Superpowered: Dismantling The Myths Of Hiring Assistants, with Steven Neuner and Ryan Cassin

Shannon Waller's Team Success

Are you overwhelmed by the daily grind, in a state of “suck,” with an overflowing inbox, double bookings, and a constant feeling of putting out fires? Ever thought about hiring an assistant but not convinced it’s worth the money, time, and effort to bring one on board?

In this episode of Team Success, host Shannon Waller sits down with Steven Neuner and Ryan Cassin, her co-authors of Superpowered: The Secret That Helps Every Entrepreneur Eliminate the Suck, 10x Their Impact, and Have More Fun in Work and Life. Shannon, Steven, and Ryan will shift your mindset about hiring an assistant so you can step out of the chaos and settle on nothing less than 10x growth and freedom.

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Show Notes:

Constant State Of Suck

• Many entrepreneurs can end up in a “constant state of fire drill” before they decide to hire an assistant.
• The setup for failure: “Most entrepreneurs show up in the worst possible, least collaborative, lowest energy state to go make one of the most important, most influential, most meaningful hires they’re going to make in their business.” —Steven Neuner

Mindset Shifts Required Before Hiring

• Steven coaches desperate entrepreneurs to shift their mindset to see hiring as an investment of time rather than an investment of money.
• Investing time to grow the relationship with a new assistant pays exponentially higher dividends down the road in both your business and personal life.
• Another important mindset shift is being courageous and vulnerable enough to let someone else see the backstage of your business.

Entrepreneurial Executive Assistant

• This role requires the assistant to delegate and manage up, rather than the other way around.
• The assistant’s Unique Ability^® frees you to stay in your own Unique Ability lane.
• Entrepreneurs must think of their assistant as a partner on their growth journey, one in which the assistant will also be growing professionally and personally.
• Entrepreneurial assistants, like entrepreneurs, don’t like getting bored; they will want to lead, take initiative, and be creative in areas outside of your Unique Ability.

The Secret

• Many people think of an assistant as someone to whom they can delegate stuff they don’t want to do.
• The “secret” is that your assistant can be your all-around support partner who can give you superpowers and help you expand what you think is possible.

The Superpowered Scale

1. Resignation
2. Desperation
3. Frustration
4. Delegation
5. Superpowered

“Best Self” Support

• Steven’s assistant has a Better Husband Playbook, Better Friend Reports, and other ways to help connect him with his most valuable relationships so he never loses sight of them.
• Steven’s assistant acts as an accountability partner for his health goals and habits.

The Mindset That Holds Back Entrepreneurs

• “At some point, the thing that allowed you to create the business and get it started from nothing in the first place, that kind of mindset holds you back from being able to grow it to the next level.” —Ryan Cassin.
• Ryan’s assistant, Leslie, recognized that Ryan’s procrastination on an upcoming project meant it wasn’t his Unique Ability, even though it was something he was excellent at.
  • So, Leslie took initiative to plan, coordinate, and complete the project without discussing it with Ryan, and it ended up better than Ryan had imagined himself accomplishing.

Impact On Entrepreneur Support Partners

• Leveraged support partners find opportunities to respond to challenges, grow, and achieve fulfillment in parallel with their entrepreneur.
• Many support partners grow into new responsibilities, new roles, and new connections in the organization.
• With so much core institutional knowledge, they can also become coaches and trainers for new hires.

Onboarding Process For Support Partners

• First 30 Days: Know You
• Second 30 Days: Understand You
• Third 30 Days: Anticipate You

Don’t Settle For Faux Freedom

• When entrepreneurs find freedom after hiring an assistant, it can sometimes feel so novel, they want to protect that small 2x gain, so they settle for this “faux freedom.”
• Becoming Superpowered means going beyond the standard level of support to exploring a whole other dimension where 10x growth and freedom are possible.
• If the support person isn’t a good match, if the relationship isn’t growing into deeper trust, or if you’ve settled at 2x growth, it might be time to bring in someone else to reach that whole other gear.

Read Superpowered: The Secret That Helps Every Entrepreneur Eliminate the Suck, 10x Their Impact, and Have More Fun in Work and Life for practical strategies on leveraging all the capabilities of an entrepreneurial executive assistant so you can expand your own freedoms.

Resources:

• • Buy Superpowered: The Secret That Helps Every Entrepreneur Eliminate the Suck, 10x Their Impact, and Have More Fun in Work and Life by Shannon Waller, Steven Neuner, Ryan Cassin
  • Sign up for the free Superpowered resources
  • Visit Ryan and Steven at superpowershq.com
  • Strategic Coach