This is for you if you feel like you are spread way too thin and you need help with managing your time.
Think about investing in a virtual assistant or an executive assistant.
Here Are the 10 Characteristics of a Rock Star Executive Assistant
You can’t make it on your own, and that’s not a put down. It’s reality. And the bigger your goals, the more help you’re going to need in reaching them.
In the corporate world, I relied heavily on my secretary as we called them back then – these days, the job title is that of an executive assistant. When I struck out on my own, I thought I could manage without one. I was wrong. I just couldn’t keep up.
It didn’t take long before I hired a PA. I never met her in person. She was based in Melbourne and the arrangement worked just fine for years. She worked 15 hours a week for me. She chose her hours to suit her commitments to her under school age twins and I guess you would say that she was more like a virtual assistant. She did all my admin and she took care of my telemarketing needs back then when I was struggling to get appointments with business coaching prospects. Today I no longer need her as I have systemised the heck out of my business and mostly I get new clients from referrals, but for quite a while, I couldn’t have run my business without her.
So what about you? Who helps you? Do you need a secretary/executive assistant or someone helping you as a virtual assistant or PA?
If the answer is yes – you need to read on. So what makes a great assistant, whether virtual or in the office? If you’re a leader, you’d need to know the answer to that question.
For some, (like me back in my law days) a good secretary/executive assistant is like an air-traffic controller for your life. Not just your business — your whole life. They help manage not only the intricacies of the office, but all the treacherous intersections between work, family, social obligations, and more.
An executive assistant is an extension of the executive he or she works for. My secretary would be thinking and acting on my behalf all day long — things I wouldn’t even think of or do because I just didn’t have the bandwidth, she would be across. She helped to coordinate all the needs and demands of my life so that there were very few — if any — collisions between my personal and professional worlds.
If you’re looking to hire a rockstar secretary/executive assistant, these are the ten characteristics to watch for:
1. They have a servant’s heart. This is the foundation for everything else. A rockstar executive assistant wants to serve — and not just your company or business. A rockstar EA wants to serve you. Whether the task is big or little, he achieves his goals by helping you achieve yours.
2. They have personalized expertise. A rockstar EA is like a second brain. She knows what you like and don’t like. She knows where you are and where you need to go. She knows when to schedule meetings and when not to. A rockstar EA will gather as much of this information as possible as early as possible — and proactively keep learning.
3. They master the calendar. In business, we live and die by the calendar. Deadlines, appointments, meetings, presentations, calls — the calendar is the flight plan that keeps all of these moving parts from crashing into each other. And don’t forget scheduled commitments at home. If your EA doesn’t have mastery of the calendar, we’re not talking about a rockstar EA.
4. They anticipate needs. A rockstar EA sees in advance what an executive needs and plans accordingly. If it’s lunch before a meeting, reports emailed to a client, whatever, she’s already seen the need and addressed it. Anyone can take a direction. But a rockstar is already moving the way you want to go.
5. They prioritize the personal. When I said an air-traffic controller for your whole life, this is what I meant. If your EA defaults to prioritising the professional at the expense of the personal, he’s not a rockstar — at least not yet. Protecting the personal time lets you maximise the professional time. A rockstar EA knows that and helps you guard that time.
6. They are willing to push back. A good EA will keep you from burying yourself. They will be the “calendar police” because that’s exactly what you need. At any given moment they will know the full range of your commitments, obligations, and initiatives. Because it’s her job and she will push back when you start getting over committed.
7.They create and master systems. Whatever line of work you’re in, effective performance depends on a certain number of set preferences and procedures. What works best for you and your team? A rockstar EA will document and systematise these things so you’re not always reinventing the wheel.
8. They know what’s on your plate. We all have too much on our plates. Your EA should know all that you’re dealing with and what’s critical to your success. If he knows that, he can keep you focused on the high-leverage activities and decline or delegate the rest.
9.They respect your confidentiality. A rockstar EA will have all sorts of personal information and access. It’s critical she has integrity and a sense of discretion. It’s also important she sees when people are trying to get insider access or influence.
10.They have great communication skills. And by this I don’t just mean he can carry on a conversation. A rockstar EA will help facilitate communication in your business — especially if you’re bottlenecking things. Whether it’s email, calls, or other communication, a rockstar EA will accelerate response times and keep the messages moving.
Few people are more impactful for your success than your assistant. Find a rockstar.
