[00:00] LEAH WARWICK: Hi everyone, I’m Leah Warwick and you’re listening to the Admin Edge. At the time of this recording, we’re entering into Admin Month with the ninth season of the Admin Edge. And for this first episode, I talked to Francisco Nelson, a long time higher education E.A. Support Specialist who shared his story and insights at the ASAP event E.A. Ignite. And we were all feeling the energy of being in community together. Let’s listen in. Hi, I’m Leah Warwick, Senior Content Manager for the American Society of Administrative Professionals. My guest today is Francisco Nelson, Articulation Specialist for Career and Technical Education at Broward College, and a facilitator and panelist at this event, E.A. Ignite. Welcome to the podcast, Francisco.

[00:49] FRANCISCO NELSON: Thank you, thank you, thank you so much, it’s been electrifying so far, so I’m having so much fun.

[00:54] LEAH WARWICK: I’m so glad to hear that, just seeing everybody here in the energy and having you be part of that is truly our pleasure. And having you here is especially important because you co-lead an Administrative Support Professional Network, ASPN, at Broward College, where you curate and facilitate professional development programming that builds community, strengthen skills, and empowers assistance at all levels. What inspired you to take on this work?

[01:30] FRANCISCO NELSON: Oh my goodness, so my company is pretty big, we have around 5,000 employees, but we have hundreds of assistants. And for the past few years, we realized that many of us are doing the exact same work, we don’t have the same training skills that we all do. So beginning of an ERG, which is what is called an Employee Resource Group, it was one of the most fundamental things that we can do, and it was not my idea, it’s something that we always, everyone wanted to do, but no one wanted to take the initiative. So there was one employee who stepped up and she said, hey, I want to lead this, and I said, I want to jump on board, we always wanted to do this, which is, no one wanted to do more work. That’s really what it came down to, and saying yes to something else on top of our work really felt like a lot more, but when you have a passion to lead other assistants, when you have a passion to make sure that everyone is having an incredible journey as to begin to be employed by your company or institution, it makes such a difference. So for me, beginning something like this and being a part of it was one of the most rewarding things that I can possibly say.

[02:43] LEAH WARWICK: Oh, well, giving back with your work like that sounds so enriching, you know, for you and for the people that you’re helping. So when it comes to being a community leader, what have been some of unexpected challenges and also rewards of the experience?

[03:03] FRANCISCO NELSON: Wow. So that’s a great question because we are a very diverse group. I’m also one of the only, one of the few guys too in the group, and the industry is dominated by women. And I’m here like, hey, I’m a guy too. So you come with a different perspective to the table. So being able to come in there with a mentality of, hey, I think you’re trying to do such a great thing and an empowering thing, but you also need to elevate yourself and change the way you communicate. So for me, my training is coming around. Let’s change the perspective. Let’s change the way you communicate. Let’s change the way that your leader sees you because you’re just not an assistant. You’re more than just that. You’re a mentor. You’re a leader in your own space and you can become a subject matter expert in those things that you’re doing. And that’s really what I’m passionate about when it comes to that.

[03:49] LEAH WARWICK: Hmm. Do you find that that’s sometimes hard to pull out of people? Like, is it a mindset shift? Is it confidence? Do you teach that?

[03:52] FRANCISCO NELSON: It is so difficult. One of the things that one of my pet peeves and I always tell someone, when they apologize, stop apologizing for it. I’m sorry that I’m, I’m stop. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves because I see so many women assisting do it. I don’t ever see my leader apologizing for small things. We’re just always, it’s just an expectation is also a mindset that needs to take place. There are times when you need to be sorry, but I made an error instead of an apology. Instead of saying I’m sorry, there was an error that I made and I’m trying to correct it now because errors can be corrected but apologies have to be forgiven. So that’s always something that I talked to them about and it’s always just great in the mindset and it’s really, really difficult to get them out of something that they’ve been doing for years or decades.

[04:47] LEAH WARWICK: Hmm. So as a man in this profession, are there things you see from a different angle like that? Other things where you’re like, I, I can use some of my, I don’t know, of powers, the right word, but some of your experience to inspire and help others. How do you kind of see your place in that?

[05:05] FRANCISCO NELSON: One of the things that I’ve noticed is sometimes you don’t have to take no for an answer. You have to be more persuasive and don’t be apologetic about it. Always, always just go and go for the max and then let people bring real you in from where you are. I go and I just have this mindset where I have the authority for my leader to make my own decisions within a lot of assistance. I think they ask or they’re timid or they don’t want to take that extra step and because of that, they’re sometimes holding themselves back.

