A curated list of books for right-hand partners to entrepreneurial leaders. Check back often as I continue to add to this list!
The Founder & The Force Multiplier (Second Edition)
Author: Adam Hergenrother & Hallie Warner
This is the essential read (yes, yes, we are biased) for Executive Assistants who want to strengthen their strategic partnership with their leader. You’ll learn how to grow an individual in your role and achieve more together with your Principal.
Bet on Yourself
Author: Ann Hiatt
Hear directly from Ann Hiatt, former right hand to the world’s top tech CEOs—Google’s Eric Schmidt, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and Yahoo!’s Marissa Mayer. Learn how she took charge of her career, leaned into learning opportunities, leveled up her leadership, and the habits and principles that can get you there too. She talks about her career journey from assistant to Executive Business Partner to Chief of Staff, and then Founder of her own leadership strategy and consulting company. Her advice will inspire you to bet on yourself and take action towards designing the career of your dreams.
Chief of Staff
Author: Tyler Parris
This is a great book to understand the fundamentals of the Chief of Staff role, as well as the thought process CEOs go through when considering if a Chief of Staff is the right for them. Parris also discusses how to develop and grow the role over time.
Rocket Fuel
Author: Gino Wickman
Without an Integrator, a Visionary is far less likely to succeed long-term, and realize the company’s ultimate goals—likewise, with no Visionary, an Integrator can’t rise to his or her full potential. When these two people come together to share their natural talents and innate skill sets, it’s like rocket fuel—they have the power to reach new heights for virtually any company or organization.
The Leader Assistant
Author: Jeremy Burrows
Jeremy Burrows is a longtime EA, author, podcast host, and speaker. His book outlines the 4 essential pillars assistants must focus on in order to lead well without burning out.
The Modern-Day Assistant
Author: Lucy Brazier
Lucy Brazier is a global champion for the development of the administrative profession. She has spent much of the last 12 years training and running events for assistants around the world, campaigning for a clear global framework for career progression and educating executives on how best to use their executive support functions.
The Elevated EA
Author: Maggie Jacobs
Maggie Jacobs likes to say “I work in the space of ‘executive enablement’– I make things possible for my executive,” but her book is not a tactical guide to becoming a stellar EA. Maggie’s story is one of strength and resilience, a call to stop playing small, and an inspiration to anyone who wants to improve their life, both professionally and personally.
Ways and Means for Managing Up
Author: F William Smullen
Peter Bergen said it best: “Colonel Smullen has worked for some of the smartest and most demanding bosses in modern American history, most notably General Colin Powell, for many years. In this book Smullen offers an invaluable guide for how to succeed inside any organization. It is a guide that is both tremendously wise and, in some places, laugh-out-loud funny.”
The Gatekeepers
Author: Chris Whipple
What do Dick Cheney and Rahm Emanuel have in common? Aside from polarizing personalities, both served as chief of staff to the president of the United States. Through extensive, intimate interviews with all seventeen living chiefs and two former presidents, award-winning journalist and producer Chris Whipple pulls back the curtain on the make or break power of White House chiefs of staff.
Evolved Assistant
Author: Tara M Simms
In the fast-paced world of administrative support, it’s easy to feel overlooked, underappreciated, and stifled in your growth. You long for more—more recognition, more opportunities, and a deeper acknowledgment of your true worth. Evolved Assistant is here to help you break free from those limitations and unlock a path of meaningful professional growth and development.
The Unstoppable EA
Author: Becky Kaapuni
Becky Kaapuni pours her heart, experiences, and hard-won lessons into helping fellow EAs discover their true potential. Through personal stories, practical advice, and proven strategies, she shows readers how to embrace their unique strengths, build unshakeable confidence, and create their own path to success in this challenging yet incredibly rewarding profession.
The World’s Worst Assistant
Author: Sona Movsesian
From Conan O’Brien’s longtime assistant, a completely hilarious and irreverent how-to guide for becoming a terrible, yet unfireable employee, spilling her trade secrets for minimizing effort while maximizing the rewards. Sona Movsesian didn’t wake up one day and decide to become the World’s Worst Assistant. Achieving such greatness is a gradual process—one that starts with long hours and hard work before it eventually descends into sneaking low-dosage edibles into your lunch and napping on your boss’s couch.
Be the Ultimate Assistant
Author: Bonnie Low-Kramen
A first-hand look at the world of a celebrity assistant, and its application to the larger realm of all professional assistants. Enlightening and entertaining, this book is filled with true stories and lessons from author Bonnie Low-Kramen’s 25+ years working with Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis.
The President Will See You Now
Author: Peggy Grande
In The President Will See You Now, devoted Reagan insider Peggy Grande shares behind-the-scenes stories, intimate moments, and insights into one of America’s most beloved presidents. Grande, who started in the Office of Ronald Reagan as a college student and earned her way into a coveted role as the president’s Executive Assistant, offers an unparalleled perspective on the post-presidency of a political icon.
Your World-Class Assistant
Author: Michael Hyatt
Your World-Class Assistant: Hiring, Training, and Leveraging an Executive Assistant is a physical resource teaching the systematic blueprint for getting the help your busy life deserves. Inside, you’ll discover how to find an Executive Assistant if you don’t have one, how to train your assistant the right way, and ways you can use your assistant to save you time, money, and energy.
