Become indispensable to your boss

Sometimes business leaders find themselves so pressed for time that having an assistant can feel like adding another task to the to-do list, especially if he or she is new. However, agreeing on a concrete system for delegating work can relieve some of the stress.

The most important point is to have a single, shared project list from which you and your boss work. Try using a spread sheet containing tabs for active, archived and recurring tasks and ensure every request goes on this document rather than just in an email. If one of you adds something, use individual font colours then change it back to black when it has been read.

Set aside a regular weekly meeting with your manager to talk about any new projects that are being added to the list. Have a dictaphone ready so you can compare your notes to the recording and catch anything you might not have written down.

It’s important to establish a confidentiality agreement with your boss and you should agree to sign a binding document if asked. This mostly comes into play when you manage her inbox, as there may be some emails that are only meant for her eyes.

When it comes to handling emails create a subfolder of messages that need to be actioned. Go through these once a day and flag up any that you want to discuss in person. Eventually you will learn which items to leave for your boss and which you can deal with on your own.

If you have a fairly decent grasp of technology, offer to help your manager with any minor issues she might face rather than waiting for a member of the IT team to sort it out.

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