Executive Leadership Support Forum: Speaker Interview

Erin McConlogue
Account Executive & Trainer
Dale Carnegie San Francisco

Erin McConlogue comes from San Diego with a passion for empowering people to be the best versions of themselves, love their jobs and alleviate stress.

She’s worked with international nonprofits in Israel, Mozambique and Switzerland and documented the first Humans of the Middle East peace project. Erin graduated from Pepperdine with International Studies and Conflict Management. She currently serves as a Strategic Account Manager and Trainer for Dale Carnegie San Francisco and facilitates all the programs onsite at Google.

Dale Carnegie Training helps people build authentic relationships, communicate powerfully, exude confidence, lead with humility and release anxiety.

Erin will be one of the distinguished speakers at the Executive Leadership Support Forum: San Francisco on May 16-17, 2018.

Independently, what have you done to work towards professional development in the past?

As a Dale Carnegie Trainer, we are annually re-certified and constantly learning how to stay fresh in the field of development. Every year, I re-take High Impact Presentations to keep myself sharp and hone in on storytelling best practices. Harvard Business Review, TedTalks and relevant business/development books are part of the every-day life of a Dale.

Name one thing you hope to learn or discuss with your peers at the ELS Forum?

Excited to meet and learn new stories!

Tell us about a career accomplishment of which you’re particularly proud.

Speaking for a nonprofit in Israel on Breaking Religious Divides in the Middle East was a profoundly rewarding experience.

In your mind, what is one tool you can’t live without or find especially helpful in your position?

I use Calendly to help me schedule calls. It’s easily saved me 2-5 hours/week.

Looking back, what advice would you give yourself when you were first starting your career?

Relax, dream big and treat every moment with magic. Every person, connection and moment happens for a reason. I love more than anything looking back with an incredible sigh of gratitude at how connected and meaningful the world always proves itself to be.

Are there any blogs, books, articles or online forums you recommend reading?

I’m an avid reader of HBR and Medium. The later does an excellent job curating interesting tips, life hacks, stories and satires of world affairs. Plus I love how ascetically pleasing it is.

How do you define success within your role as an Executive Assistant?

Having done trainings for many EA’s at Google – they’ve inspired and taught me that being an EA is so much more than society often credits it with. At Google, they’ve renamed the role to Executive Business Partner which really embodies the power and depth to their significance. Among an array of duties, EBP’s strategize, create visions, execute massive events, empower executives and carry the culture of an organization.