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On Sunday, The Bear co-star Ayo Edebiri won a Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy TV series, and her acceptance speech brought loud applause from the audience and an avalanche of praise on social media and in the media because she did something too few people ever do. After thanking her colleagues at "The Bear"--whom she said were her family--and then thanking her actual family as well, Edebiri gave a special shout-out to "all of my agents' and managers' assistants." She added: "Thank you for answering my crazy, crazy emails!" It was a rare shout-out to people who usually go unrecognized, and every entrepreneur and business leader should take note. It was also particularly fitting when you consider that the character she plays in The Bear is an exceptional chef in her own right, working in relative obscurity to support Carmy, the show's superstar chef.
Award winners usually have carefully prepared remarks in which they thank a selected list of people. Edeberi, almost trembling with excitement, clearly hadn't prepared anything. What she said was spontaneous and straight from the heart, including her charmingly honest closing: "If I forgot to thank you, I'm sorry. Unless you were mean or something."
In Hollywood, where fame is the most bankable of commodities, people usually name-check celebrities, and those with power, such as producers and agents, whenever they get the chance. They're much less likely to mention the powerless--the legions of assistants, bodyguards, and service personnel whose work quietly keeps the whole machine running. This is why Edebiri's speech was so unusual, and so winning. "It was a cool moment, a classy thing to do, and I hope it's the first of many," Warner Bailey, a former angent's assistant who publishes the Instagram page Assistants vs. Agents told HuffPost.
It's subtle, but Edebiri's speech also recognized the changing nature of what an "assistant" actually is. It's easy to think of the role as Peggy Olson (played by Elizabeth Moss) in Mad Men, people who type and take phone messages and make appointments. But most of those mundane functions of what used to be called secretaries have been taken over by technology, and AI is filling more of those functions every day.
In today's world, where using technology to get work done is inevitably more cost-effective than hiring human help, assistants perform much more important and challenging tasks. As Edebiri's speech suggests, they work one-on-one with customers, anticipate their employers' needs, and help with planning and decision-making. And, perhaps most important, they often serve as gatekeepers, helping powerful people manage competing demands on their time and attention.
Despite the work they do, assistants rarely get treated with the respect they deserve, or even basic courtesy, as you likely know if you've ever worked as an assistant yourself or seen The Devil Wears Prada. (The movie is based on a novel written by Vogue editor Anna Wintour's former assistant.) They more often are treated as expendable, interchangeable, and sometimes a disappointing substitute to those hoping to communicate directly with their bosses.
That's why that acceptance speech was so noteworthy. Taylor Swift applauded and could be seen saying "Yup!" when Edebiri thanked the assistants. "One thing is for sure: Ayo Edebiri just won the hearts of every assistant out there," Bailey told HuffPost. Do you think that might serve her well in the future? I sure do.
There's a growing audience of Inc.com readers who receive a daily text from me with a self-care or motivational micro-challenge or tip. Often, they text me back and we wind up in a conversation. (Want to learn more? Here's some information about the texts and a special invitation to an extended free trial.) Many are entrepreneurs or business leaders who understand how much of a difference assistants can make--both their own assistants and those they interact with. Edebiri's speech and the reaction it caused are a useful reminder that a simple thank-you and a little acknowledgement can go a very long way.
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'The Bear' Star Ayo Edebiri Thanked Assistants in Her Golden Globes Speech. Here's Why It Was Genius
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10.01.2024
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On Sunday, The Bear co-star Ayo Edebiri won a Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy TV series, and her acceptance speech brought loud applause from the audience and an avalanche of praise on social media and in the media because she did something too few people ever do. After thanking her colleagues at "The Bear"--whom she said were her family--and then thanking her actual family as well, Edebiri gave a special shout-out to "all of my agents' and managers' assistants." She added: "Thank you for answering my crazy, crazy emails!" It was a rare shout-out to people who usually go unrecognized, and every entrepreneur and business leader should take note. It was also........
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