Effective Executive/Efficient Assistant (Part 3 of 3)
June 12th, 2006This week, we finish (finally!) our series on working effectively with administrative assistants.
Also, for all of those who went to Podcast Alley and voted for Manager Tools, thank you very much! We achieved a long-held objective of getting in the Top 10 list of all podcasts. We don’t know how long we’ll stay there … but we’re enjoying the moment. And we owe that to all our friends here on Manager Tools. Thank You!
Here’s a brief outline of the 3-part Series:
- Part 1
- The Role of the Executive
- The Role of the Admin
- The Single Biggest Roadblock
- Part 2
- Managing the Executive’s Schedule
- Part 3
- Managing the Executive’s Office
- Managing the Executive’s Relationships
- Managing the Executive’s Administrative Deliverables
Extra Content
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June 13th, 2006 at 11:09 am
Great job with this series of pod casts. It has created a vision of what the executive’s relationship with the admin assistant should be. The timing could not have been better for me. I will be starting with my new admin in 2 weeks. She has 25 years of experience in the role. Without fully understanding the potential of the relationship and the behaviors as you have laid them out I think our start would have been tentative. With my new understanding of her expectations and potential we can start off running. Our first phone conversation has proven this. She is already taken control of my calendar and is scheduling meetings with my new peers and direct reports to help define their roles and my key priorities.
Thanks for defining the standard of an effective admin relationship.
Martin
June 13th, 2006 at 7:55 pm
Martin-
Our pleasure. A great admin is just one of the great joys of professional life. I argue the best ones DOUBLE our productivity, which is a beautiful thing.
Mark
June 14th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
This series has been one I looked forward to the most so far. Having just recently RIF’d my admin because of my my misunderstanding of the role and a lack of trust in her to keep matters (personal and businss) confidential, I now see where I failed her and myself.
I believe a trust relationship is critical in this role, and while it wasn’t mentioned in the podcasts, it certainly is a given. I hope to use the knowledge gained from this series to utilize a future assistant with much greater purpose.
Thanks to you both for what you are doing. I can’t speak highly enough to my peers and directs about the quality and heart of the matter topics you bring out each week.
Keep up the great work.
JimC
June 15th, 2006 at 11:31 am
Mike and Mark -
Congrats on making the Dean’s List over at Podcast Alley! I am proud to be able to say that I listened to you when. This is a huge testimony to the value this show opportunes, but also to the vacuum of actionable information that exists in the management industry. Thanks for everything!
Craig.
June 15th, 2006 at 11:42 am
Craig-
Thanks and you’re welcome. (Always wanted to say that.)
It’s people like you that make our work satisfying.
Mark
June 22nd, 2006 at 1:23 pm
What a management gem. This cast is definitely a result of experience and it’s available without having to suffer through it.
I have one question: I share an admin with two other peers. Any suggestions on how I might pool common tasks for the admin AND how I might carve out some individual attention?
June 29th, 2006 at 4:41 am
PJ-
Sorry this took so long… I just missed your post. My bad.
I’ve deal with this question many times, and I think it will only be more prevalent in the future. We will have a cast on it this year.
1. IF the admin is very good, rely on her judgement to come up with how to do this. She may see something that you cannot about schedules, or preferences, or whatever.
2. If he is NOT, then talk to the other manager about preferences. Go into the meeting with a clear idea of what you want, in rank order.
3. This is the way I would do it. I would act as if the admin were ALL MINE. I would expect full support, and ask her and the other manager to keep me in check. I would be kind and back off every time… but over time, I’d get the lion’s share.
I know - this sounds Machiavellian. But what are the chances that randomness will get you to 50/50? ZERO. So, someone is going to get a larger share. Assuming equal org impact, the manager who has a clearer vision and cost benefit understanding ought to be the majority share holder.
4. A lot of people ask me which tasks I would have my admin do… but that’s not the right question. The right question is what do YOU need from her. That said, I personally would start with calendar and email, then slides and meeting prep/research.
Great question, and it reminded me of a situation I blogged about.
Mark
August 2nd, 2006 at 11:33 pm
I’ve finally gotten around to passing along a CD of this 3 part podcast to my Admin (2 CDs actually as it didn’t fit in one). In previous O3s i had been telling her about my progress in listening to the podcast part by part and that’s probably built some excitement around it for her as well. She was very enthusiastic when I forked it over and I look forward to our next O3 where we will compare notes.
My biggest fear is still letting go of control but i’m starting to become more comfortable with it. My Admin’s doing a great job working with me on this and I’ve empowered to give me adjusting feedback when I start meddling too much with my meetings and schedules without her knowing.
You’re last post is timely as well as we’ve had additional VPs positioned (my new peers) and we may end up having to share admins at 1:2 ratio, unless I make a good case for getting a dedicated one!
This whole series was great! And i’m hoping my Admin will appreciate it as much as I do.
Carlo
August 3rd, 2006 at 9:14 am
Carlo-
Control is an illusion.
Mark
May 5th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Hi Mike and Mark,
I just finished listening to this 3 casts and it was a usefull time for me !
I am the owner of a small group of companies. I have no assistant because I always thought “I can not afford that” ; “this is for the big guys” ; “I want to keep my companies lean” ; “customers/suppliers/directs won’t understand it”, “I use Outlook” etc.
So I spread the work over the commercial assistants of the company. We have several assistant who take care of orders. They do “little” things like organizing my travels and accomodations, doing my expenses, etc.
What I can’t get done with this system is : having my mails managed, having my calendar managed, having my office and filing system managed, having my “contacts” managed (make appointment, calls, etc.), etc. But it is very hard for me to see how long it would take to someone to do it.
Could you issue a list of what a personnal admin can/cannot do ?
Other questions :
- does the admin follow the executive in meetings in order to take notes and/or be in charge of having the meeting run well ?
- when travelling, does the admin come with ?
Many thanks.
Cédric.
May 5th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Cedric-
We won’t publish a list - too context specific. If you’re the owner, a personal assistant can do nearly anything.
ANYTHING SHE CAN DO THAT YOU ARE DOING IS WRONG FOR YOU TO DO.
Some admins do sit in on meetings, some don’t. Depends on your needs and her/his skills.
I wouldn’t have him/her run the meeting. Power issues make that harder.
No travelling with you unless you’re a billionaire.
Mark
May 6th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Mark,
Well … Not yet … I’ll tell you.
Cédric.