Personal Responsibility

By Joe Rodriguez

The most challenging aspect of office support jobs is how having an administrative assistant can eliminate or minimize personal responsibility. Most managers and teams rely on their administrative assistants to handle almost every mundane task imaginable. All in the spirit of ease and freeing them up to focus on the tasks for which they deem most critical to the success of the mission or operation of the office. Sure, that’s what administrative assistants are hired to do. However, I would argue that administrative assistants should really be more an extension of the team and/or manager. It’s not enough for the administrative assistant to have personal responsibility. Everyone on the team, including the manager, should maintain personal responsibility. It’s unfortunate when I hear someone claim, “oh, someone else will do it.” That someone else often referred to as the administrative assistant. Why is maintaining personality responsibility important for everyone on the team?

First, personal responsibility enables a team to exercise some control over the outcome of how an administrative task is completed. This idea goes back to how I think an administrative assistant should be an extension of a team or manager. If an administrative assistant is given complete autonomy, the team may not agree with the outcome and problems and dysfunction could ensue. While some autonomy may be appropriate, an administrative assistant isn’t hired to serve its own purpose.

Second, personal responsibility fosters a shared sense of purpose. A team or office with a shared sense of purpose works more effectively. If the administrative assistant is the only one carrying the weight of the office, what happens when the administrative assistant loses its footing? Sure, the administrative assistant might work alongside other administrative assistants who can easily step in, but the administrative assistants should not be the single point of failure. Offices and teams are not only made up of administrative assistants. The effectiveness of a team or office depends on the collective effort of everyone, administrative assistants or not, to ensure its smooth operation. No one wants their office or team to fail. Having this shared purpose makes everyone a winner.

Finally, personal responsibility empowers a team or office to value their work. People who maintain personal responsibility are more likely to care about the product or service they deliver. They’ll seek out constructive feedback, build their skills, and/or learn new ones to continue adding value and improve the results. Most people would say that they want their work to have an impact or meaning. It starts with taking personal responsibility and valuing one’s work. Administrative assistants might be available to assist, and they’ll do it with great personal responsibility, but at the end of the day, it’s up to each member of a team or office to care enough and value their work.