Staying Strategic in the Storm EA Manager Roundtable Report - Crisis & Energy Management
Facilitated by Lucy Chamberlain PCC, Fellow of the Learning & Performance Institute, Founder of C&C Search & Academy
With contributions from:
Pinsent Masons, CVC Capital Partners, OC&C Strategy Consultants, British International Investment (BII), Hargreaves Lansdown, Railpen, Lazard, Accenture, Alvarez & Marsal, BNY Mellon, Knight Frank, BlackRock, Marsh, Sona Asset Management, KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates), and Amazon
Overview
Our latest EA Manager Roundtable brought together an extraordinary group of Executive Assistant and EA Lead professionals to explore how to sustain composure, clarity and influence when everything feels in flux. We unpacked practical frameworks for managing both crisis situations and personal energy so you stay focused on what truly matters: impact, presence and clarity.
Staying Calm When Everything Feels Urgent
Protect time: carve out protected thinking time and movement breaks to regulate energy.
Pause rituals: step away, breathe or sleep on it - model composure before response.
Clarity lists: write things down to reduce overload and sharpen priorities.
Flexibility: adjust meeting expectations to reflect reality, not perfection.
Trusted sounding boards: seek second opinions and perspective.
Systemic calm: move from firefighting to building processes that prevent it.
“The calmest person in the room sets the tone - make that your leadership advantage.”
Protecting Energy with Team Agreements & Reset Rituals
Micro-pauses & movement: physical resets prevent emotional spirals.
Clear prioritisation frameworks: reduce decision fatigue and emotional load.
Transparent capacity: communicate workload and boundaries openly.
Neuro-inclusive systems: allow flexibility, pacing and choice.
“Small pauses create big clarity and protect collective bandwidth.”
System-Care Over Self-Care
Embed calm into culture, don’t leave it to individuals to self-regulate.
Create safe spaces for honest conversations and contribution.
Model clear boundaries and consistent expectations.
Recognition rituals: celebrate effort and wins regularly.
Prepared 1:1s: come with clarity, solutions and purpose.
“Calm is contagious - leaders model it, teams mirror it.”
Closing the Energy Leaks
Systems: address poor communication, duplication, and lack of documentation.
Stakeholders: clarify delegation and competing urgencies to reduce reactivity.
Self: replace perfectionism and over-control with progress and learning.
Boundaries: link expectations to purpose, set early, and protect focus time.
“Boundaries aren’t walls, they’re clarity in action.”
Rewriting the Narrative: From Crisis to Pattern
Read the room and use EQ to understand personalities and tension.
Spot root causes, don’t just treat symptoms.
Include EAs in review and strategy sessions - they see issues first.
Reflect, learn and embed new habits after every spike in activity.
“Pause, reflect, and look for the underlying pattern — calm enables clarity.”
Reinvention Through Curiosity
Replace control with curiosity to build engagement and innovation.
Normalise open questions, feedback loops and psychological safety.
Trial ‘Curiosity Circles’ + ‘Coffee Roulette’ for cross-team learning.
Use ‘Crisis Compost’ - turn setbacks into shared stories and growth.
“Curiosity turns crisis into creativity.”
One Concrete ‘System of Calm’
Confidential 1:1s build trust and psychological safety.
Buddy systems reduce isolation and distribute support.
Design moments of levity: laugh, think, play together.
Authenticity principles: be real, honest and truthful.
Key Takeaways
• Energy management is a leadership skill.
• System-care creates sustainable performance.
• Boundaries communicate clarity, not resistance.
• Curiosity turns crisis into creativity.
• Calm is a competitive advantage.
To discuss hiring or training with our Founder, Lucy Chamberlain reach out to Anna Ward: anna.w@candcsearch.co.uk or lucy@candcsearch.co.uk
