Working with an executive assistant shouldn’t feel like another job; however, you may have had this experience in the past. Please don’t let that deter you from working with an EA. It can be a valuable experience with the right type of support. I’m sharing what this could look like below.
Support Shouldn’t Create Another Job for You
When you first begin working with an executive assistant, you’ll invest some time in onboarding. You may have standard processes that you would like your EA to follow, and you’ll need to address specific tasks and responsibilities. But once you’ve handed over those tasks, a proactive executive assistant should be able to handle them with little to no involvement from you.
Recurring Work Should Keep Moving
Business owners often ask how involved they will need to be when working with an EA. My answer is that you’ll find many tasks are recurring, things like calendar management, inbox management, follow-ups, meeting coordination, etc. Once your EA develops a rhythm with these tasks, they’ll be able to work independently. They’ll know how to handle them, and you won’t need to constantly tell them when or how to do the work. The EA knows what they own and keeps it moving.
Proactive Support Feels Different
If you’ve had an experience in the past where you had to constantly tell your EA what to work on and when, you had reactive support. They may have handled the tasks well, but they waited for you to tell them what to do and when. Working this way can be taxing.
With proactive support, the opposite is true. You won’t have to tell your EA when to handle the work. They will know when, where, and how to execute tasks, giving you peace of mind and freedom from constantly managing them.
There Will Still Be Communication
Please know that communication with your executive assistant is still important. Even when they work proactively, new projects, changing priorities, questions, and decisions will still come up. The difference is that communication isn’t the same as constantly assigning work.
The goal of executive assistant support is to take work off your plate, not give you another person to manage throughout the day. There will always be an adjustment period as you learn to work together, but over time, your EA should understand what they own and keep those responsibilities moving without waiting for your instructions.
If you’ve had executive assistant support in the past that felt like more work than help, don’t assume that every experience will be the same. If you’re ready to explore what proactive executive assistant support could look like for you, let’s have a conversation. We can talk about the type of support you need and how Team Delegate can help.
