How to delegate to an executive assistant

Delegate the result, not the steps. Hand over frequent, easy-to-check work first, say how much authority the assistant has, and write the instructions once. You should never explain the same task twice.

What to delegate

Sort your tasks with two questions: how often does it happen, and how bad is a mistake?

• Frequent and low risk: delegate now. Scheduling, inbox sorting, travel, expenses, routine replies, filing, meeting prep.
• Frequent and higher risk: delegate with approval. Replies to clients, follow-ups after sales calls, invoices and payment reminders, first drafts of proposals.
• Rare and low risk: delegate when it comes up. Booking an event, researching a supplier, setting up a new tool.
• Rare and high risk: keep for now. Pricing changes, hiring and firing, legal matters, difficult client conversations.

Move tasks up the list as the assistant proves they can handle them.

Give access before you delegate

An assistant cannot finish a task if they have to ask you for a login each time. Set up access on day one. In Gmail, use delegate access, which lets them read and send mail for you without your password. In Google Calendar, pick the right sharing level. Put any shared logins in a password manager.

Set the authority level

Many delegation problems come from unclear authority. The assistant waits when you wanted action, or acts when you wanted to be asked. Give every task one of three levels.

• Level 1, do it and tell me after: scheduling, travel, routine replies, purchases under a set amount.
• Level 2, draft it and I approve: client emails, follow-ups, anything about money or complaints.
• Level 3, ask me first: new commitments, anything that changes a promise, anything you are unsure about.

Write the level next to each task in your instructions. Review the list each month. Most tasks should move from level 2 to level 1 over time.

Write the instructions once

Each time you explain a task, have the assistant write it down as a short procedure. You review it once. After that, the document answers the question, not you.

A good procedure has:

1. The result: what done looks like.
2. When it happens: daily, weekly, on a trigger.
3. The steps, in order, with links to tools and templates.
4. The rules: what to do, what never to do.
5. Examples of good output.
6. Who to ask, and when.

The SOP template gives you a ready format. Keep all procedures in one shared folder, named by task.

Checklists for repeat work

Checklists catch the small steps that get missed. A few to start with:

• Before every external meeting: agenda sent, link added, brief on the attendees, last emails attached.
• After every external meeting: notes saved, next steps sent within a day, follow-up dates in the calendar.
• Every trip: flights and hotel booked, itinerary in one document, calendar blocked for travel time, contacts at the destination.
• Every Friday: next week reviewed, open follow-ups listed, expenses submitted, inbox under control.

Delegate the result, with context

A weak instruction names the task. A good one names the result and the reason.

The second version takes thirty seconds longer to write. It saves the assistant three questions and you three replies.

The delegation note

Use this for any new task, project or recurring duty.

Task: [Name]

Result I want: [What done looks like, in one or two lines]

Why it matters: [The reason, so you can make good calls]

Deadline: [Date, or how often it repeats]

Authority level: [1: do it and tell me after / 2: draft it and I approve / 3: ask me first]

Budget or limits: [Amount, or none]

Resources: [Links, logins in the password manager, past examples]

Rules:

• Always: [example]
• Never: [example]

Check-in: [When you want an update, and how]

If something is unclear: [Make a reasonable call and tell me / stop and ask]

After the first time: Write the steps into the procedures folder.

Review without taking it back

Review closely in the first weeks. Then check less often as the work proves reliable. When something is wrong:

• Say what the result should have been, not only what was wrong.
• Fix the procedure or rule so the mistake does not repeat.
• Do not take the task back unless it keeps going wrong after the rule is clear.

Taking work back each time it is not exactly how you would do it teaches the assistant to wait for you. How to give feedback to an employee covers how to say it.

Common mistakes

Each of these hides a rule you have not written down. Write it.

Next steps

For delegation beyond your assistant, see how to delegate tasks. For your own week, time management for business owners covers what to keep. When onboarding a new assistant, start with the onboarding checklist.

Nive is being built for this problem: you write how your business works and how you sound once, and it drafts emails in your voice for you to review and send. Join the waitlist to get the demo first.