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When most people think of an Executive Assistant, they think of the administrative tasks like calendaring, email management and managing meetings. The fact is, the Executive Assistant is the secret weapon for top-level executives and I love all the things they can do in such a demanding role to make our lives better.
Here are some additional tasks for your high-level assistants.
My Executive Assistant is pretty much my right hand. She keeps my calendar and email under control, manages moving around my schedule when needed, and handles a lot of the “everyday” requests that are important, but don’t necessarily need to go through me. I recommend every business owner have an EA, under one condition: that they be trained well and have the systems and resources they need to give you the support you need.
I have really found this to be the deciding factor between whether an EA will succeed. Of course, they do need to be detail oriented and have the right personality for the job, but even the most personable Executive Assistant will not be able to keep up with supporting a fast-paced CEO without strong training and systems in place.
That’s where we can help!
We all know an Executive Assistant can do things like handle your email and calendar, but are you aware of all the other ways they can make your life easier – and your business more profitable?
As a business coach, one of the most common questions I get asked is, “I know I need an Executive Assistant, but how do I work with them? What do I delegate? How do I train them?” (Ok, that’s three questions, but they’re usually asked all at once!)
I firmly believe that every business owner needs an EA, and that your EA should be one of your first hires. A lot of business owners question whether they can afford one…my answer to that is that you can’t afford not to have one.
Here are three reasons why.
Recently, I had a chance to sit down with my former Executive Assistant; she was one of my first hires as I grew my company, and over the years she has worn many hats. In fact, she now runs a department! In the livestream that we hosted, she gave some incredible tips that she used to best support me – first as my EA, and over the years in multiple roles.
All too often, people at all levels jump in and do tasks that truly are not at their highest and best level. While they feel that they may be helping pitch in or think it would be easier to just get it done themselves, ultimately they are starving their company by deciding not to stay in their zone of genius. The cost of these lost opportunities can be difficult to determine, but when you take a deeper look at them, you’ll see that it’s often significant.
As business owners and leaders, we all want to be able to delegate effectively to a great team – but unfortunately, this is often easier said than done. Instead of an easy workflow to get tasks off our plates, we tend to find ourselves mired in half-met expectations and frustration.
While it is important to build a team you can easily delegate to, it’s also important to realize that this is not going to “magically” happen. It will take some effort and communication on your part, but once the system is up and working, you’ll never look back. It’s that effective.