The first time I understood that an EA's real power isn't positional was at Cigna. It was the first time I had worked inside a global corporate with an EA network to match the complexity of the organisation, and it changed how I thought about the role entirely. Confidentiality remained paramount, as you would expect, but there was an unspoken trust between us that allowed miracles to happen in calendars that were already bursting at the seams. When I first joined, a fellow EA steered me through the onboarding. When I needed a colleague's principal to chase an outstanding document, I knew who to call, and more importantly, I knew they'd pick up. There was no hierarchy, not exactly, but there was something more durable: reputation. Yours preceded you, and you protected it accordingly.
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