When we encounter a change in climate, we adapt to the forces of nature by adding or removing layers of clothing as the seasons shift from summer to fall. Similarly, as technology evolves, we must adapt, but it’s not as straightforward as changing clothes. Instead, adapting to new technology can require more complex, less obvious shifts in behavior or processes. However, when you tune into the depths of your frequency, the invisible becomes visible.

As an EA operating in a complex, high-demand, matrixed environment, corporate America has multiple layers to navigate for success in this role. This can throw anyone off their frequency every day. 

Not only is there a need to evolve with technology, but there are also dimensions that require the mind to recalibrate to the right frequency. This means translating ambiguity into clarity, scaling execution for operational resilience, and architecting complex initiatives. All of this to balance, while consciously managing their own frequency to action on competing demands while remaining attuned to organizational dynamics.

span of control

When the span of control is not thought out to align with the North Star, human frequency will be in constant flux. Here’s why this is important. In the era of AI and multifaceted agents, there’s also a need for span of control, but in a different way. When you have a master agent that is built to manage an array of tasks, and there’s a hand-off to a subset of co-agents, the architecture needs to be thoughtful because the span of control also applies to machines. To help understand this, Rubrik breaks it down under the hood.

Let’s go back to the layers analogy we started off with. When we think in systems, there are multiple layers that need to bind together to make things work, from facilities, people, and technology. If we don’t have the right environment in place to scale a business, the interlocking logistics fail from the start. If we don’t have the right people with the required skills in the right roles, then technology won’t be fully utilized. This is what we mean by layers. Span of control needs to be flexible, allowing for trimming where needed to reallocate people to parts of the business that need to move fast on sizable efforts.

awareness

Now we bring the EA role into the span of control. Awareness is essential because it sharpens intelligence, naturally aligning the layers. Unlike some roles where autopilot is possible, every EA encounter is unique and requires consistent attention to the organization’s pulse. This is where human frequency matters.

In the depths of the corporate labyrinth, EAs guide leaders through it all, making the complexity navigable when the right mindset has room to think. This enables pattern recognition at the organizational level. If velocity is not up to par, perhaps the span of control is too wide. Flat organizations tend to have a wider span of 10+ direct reports, while a narrower span that requires speed to execution favors fewer than 10.

EAs design for emergence in these complex global org structures. They control what they can and prepare for what they can’t. To do this, starting with the first layer of complexity matters, as this is where the dependencies are clear. You can’t solve complexity without really understanding the root cause. When EAs have this ability, they approach each scenario with confidence. 

• challenge the status quo
• redesign to align
• surface the invisible or the uncomfortable
• trust their human pattern recognition to defy the off narratives

Bottom line, they shape the conditions and environment for executive effectiveness to operate in control or pivot. But if the EA is assigned to support a wider span of control, the frequency naturally decreases and there’s less time for deep work.

anchor the strategy

The role needs to be elevated when the layers are at risk. Pause before acting to digest the scenario or the situation. Instant reaction often has emotion tied to the outcome. In fast-paced environments, this can potentially surface risk.

Dependencies aren’t just “who needs to approve this” or “what team needs to be looped in.” Dependencies can be any one of the following or more.

Cultural: when the org doesn’t move without consensus

Emotional: when the CFO is burned out from last quarter’s adjusted forecast

Political: when products and services are in a constant loop over the roadmap

Temporal: when a decision can’t be made until the right data exists to support it

By anchoring every action to strategic pillars, EAs prevent getting lost in complexity. When someone makes an urgent request, the EA leans on their internal compass and asks the right questions.

• “Which pillar does this serve?”
• “If we do this, what are we missing?”
• “Is this a strategic dependency or someone’s failed urgency?”

The strategic pillars serve as a filter, turning the ambiguity into a prioritized sequence. When we give ourselves permission to think instead of running on autopilot, the pause can be the fuel for speed, questions are the quality, and the filter brings the vision.

confidence

Equilibrium restores balance, solitude provides steadiness, and within corporate America, EAs bring stability to systems and support their executives in navigating challenges. EAs’ guidance comes from attuning to their human awareness, not automation. For example:

• Reading the energy in a room, not the agenda.
• Sensing when someone needs space vs. when they need guidance.
• Knowing that a leader’s irritability in the late afternoon might not be about the project, but about a blood sugar drop, frustration, or unresolved conflict from the morning call.

Most corporate training is designed to put people into predictable units. As EAs know, many leaders are unpredictable. In the era of AI, we need to think of people as adaptive forms that require recalibration. Leave the automation to tech with the human in control. Build future confidence in any role with this GPT job analyzer. Keeping frequency aligned to the shift is how the workforce builds a lasting edge in tech.

signal vs. noise

The email inbox is considered an endless flood of communication because the world was given a tool for quick communication. It is the raw material, in a ‘box’, awaiting transformation. When we look at our email as this, we begin to triage for:

• signal vs noise
• urgent vs important 
• real or false narratives

The baseless emails that drift into the black hole should be automatically voided. This is the bottom layer that needs to be disrupted. Then EAs can stabilize the environment by attaching the right label to the element, pivot from the noise [i.e. set-up inbox rules], and protect leadership velocity. Move critical work out of the ‘box’ to an automation tool.

permission

When we break it down, we give ourselves permission to be human to operate in systems that incorporate machines to automate where needed. We guard the space for development and for leadership to emerge. Losing sight of human frequency is a risk as we learn to coexist with machines. We must keep what’s core to our humanness intact so we can continue to walk with confidence, and be present in the moments that matter.

Our natural state is more important now than ever because working against our innate gravitational force creates fatigue. Part of the permission structure in humans is knowing that you are already complete.

“The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.” ― Michelangelo

coherence

When we operate within the layers attuned to our natural frequency, we will trust our intuition, know our capacity, have clarity in the noise, and sustain our core because our energy is our main source of being. When our frequency is off, it disrupts how we currently move and shifts away from coherence.

Internal coherence: self-alignment

Relational coherence: how we show up with others

Systemic coherence: how work fits our nature

When someone is out of alignment, they experience:

• low-grade anxiety [our nervous system knows something’s wrong]
• decision fatigue [because we second-guess our instincts]
• imposter syndrome [because we try to be someone else]
• resentment [because the work costs more than it should]

We are already wired to: 

• read the room
• how to process complexity
• know when something is off
• what we need and what we don’t

human state of frequency

But along the way, through education, methodologies, and training, humans began to label themselves or put themselves in the wrong box. They slowly lost connection to their internal compass. Their steadiness to dodge the thunder is off. The galaxy is in flux, and the orbit is in disarray. The gravitational pull is going in the wrong direction. We need to pause and return to what’s true, being human in the state of frequency that allows us to shine. 

Get started with pulling back the layers with the frequency app below. Find a quiet space with no distractions, complete the two parts, then copy and paste the suggested prompt into an LLM to get a customized learning plan.