EA HOW TO · LIVE VIRTUAL SUMMIT
Difficult people.
Competing priorities.
Conversations you'd rather avoid.
Let's talk about the parts of being an EA nobody prepared you for.
Whether you're managing conflicting expectations, navigating workplace change or trying to stay composed under pressure, this summit will give you practical tools to handle the moments that test even the most experienced Executive Assistants.
Calendar Management 101Sound familiar?
Your executive has changed their priorities for the third time today.
Two senior stakeholders want completely different things, and somehow you're expected to keep them both happy.
There's a conversation you know you need to have, but you're struggling to find the right words.
Perhaps you're navigating a difficult colleague, a restructure, a performance issue or a workplace situation where you're no longer entirely sure where you stand.
And through all of it, you're expected to remain professional, capable and completely unflappable.
Being an exceptional EA requires more than organisational skills.
It requires good judgement, emotional awareness, clear communication and the confidence to navigate situations where there isn't an obvious right answer.
That's exactly what we'll explore together.
What will you walk away with?
Greater confidence in difficult conversations
Know how to prepare, communicate clearly and approach sensitive situations without unnecessary confrontation.
A clearer understanding of workplace processes
Recognise what fair processes generally look like, what questions to ask and when professional advice may be appropriate.
Practical strategies for managing pressure
Understand your own stress responses and develop ways to think more clearly when demands escalate.
Better boundaries and stronger self-leadership
Identify what you can influence, what needs clarification and what should be escalated.
AI for EAs
2 Hour Masterclass
Tuesday 01 December 2026
Online | Replay included
AGENDA
I'm in! Sign me upWhat's Happening?
Designed specifically for Executive Assistants and administrative professionals, this 2.5-hour virtual summit brings together three experienced speakers to explore clearer communication, steadier decision-making, workplace processes and practical ways to handle challenging moments at work. The content is relevant internationally, with any Australia-specific legislation clearly identified and international attendees directed toward the equivalent regulator or source in their own jurisdiction.
Meet Your Speakers
Ella Burke
Performance management, redundancy, bullying and workplace complaints can be intimidating territory.
Ella will help you understand the processes, the questions you can ask and how to recognise when it's time to seek advice.
Corey Casey
What happens to your thinking when you're constantly juggling urgent demands?
Corey will help you understand the effects of sustained pressure and learn practical techniques to stay composed, make better decisions and communicate effectively.
Melanie Unstead
When working relationships become complicated, it's easy to get caught up in assumptions, frustration and unspoken expectations.
Melanie will share how to approach situations with curiosity, prepare for better conversations and take constructive action.
Session One
Know Where You Stand
Workplace Processes, Rights and When to Get Advice
with Ella Burke
A lot of workplace tension can be improved with clearer communication. There are also times when it helps to understand the formal process sitting behind what is happening, what good process looks like and when it may be worth getting advice.
Ella will demystify the workplace processes that can feel intimidating when you encounter them, including performance management, redundancy, bullying, harassment and discrimination. She’ll explain what good process generally looks like, what questions employees can ask and where to seek advice when something does not feel clear.
The session will cover:
- What fair, well-run workplace processes generally look like
- Questions to ask when you are unsure about a process or decision
- When an issue can be resolved through communication and when outside advice may help
- How to keep useful records and raise concerns constructively
- Where employees can find reliable support, guidance and jurisdiction-specific information
Attendees can submit anonymous questions or scenarios before the summit so Ella can speak to the kinds of situations EAs are actually navigating at work.
Important: This session provides general educational information about Australian workplace legislation and processes. Individual circumstances may require specific legal, HR or workplace advice.
Session Two
Clear Under Pressure
How to Think, Decide and Perform When Work Is Stressful
with Corey Casey
Even very capable people communicate, think and decide differently when the pressure stays high for too long.
Corey will explore what pressure does to thinking, communication and decision-making in fast-moving EA roles, and share practical ways to create enough space to respond thoughtfully rather than react on autopilot.
The session will cover:
- How sustained pressure affects cognitive function and judgement
- Recognising your own reactive patterns when pressure rises
- Why skills that normally feel easy can become harder to access under pressure
- Practical ways to steady yourself in high-pressure moments
- Creating enough mental space to make deliberate decisions
- Staying effective without treating constant overload as the price of being good at your job
Session Three
Working With What You Can Influence
Self-Leadership, Perspective and Better Conversations at Work
with Melanie Unstead
When a working relationship feels strained or something at work keeps getting under your skin, it is very easy to get stuck in your own version of the story. Mel’s starting point is curiosity: what is actually going on here, what else might be true, and what part of this can I influence?
Melanie will use a practical self-leadership lens to help attendees step back, look at the situation from more than one angle and choose a useful response. The focus is on communicating better, understanding context, preparing for difficult conversations and recognising what is genuinely yours to solve.
The session will explore:
- Getting curious about why a situation feels difficult before reacting to it
- Separating assumptions and expectations from what is actually happening
- Looking at what may be happening for the other person and in the wider business
- Working out what is genuinely within your influence
- Preparing for a difficult conversation with clarity, curiosity and a useful outcome in mind
- Knowing when a boundary, clarification or escalation may be appropriate
- Choosing a constructive next step rather than letting tension build
- Recognising what belongs to you and what does not
Live Panel
Putting It Into Practice
After the three presentations, Trinity will bring Ella, Corey and Melanie together live to answer attendee questions and work through real workplace scenarios from different perspectives.
Questions can be submitted anonymously in advance.
The panel is designed to bring the three perspectives together:
- What do I need to understand about the process or situation?
- How do I stay clear enough to communicate and make good decisions?
- What can I influence, and what would a constructive next step look like?
Will there be a replay?
Is this legal advice?
I'm an EA How To Plus Member. Can I get a discount?
Can I submit a question anonymously?
Who Is This For?
This summit is for Executive Assistants and administrative professionals who want better tools for the bits of the job that rarely appear in the position description: pressure, people, competing expectations and the conversations you cannot solve with a perfectly colour-coded calendar.
- Supporting leaders and teams in fast-moving or high-pressure environments
- Navigating competing priorities, expectations or stakeholder relationships
- Wanting to handle difficult conversations more confidently
- Going through change, restructure, performance conversations or workplace uncertainty
- Finding that pressure is starting to affect communication, confidence or decision-making
- Wanting to improve a working relationship or reset how they communicate
- Looking for practical tools they can use immediately in their role
Some of the hardest parts of being an EA have very little to do with the calendar. They are the moments involving people, pressure, judgement and the conversation you have been rehearsing in your head since Tuesday.
Navigating Difficult Workplace Dynamics is designed to help you communicate more clearly, stay steadier under pressure and handle complicated workplace moments with more confidence, without turning every hard day into a crisis or pretending everything is fine when it is not.
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