Finding the right assistant can be very difficult. Hiring the wrong assistant can be a major setback. But how do you discern the great applicants from the not-so-great? The key is knowing the right questions to ask during the interview process. Source: Gratisography 6 Questions to Ask Your Potential Assistant These six questions are specifically designed to help you discern whether or [...]
I hate meetings. Long or short, large or small, food or no food, outside or inside, morning or afternoon – it doesn’t matter. Meetings drain the life out of me, and I’m guessing most of you feel the same. There’s even a book called, Meetings Suck. Unfortunately, meetings often resort to nothing more than a group of unproductive people, sitting around a table with [...]
In my 12+ years as an executive assistant, I've spent plenty of time in the weeds. Yes, it's my job to stay in and sort through those weeds. But as I take an honest look at my time as an EA, I see I often miss out on a lot. I don't spend enough time helping other assistants, honing my skills, or working on [...]
I have a confession to make. I’m a control freak. I like things done the right way. Of course, when I say “right way” I mean, “my way.” If someone does something well — but not exactly the way I like it done — I will go out of my way to correct it. I’m sure my wife would be happy to tell you [...]
Imagine this — tomorrow morning you arrive at the office, say "Hi" to your assistant and ask, “Did you get my email? Is everything taken care of?” Your assistant responds with, “Yes, I got your email. In fact, I got all 27 of your emails. Oh, and I stayed up until midnight meticulously taking care of each one of them. Just like I’ve done for [...]
In today’s fast-paced, busy-is-productive society, we’re bombarded with texts, emails, deadlines, blog comments, meeting requests, employee conflicts, budget reviews, social media pings, and (fill in the blank). Is your blood pressure rising yet? You likely spend the majority of your day reacting to what’s seemingly urgent, which leaves you little, if any time or energy to work on what’s actually important. How much [...]
It’s a shame this blog needs to be written, but you know it does. Bosses regularly make their assistants work at all hours of the night, on weekends, and while they’re on vacation. Off the clock texts and requests are leaving assistants annoyed, over-worked, and burned out. Source: Unsplash How do I know? I spent 8+ years as an executive assistant [...]
A good assistant knows what you’re thinking and anticipates your needs. But do you know what your assistant is thinking? Do you know what they need? Do you even care? Why should you care? Source: Unsplash.com How would you feel if your long-time, rockstar assistant — who took you months to find — suddenly told you she’s quitting because she wants to [...]
Burnout often happens when we least expect it. It almost happened to me (I wrote about it here). We know something isn’t right, but we can’t quite discern what, so we push through. Those around us know we're not healthy, but don’t have the courage to speak up. Then one day we wake up and realize we've burned out — or are dangerously close to it. Source: Paige B. [...]
Last September a friend asked me if I was ok. I thought about it for a minute and replied, “Not really.” I said I was exhausted and on the way to burnout. He said he wondered why I had been such an insensitive jerk of late (It sounds mean, but he was right). I told him I didn’t have anything left in my tank and that [...]