Not Just an Admin
Author: Peggy Vasquez
If you’ve ever said or heard an admin say, “I’m just an admin,” this book will change your view about the administrative profession. This is a valuable handbook for anyone in the administrative profession wanting to succeed. Filled with thoughtful questions and answers, this book leads the readers on an exciting and well-laid-out journey to understanding what it takes to support their executive while rising to the top and reaching their career goals.
Managing Up
Author: Rosanne Badowski
Everyone is a manager, in one way or another. Badowski discusses first-hand what it’s like to have to be a mind reader, to anticipate the future, to plan for the unexpected, and to perform the impossible. Managing Up is an invaluable guide for managing your career and juggling responsibilities with finesse and confidence. It should become a management bible for anyone hoping to get ahead in their profession.
Fairy Tale Interrupted: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss
Author: RoseMarie Terenzio
Many books have sought to capture John F. Kennedy Jr.’s life. None has been as intimate or as honest as Fairy Tale Interrupted. Recalling the adventure of working as his executive assistant for five years, RoseMarie portrays the man behind the icon—patient, protective, surprisingly goofy, occasionally thoughtless and self-involved, yet capable of extraordinary generosity and kindness. Only now does she feel she can tell her story in a book that stands as “a fitting personal tribute to a unique boss . . . deliriously fun and entertaining”.
Private Equity
Author: Carrie Sun
Carrie is the sole assistant to a billionaire founder. She manages his work life, becoming the right hand to an investor who can move mountains and markets with a single phone call. Eager to impress, she dives headfirst into the firm’s culture, which values return on time above all else. A luxury-laden world opens up for her, and Carrie learns that money can solve nearly everything. A searing examination of our relationship to work, Carrie’s story illuminates the struggle for balance in a world of extremes: efficiency and excess, status and aspiration, power and fortune. Private Equity is a universal tale of self-invention, daring to ask what we’re willing to sacrifice to get to the top—and what it might take to break free and leave it all behind.
Consiglieri
Author: Richard Hytner
The key to success lies in getting to the top – right? Wrong. Not everyone can be No. 1, and more importantly, not everyone wants to be.
Consiglieri turns the spotlight on the second-in-commands – the advisers, assistants and counsellors (or ‘consiglieri’) – who are too often disparaged as the ‘No. 2’. Far from being also-rans, these are the crucial vice-presidents, first lieutenants and right-hand men and women whose influence can determine the fate of countries, companies and individual ventures all over the world.
As I See It
Author: Phoenix Normand
A blatantly honest account of today’s business written from the perspective of a 50-year old, Black, gay, male Executive Assistant who supported some of the top executives in Finance, Tech, Retail and Aerospace and challenged business and societal norms to become one of the most respected professionals in the field. During his 27 years in the C-suite Phoenix Normand witnessed the rise and fall of Dot-Com 1.0, survived two (near) heart attacks, even designed the pitchbook for the investment bank that eventually took Amazon.com public. It’s not pretty. But it is honest. And a book that everyone in business should read and have open conversations about in an effort to finally solve many of the inequities, misperceptions, and issues that have plagued big business for decades.
Winston Churchill by His Personal Secretary
Author: Elizabeth Nel
Elizabeth Nel served as Winston Churchill’s personal secretary during World War II. The vivid and human details of her experiences, of her impressions and memories of the irascible and loveable war hero, take up the story of Churchill’s life at No. 10 where the BBC’s impressive drama, The Gathering Storm, leaves off-when Churchill took over the reins of Government at the outset of the war. Finally, the author, Elizabeth Nel, at 90 years of age, looks back across the years.
An Insider’s Perspective on the Chief of Staff
Author: Emily Sander
You’ve heard the buzz: the Chief of Staff role is taking the business world by storm. But…what exactly is it? Is it the right move to help your organization thrive and reach the next level? And how can this role reach its full potential? Author Emily Sander provides one-of-a-kind insights, combining her own experience as a Chief of Staff with perspectives gained from colleagues and her coaching clients. Sander offers her unique perspective on how the role fits into the organizational big picture, with real-life examples to drive home her points.
Unlocking Your Inner Chief of Staff
Author: Leigh Felton
Through a combination of real-world examples, worksheets, and expert advice, the book provides readers with a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to be a successful Chief of Staff. From developing strategic plans and aligning OKRs to managing complex projects and facilitating effective communication, Leigh Felton covers it all in this insightful and practical guide.
The Chief of Staff
Author: Anne Marie Otanez
Written by an experienced chief with more than two decades of practical and effective experience, “The Chief of Staff” aims to provide a blueprint for new or experienced Chiefs of Staff, what questions you should ask, and how to design a center of excellence. This guide will help you create and drive a successful chief of staff office that includes a solid partnership with the executive and leadership you support.
Delegation Nation
Author: Valerie Trapunsky
Through a deep understanding of the perspectives of both entrepreneurs and assistants gained from experience in both roles, Valerie Trapunsky teaches readers of Delegation Nation how to build strong delegation habits, navigate challenging situations as they arise, and establish impeccable communication—all to form the ultimate dream team.
*This page is a curated collection of books written for and about Executive Assistants, Chiefs of Staff and strategic right-hand partners. Some are long-time favorites, others are newer finds. I haven’t read every single one (yet), and I don’t necessarily agree with every perspective, but each title adds something valuable to the conversation about this profession. Before diving in, I always recommend doing your own research—read the reviews, explore the author’s background, and see what resonates with you and your role.
A quick note: a few of these are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through them. Thanks for supporting the work—and for investing in your own growth as a leader and Force Multiplier.
