Two months ago, we had an unfortunate incident at home. A painter doing some touch-ups accidentally triggered the sprinkler system in our living room. Thankfully, it only impacted the living room and part of the entryway to what is now my office.
The good news? The sprinkler system, while old, was very well-designed. It was intuitive and didn’t activate the entire system—only the area affected. It isolated exactly as it should.
The bad news? The water damage meant we had to replace the wood flooring in that section of the house. It was a custom-stained floor I had done when we purchased the home, which meant we couldn’t just replace part of it—we had to restain all the continuous flooring throughout the house.
Still calm. (Barely.)
I reached out to our insurance company and connected with a kind adjuster who helped us navigate the process. But when you’re restaining all your floors, you’re also dealing with sanding—lots of sanding. That means dust. Everywhere. Floors stripped down, restained, recoated… the house looked like a construction zone. Dusty, smelly, and loud.
Then they had to remove my wrought iron spindles to refinish the staircase. And yes, all of this while I’m still working. Two dogs tracking sawdust everywhere. My poor cleaning lady nearly had a heart attack. It was a lot. And all just a few months before Build IT LIVE.
So why am I sharing this? Because the only reason I’ve been able to manage all this and keep my sanity is because I have Rency.
She is my Executive Partner. I didn’t make that title up—I learned it. An Executive Partner is someone who helps execute every aspect of your day-to-day life. They’re not just assistants. They’re collaborators. Together, you work to control the chaos.
You’d be surprised how many people struggle simply because they don’t have the right support. We juggle homes, kids, emotional labor, and complex careers. Having an Executive Partner means you have someone anchoring your life so you can keep moving forward.
With Rency, she manages everything—U.S. office operations, property management, my personal and professional calendars, event planning and execution. The list is endless. To call her just an assistant would be a disservice to all that she does. She is my partner in doing what I do—and doing it well. We all rely on her.
So, when people ask me, how do you control the chaos? —the answer is: I don’t do it alone.
Having support is essential for any executive. But it’s not just about the person—it’s about learning how to delegate and elevate that person to truly support you as a leader.
Now don’t get me wrong—Rency didn’t show up perfect. We had to learn each other. I move at 100 miles an hour. She had to learn to keep up—not just bring me options but bring three potential solutions to every problem. She had to learn to haggle, to follow up, to get OCD-level organized. She had to anticipate, to plan, to figure out how I think, how I visualize event design, how I make decisions.
And I had to do my part. I had to slow down and teach her what I needed. What success looks like. What I expect.
So if you’re a busy executive, asking for help—at home or at work—is not weakness. It’s wisdom. It’s how you gain control of your life. And it’s not just about chores. It’s about everything required to make your life run.
Here are my tips for building a strong and productive relationship with your support partner:
- Be clear in your directions
- Set expectations early
- Don’t micromanage
- Provide examples of how you’d like things done
- Be patient
- Accept that mistakes will happen—just make sure they don’t happen twice
- Remember: you are a team
- We’ve just completed a full office renovation, I’ve got chaos at home, and Build IT LIVE is right around the corner. And I’m okay. Why?
Because I have Rency. And because I have a team of amazing colleagues who support each other.
It takes a village to manage the chaos. Don’t be afraid to ask for help—and if you already have it, learn how to truly leverage it.
