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Underneath It All by Joan Burge
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Assistant Edge

Joan Burge's Administrative Blog

Set High Expectations for Your Administrative Assistant

Posted by: Joan Burge on 5/6/2009

Today’s assistant is pretty savvy, wants to learn, grow and feel challenged. The best executives I worked for when I was an assistant (many years ago) challenged me. They didn’t let me rest on my laurels and they didn’t settle for mediocre performance.

  • You can challenge your assistant with new tasks and assignments.
  • Ask for input from your assistant.
  • Delegate assignments that force your assistant to dig deep.
  • Model the behaviors you expect. If you want to build trust, then you have to trust your assistant; if you want your assistant to respect your position, then respect theirs.

Joan Burge

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2 Comments

    • May 08 2009, 7:02 AM Tori
    • Even if your manager doesn't set high expectations for you, set them for yourself and fight for what you want. I've consistently had to go to my managers over the years to get involved in projects, assume additional roles, and take on more work from them so they could focus on larger issues. I felt, and still do, that I have to fight for my position. I continuously reiterate and reinforce to management to utilize the Administrative Professionals. We are a huge resource the company has yet to tap into. Bottom line, go to your manager and say, "What can I take from your desk, what additional work can I take from you to resolve so you can address the more important issues on your list." Keep going in and saying this. If need be, reassure them the work will be completed properly. I've already said, "You don't have to worry about it. I got it. It'll be taken cared of. I'll let you know when it's done."
    • Jun 26 2009, 1:49 PM bishopL
    • As an administrative assistant in a busy company, I felt like the formal classes I took at a school near my house helped me out a lot - it opened my eyes to a lot of skills and procedures I didn't even realize would help me become a more effective admin. These types of administrative assistant training programs can really make or break a person's career.
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