You may very well have your most valuable work asset sitting right outside your door – your administrative assistant. Today’s savvy assistant is a strategic business partner, decision maker, liaison, problem solvers, director of people, a creative communicator, and so much more. Unfortunately, many managers and executives have not had a class in “Maximizing the Time and Talent of Your Assistant.” Because of this, managers are doing far more than they need to.
In today’s crazy economic environment, you need to place your energies where you will have the most impact on your company’s success. Voilà – in comes the valuable assistant. Are you delegating everything you could be delegating? I bet you are not. It takes time to teach an assistant the things you do; the projects you manage; or the reports you generate. But if you will take time today to teach your assistant, he or she will save you hours in the future. Wouldn’t you rather be taking actions that have big impact than the administrative tasks?
Some managers are not sure as to what to delegate. As you go through your day, ask yourself, “Is this something I can turn over to my assistant – even with a little training? Is this something I should not be spending time on because I have more important things to do?”
Don’t be afraid to let go. But you will need to take time to teach your assistant how you need things done and your expected outcome. Worst case will be that it won’t be done to your liking and you take back the project. I bet if you properly train your assistant, you will get more off your plate and feel less stress.
Good luck!
Joan Burge