Whether you’re thinking about hiring a virtual executive assistant for your business or you’re already working with one, keep in mind that support runs deeper than just the tasks. If you think managing your calendar, inbox, travel, etc., is all that your EA will handle for you, think again. Strong support from a virtual executive assistant requires much more than simply completing tasks.
What Strong Support Looks Like
Strong support from a virtual executive assistant looks like the things you delegate actually being owned by the EA. Some examples of what this should look like include:
- Things moving without reminders
- Follow-ups happening proactively
- Your calendar being protected
- Problems being handled before they escalate
- Your assistant thinking ahead
There is a bit of a transition as you begin releasing tasks to your EA, but once they take ownership, you’ll notice that you’re no longer involved in the work the way you were initially. You can feel confident knowing your assistant is handling things for you.
What It Doesn’t Feel Like
As described above, the opposite of strong support looks like:
- Constant interruptions
- Re-explaining things
- Managing the assistant all day
- Feeling like more work is being added to your plate
If you’re experiencing any of these things, it can be frustrating. This is not what most leaders expect when hiring a virtual executive assistant, and it’s not what your experience should be.
The Shift
The goal of hiring support is to give you the opportunity to focus your time and attention on other areas of your business while removing things from your plate. When you bring on a virtual executive assistant, your experience should include more space, better focus, less decision fatigue, and more consistency.
Great executive assistant support should create all of these things for you.
Having strong administrative support is what every leader wants, and it can be frustrating when that’s not the experience you’re having. The good news is that the right support structure can make all the difference. If you currently feel too involved in the day-to-day or feel like your support isn’t truly taking work off your plate, it may be time to take a closer look at what needs to change.
If you’d like help assessing your current support structure or determining what strong support could look like for your business, let’s have a conversation.
