants: if you want better answers, you need better questions. This is a skill, and it’s one you can build quickly.T...
06/03/2026

Assistants: if you want better answers, you need better questions. This is a skill, and it’s one you can build quickly.

The easier you make it for them to respond, the more likely you are to get what you need—especially when you’re dealing with someone who is short on time or attention.

One of the books I recommend over and over again to both Executives and Assistants is "Getting to Yes" by William Ury an...
06/03/2026

One of the books I recommend over and over again to both Executives and Assistants is "Getting to Yes" by William Ury and Roger Fisher.

Because the truth is: your partnership is one long negotiation.
Not in a manipulative, “win at all costs” kind of way—in a human way.

You’re constantly negotiating:
→ priorities
→ timelines
→ communication styles
→ boundaries
→ expectations
→ feedback
→ and sometimes…whose version of “urgent” is actually urgent 😅

What I love about this book is that it completely reframes negotiation from “someone has to lose” into “how do we solve the problem together?”

A few concepts that completely changed the way I approach communication:
✅ Separate the people from the problem
✅ Focus on interests, not positions
✅ Use objective criteria instead of emotion-driven reactions
✅ Look for mutual gain instead of keeping score

Honestly, if more executive/assistant partnerships approached conflict this way, we’d avoid SO many unnecessary breakdowns in trust and communication.

This book is especially powerful if:
→ you struggle with hard conversations
→ you avoid conflict until it explodes
→ you feel misunderstood at work
→ you’re trying to build a stronger partnership dynamic
→ or you simply want to communicate with more clarity and less defensiveness

Communication is a skill. Negotiation is a skill. Partnership is a skill.
None of us are born magically knowing how to do this well.

And if you’ve ever heard me speak, you already know I believe communication is one of the biggest factors in the success or failure of our careers and relationships.

10/10 recommendation. Add this one to your summer reading list. (Bonus points if you read it together!)

April and May were an absolute whirlwind in the best possible way.Speaking engagements. Team trainings. CliftonStrengths...
06/01/2026

April and May were an absolute whirlwind in the best possible way.

Speaking engagements. Team trainings. CliftonStrengths workshops. Communication coaching. Executive/assistant partnership work. Recruiting. Career coaching. AI workshops. A little bit of everything.

And down to my soul, I love operating this way.

I know it comes from my years as an EA. Most high-performing assistants aren’t built to stare at the same spreadsheet for 9 hours straight doing one repetitive task forever. (Barf 🤢) We like movement, problem-solving, variety, context switching, building things, fixing things, helping people, then moving to the next challenge.

So while the pace can get intense, I genuinely love the range of work I get to do now. One day I’m helping an executive stop unintentionally steamrolling their assistant, the next I’m coaching an EA through burnout or confidence issues. Then I’m on stage teaching communication or AI strategy.

No two weeks look the same around here.
And honestly, I wouldn’t want them to!

Do you prefer the constant change of pace and tasks in your work? Or are you a little more routine oriented?

05/28/2026

I often equate the flow of our work to be like the tide.

Sometimes it rushes in fast and everything is moving at once. Sometimes it pulls back and gives you a little space. But the tide always returns. That’s the nature of this role.

The goal isn’t to control it. It’s to have a plan for both scenarios, then step in and ride the wave.

You can hire:✅ a smart assistant✅ a proactive assistant✅ a highly experienced assistant…and they will STILL fail if:→ th...
05/27/2026

You can hire:
✅ a smart assistant
✅ a proactive assistant
✅ a highly experienced assistant

…and they will STILL fail if:

→ they don’t have access
→ they don’t have context
→ they don’t have clear expectations
→ they don’t have consistent time with you

If this is your second or third assistant in a short period of time…
it might be time to stop evaluating the people and start evaluating the system.

(Need help evaluating said system? I can help with that: https://www.moniquehelstrom.com/contact)

Address

1447 Quince St, Denver, CO 80220, United States
Denver, CO
80220

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Monique Helstrom posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category