Success Starts With You
The Linchpin Assistant is your blueprint for success
Being a trusted partner requires more than just booking travel and monitoring the inbox for your manager. It goes beyond managing schedules and preparing or filing documents. But you'd know that because you've made a career out of being the number one support person for your current manager and probably plenty of previous managers.
You've dealt with your fair share of difficult stakeholders, and you've done everything from grabbing the coffee to crunching the numbers on next month's budget. Late nights, early starts and weekend calls; they're all part of the assistant juggle, and I know, because I've been where you are.
I'm a mother, wife, business owner, podcast host, author, breast cancer survivor and former EA
Description
I'm also the founder and trainer behind The Linchpin Assistant. If my surname tripped you up, don't worry. For the record, it's Van Vl-ie-t, as in f-e-e-t. It's not as fancy as it first looks, hey?
Many of the EAs and administrative assistants that I've worked with, and the clients I help today, have excellent hard skills. They're good at their jobs, and they're efficient at providing all levels of administrative support. But these same EAs lack the interpersonal skills that can take them from being 'good' to being 'great'.
They're what I call 'POWER Skills', and without them, you can lack the confidence you need to perform at a high level. You can feel stuck, unappreciated and at risk of replacement.
If this sounds like you, you're not alone.
I developed my Linchpin Assistant Framework to help assistants learn these POWER Skills. You'll gain the confidence you need to better support your manager and achieve your career goals.
Personalised Coaching and Training
Working with Liz Van Vliet
Down-to-earth
I'm approachable, compassionate and believe a coaching relationship is most effective with openness and honesty.
Listener
I respectfully listen with full attention and patience so that I'm able to provide the support you need.
Supportive
I take your needs seriously so we can work together to achieve your goals.
Expert
I've combined my 20+ years of sales and marketing skills with my experience working as an EA to deliver second-to-none coaching and training that you can count on.
Motivating
Together we'll set attainable goals, and I'll be there every step of the way to help you achieve them.
Knowledge is Power
Becoming a Linchpin Assistant Starts With Insight & Awareness
Learning new skills to further your administrative professional career is about progress over perfection and giving yourself permission to try things out. The first step in your journey starts right here with The Linchpin Model®, the Ten Power Skills for Linchpin Assistants® and understanding where you sit in the Assistant Competency Model®.
There Are Five Elements Every Assistant Needs To Build Understanding and Awareness In Order To Elevate Your Effectiveness.
They are:
Using this model and building your competence and confidence in the Power skills I teach you, will get you out of survival mode. It will transform you from working on busy work and performing menial administrative tasks enabling you to become a role model to others and a trusted partner to your executive.
It All Started Here...
How 'Surviving' Launched A New Adventure
Every new adventure starts with a story, and mine is no different.
I've had a very successful career in marketing and sales, working for blue-chip companies like IBM in Australia and North America. But in 2013, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and my career and life as I knew them came to a grinding halt. Even after treatment, I knew that I couldn't return to the career I'd worked so hard to build. So, I went looking for alternatives.
A close girlfriend suggested I'd make an exceptional EA. She told me, 'It's all care and no responsibility'. Well, this couldn't have been further from the truth. The role of an executive assistant challenged me to draw upon the skills and capabilities I'd spent my working life building. I was tested in ways I'd never imagined and used levels of emotional intelligence that I'd never needed before.
Feeling overwhelmed, I searched for a podcast to help make sense of these challenges. When I couldn't find what I was looking for, I started my own. That's how the Assist With Impact Podcast was born. And with more than 100,000 downloads, it's still helping EAs and administrative assistants around the globe.
Then I started offering my insights into EA skill development for keynote speaking. And today, The Linchpin Assistant is a thriving business that helps administrative assistants develop the skills they need to POWER up their potential and their career.
I love seeing my clients excel in such a diverse and challenging role. But more than that, I love seeing their happiness and watching their careers thrive.
Let's chat about how you can become a trusted and valued assistant.
Book your FREE 15-minute consultation today and let's get started.
Talk soon,
Liz Van Vliet
Client Love
Working with Liz was an absolute dream. She understood the brief and delivered a great presentation that the attendees found very useful.
Nicky Christmas
Practically Perfect PA Virtual Summit
Liz Van Vliet
Liz works with executive and administrative assistants to equip them with the skills and confidence they need to influence more effectively and to demonstrate the leadership and interpersonal skills to make them a linchpin to their manager and organisation.