This is one of a series of blogs on FOA – frequently offered advice – based on common themes from my coaching work over the last 20 years. 

My previous blog in the FOA series was “delegate more.” If you’re still struggling with questions of what to delegate, I’d like to introduce you to a secret weapon: your administrative assistant. 

A competent administrative assistant can almost always take things off your plate. More importantly, they will see things that they can do if just given the opportunity. This is especially true if they have worked with you for any length of time. But most assistants won’t force the issue. They won’t grab the reins away from you. 

That’s why you have to take the first step and ask. Tell them that you’re feeling overloaded and are looking for creative ideas for reducing your “to do” list. Ask what they see you doing that they might be able to do instead. Invite them to share other ideas in the future, without being asked, not just what they see today. 

That conversation alone can produce some immediate, positive results. But there are three additional benefits. First, your assistant will feel encouraged and empowered. Second, if trust levels are high between you and your administrative assistant, the ongoing conversations may increase your self-awareness and help you delegate more effectively to others on your team. Finally, an empowered administrative assistant can play “traffic cop” on your behalf. They can redirect work to others, even before it lands in your lap. 

This advice does not depend on you having a full-time or dedicated administrative assistant. Sure, a person who is part-time or shared will have less capacity, but that doesn’t negate the value of asking the question. If your assistant simply doesn’t have the abilities to take anything off your plate, it may be time to make a change. On the other hand, many administrative assistants in churches and ministries are over-qualified and can do far more. So why not at least ask the question?

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This is one of a series of blogs on FOA – frequently offered advice – based on common themes from my coaching work over the last 20 years. 

I lost count a long time ago of the number of coaching conversations in which I heard, “I’m completely overloaded!” I know that ministry leadership, whether in a church or denomination or some other setting, is incredibly demanding. Part of what makes it so demanding is that no matter how many hours a leader works, there is always more that can be done. You can visit another person (whether they are in the hospital, a potential member, or a key donor). You can spend more time developing the vision. You can invest more in staff. 

While recognizing that you can always do more, I want to challenge the notion that ministry leaders will always be overloaded and overwhelmed. One of the key practices for breaking out of this pattern is to delegate more. It sounds simple, but I already know the objections. The three most common are:

• “I don’t have someone to delegate to.” If this is true, then you’re not a leader. The someone doesn’t have a to be a paid staff person – you can delegate to volunteers. But leaders should always have someone who can help shoulder the load that they are carrying.
• “They won’t do it as well as me.”  That may be true, but get over it. If you let your perfectionist or control tendencies keep you from delegating, you will become a bottleneck that stifles organizational growth and creativity. 
• “I don’t want to ‘dump’ these tasks on others. They’re busy as well.” That is a noble sentiment, but they may also need to become better delegators. Besides, your refusal to delegate will keep you from playing the important role that only you can fill. 

The last point is important. The most effective leaders can clearly articulate what lies at the intersection of their strengths, their passions, and their church or ministry’s key needs. When this is clear, you know what tasks cannot be delegated. And if you know that, you can begin to define other tasks that can be handed off to someone else. (If it isn’t clear, then read my blog on “clarifying your priorities.”)

One of the unhealthy dynamics of current American leadership is that we celebrate the individuals who constantly burn the candle at both ends. Of course, a candle burning at both ends just burns out twice as fast. That should be a warning sign for the leader who is reluctant to delegate more. 

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