[05:25] LEAH WARWICK: Hmm. Yeah, that resonates holding yourself back like you might have this feeling that other people are holding you back, but really I think in life, a lot of the time, you know, we miss 100% of the shots we don’t take, right?

[05:37] FRANCISCO NELSON: Yes.

[05:38] LEAH WARWICK: Because we’re not trying. And it’s scary. It’s hard to put yourself out there. We’re scared. But having someone like you, in a way, give people permission, like you can do it. Absolutely. Can get someone to that place. And so that speaks so well to the importance of a peer support group and why it matters and why it is this extra work, but you stepped up and did it with others. So for admins or EAs, we’re looking to start their own peer support group. What is your advice for getting it started, getting it off the ground?

[05:57] FRANCISCO NELSON: Here we go. So I started as a student assistant at the college that I work for and there was this someone in Claudia. She was an assistant to the Dean, which is one of the biggest titles at the institution. And she mentored me from day one. She really took the time to say, hey, Francisco, you should dress this way or hey, Francisco, you should write your emails in this manner or hey, Francisco, you should have this type of tone when you’re conversating or having conversations with someone else. And it was that type of mentorship and it was that type of dedication that someone took on me that allowed me to really see myself now and now I’m able to say, you need to one be purposeful to make time and three be available if you want to mentor someone. So if you want to initiate something on your institution somewhere somewhere in your place or environment, make sure that you want your passionate about what you want to do. I love the work that I get to do. I love speaking with new assistants who are just coming in and let’s dive in. Let me show you all the different programs and solvers so that you don’t have to take 10 years to learn what it took me in one.

[07:13] FRANCISCO NELSON: So let’s try to condense all of this work and make your experience so much better. So you have to be passionate about that type of work too. You have to be willing to mentor. So if you don’t have the time to really sometimes take on emotional responsibility over other people, but also those tasks that come along with that and to the confidentiality also to walk somebody through their situations or through their current circumstances, then you may not be the right individual for right now. So those are some of the things that I usually tell people when they want to initiate something. Have time. Be available and three always be on call when it comes to certain things. But above that, make sure that your work is also the number one priority. There was a lot of times where I was, I’m doing this project and I’m doing this project is like, oh, I have a priority too, which is my first job. And though my boss likes the work that I do and likes how engaged I am in the different areas of the institution, I also have to make sure that my goals at the end of the year are the goals that put my job forth. So have that balance when it comes to different things.

[07:59] LEAH WARWICK: That’s really good advice because it is hard to take on. It is a lot and being able to navigate it can sometimes be tricky. But I’m curious for you, becoming a mentor, what that’s meant for your life. Because to be honest, I found out about you because so many people have so many wonderful things to say about you. It’s because of the impact that you’ve made. But in your life, from being a mentor, what has changed, maybe what opportunities have come your way and what, what does it mean to you?

[08:10] FRANCISCO NELSON: Great. So I spent most of my life in foster care. So for me, coming from a foster care background and going through the foster care system for many, many years, I now get to see and get to do the same thing. I was mentored for many years and now I’m mentoring people. So for me, the definition of that is, it’s an intimate one because I know the impact that it has when you’re doing it with other people. So for me, now that I get to mentor and the impact that I’m able to see is the drastic. So being able to say yes to this conference, it was, it came out of nowhere for me. I was like, oh, I don’t know who wants to talk to, I don’t, I don’t know. So for me, I’ve always been in a different environment where I’m talking about mentoring and fostering, but now being able to put that forth in the EA world is such a big different and impact. So being a part of the state of the executive assistant Facebook, where I’m able to respond to questions quickly, oh, and sometimes I even get lost, sometimes I use in CFO, sometimes I use in this language that I’m really not aware because I’m in a college system.

[09:23] FRANCISCO NELSON: But being able to say to the new assistant, hey, this is what this means because of the knowledge that I’ve curated from that type of environment or being in the ASPN groups, like, hey, you need to really take the time to do this and to go forth and to reach for other things. Like my boss is very excited that I say yes to something like this. So for me, this impact that I’m having now was because of one person who her name is Kate said, hey, I saw this guy in an assistant group and he was putting a lot of great comments. And now here I am because someone said, and that’s the power that assistants have sometimes that you can put someone else on a platform where they can create a bigger impact just because of the work that they’re doing. I am so thankful for her and I’m so thankful for the team because you guys have been incredible too. This is, for me, this has been an amazing experience that has really ignited what I want to do for my future.

[09:58] LEAH WARWICK: Oh, Francisco, like you’re so inspiring, like your story is inspiring, your journey here, and I can relate to what you’re saying of someone believed in you.

[10:07] FRANCISCO NELSON: Yes.

[10:08] LEAH WARWICK: And so you want to give other people someone to believe in you. And it’s like passing it along, right, paying it forward. It’s so wonderful. And you say you answer a lot of questions and I do have a community question for you. It comes from one of our listeners. And so they wrote something similar to what I asked, which is running an admin community sounds amazing, but also kind of intimidating. What’s helped you to step into that leadership role with confidence?

[10:27] FRANCISCO NELSON: Great. So subject matter expert, you need to know what you’re talking about in the area that you want to dominate. For me, in our team, there’s four people. We have a senior executive assistant. She reports directly to the president. Her image is excellence. When she does something, she’s going to do with excellence from the very beginning to the very end. She knows how to write incredibly well. For me, I’m a graphic designer. So for me, all of our presentations have to be up to par. They have to look with excellence, they have to go forth in such a manner that people are saying there’s quality and the work that is being done here. There’s someone else who has been an assistant for many, many years and she knows different, she knows policies. She knows how to communicate with people. She is so diplomatic in the work that she does. And for me, that is, I’m saying that because you need to be a subject matter expert in the area that you’re in.

[11:18] FRANCISCO NELSON: So for me, every time that we are having a session, every single month, we have sessions, every single month. And when we have the sessions, I always, always go back to what I know. Hey, let’s make sure that your image is presentable. Hey, let’s make sure that you’re passionate about the work that you’re doing. Let’s make sure that the speaker who we’re getting for this month is going to be able to resonate with the people who are currently in our team. And a company of around 5,000 people, we currently have about almost 100 assistants who are part of our ERG. So if you’re going to start something, you don’t have to know everything. You just have to know what you know. So become a subject matter expert in that particular field. If you know how to make coffee, learn, teach other people how to make the best coffee that you will drink from Cuban coffee to Colombian coffee, know that different beings are be a subject matter expert in the areas that you are in. It doesn’t matter what you are doing. It doesn’t matter what you are good at as long as you’re coming over the passion to teach that very thing.

[12:17] LEAH WARWICK: Oh, that’s so good, Francisco, because yes, when you think of leader, I have to be good at everything, right?

[12:22] FRANCISCO NELSON: Not true.

[12:23] LEAH WARWICK: No. Like, be an SME and what you are an SME, SME short, perfect matter expert. And then people will say, I will always go to that person for that. And you will be valuable for that among other things. But having something you’re known for, like you’re known for the presentations, you’re known for bringing in the people that are going to resonate with the audience. So they say, well, I’m going to call it Francisco for that. And sometimes that is knowing your strength and what you can add, because sometimes it’s very overwhelming when you want to contribute and you’re like, oh, I want to help in all these ways. And it’s Disha Dyer said something about this in her keynote, which is you could be sitting next to another EA that works at your company and does a lot of the same things as you, but they’re not you.

[12:47] FRANCISCO NELSON: Yes.

[12:48] LEAH WARWICK: And you’re not them. So everybody is different. Everybody is special. And I have to say, you are a very special person. You radiate such unique energy and positivity, and we could not be more grateful to have you here.

[13:11] FRANCISCO NELSON: Thank you so much. This environment was incredible. And that’s something I was expecting, but not it’s something that I’m rejoicing in just because the experience has been incredible from beginning to end.

[13:21] LEAH WARWICK: Oh, good. We still have some more time when you’re hearing this. That’s going one, so can’t wait to talk to you more. And in the meantime, please tell our listeners where they can find you online.

[13:30] FRANCISCO NELSON: The best I am always online. I am always communicating online. So if you need to find me, LinkedIn is probably the best place. You’ll be able to message me there. And I will definitely respond. I don’t leave anyone on red. I always respond to everyone.

[13:48] LEAH WARWICK: I believe that. I believe that about you. So please reach out to Francisco and thank you so much.

[13:53] FRANCISCO NELSON: Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

[13:56] LEAH WARWICK: Thank you for listening to the Admin Edge, produced by the American Society of Administrative Professionals, our original music and audio editing by Warwick Productions with audio and video production by 5Tool productions. If you like this podcast, please leave us a nice review, five stars, and subscribe. If you’d like to submit a listener question, you may do so on our website at asaporg.com/podcast.