Executive assistant outlook setup

Yes No. Sorry this didn't help. Thanks for your feedback. I have the same question Report abuse. Details required :. Cancel Submit. In reply to OQuestions's post on February 16, Per the MS Engineer we worked with When setting up Administrative assistance with multiple inboxes to manage, turn off automapping for all the additional inboxes. Hope it helps. How satisfied are you with this reply? Assistants are often asked to manage more than one email inbox, which means they read and process hundreds of emails every month.

Read More. The ultimate tech guide for Personal and Executive Assistants. Thanks for your feedback. Hello, I have been working with around 10 Executive Administrative Assistants in a large scale Enterprise system and I have consistently run into issues with their Outlook calendars not responding, crashing, and causing all around memory issues on their laptops.

My question: What would be the best hardware and software setup for an Executive Administrative Assistant who needs access to upwards of 5 shared calendars for the Executives they support? This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread. EAs are expected to dabble in things as wide and varied as project management , event planning, and internal communications.

A demanding role like this requires expert-level skills. Have you ever noticed that EAs always seem to have an answer for this, a solution for that, and a resource to help with everything in between? Word document or Excel file of resources, a list of handy tools, training programs , services, links, and contacts. Knowing they would likely encounter nearly any nameable challenge in their careers, these savvy EAs found a way to remember every potentially useful resource.

The newsletter is always timely too, with topics that I seem to be dealing with at that moment. It reminds me that I have a community in which to turn whether for questions or just commiseration. Highly recommend it! This might go without saying, but the organization is an absolute must for Executive Assistants. In fact, a good EA develops organizational systems and improves messy legacy processes. If your organization game could use some improvement, we recommend checking out monday.

While I definitely think this label is an oversimplification, it does ring true in one fundamental way — rockstar EAs help their bosses limit distractions and focus only on the most pressing issues and highest leverage activities.

In simpler terms, EAs need to help their bosses prioritize, and they need to be absolutely ruthless about it. It takes sound judgment on your part to figure out what warrants attention and what you need to shut down.

There are even dedicated EA message boards like the one at Cabinet where you can ask questions directly to other rockstar professionals for insider tips and tricks. The critical first step is in being clear on big picture goals. Most execs have high-pressure jobs, and that pressure often gets passed on to you.

Going back to my previous example, there was something besides her resourcefulness that helped the EA in my story snag those Laker tickets — that deep breath she took. She stayed calm under the pressure of a difficult task with a tight deadline. Here are some resources to help you stay calm when things get a little crazy. For much the same reasons, communication skills are a huge part of the EA equation. An Executive Assistant is like a spokesperson for their executive. You also need to be able to communicate strategy clearly and accurately, as well as be persuasive from time to time.

Many EAs also take on de-facto internal communications roles, drafting internal emails on behalf of their boss. These emails can reach entire departments — even entire companies — so top-notch writing skills are a huge asset. Beyond that, communication is foundational. Remember, execs want to be able to bounce ideas off you or gauge your reaction to proposed solutions. But this only works if you stay true to your actual point of view. She wants and needs to hear what you really think.

So keep it real. Executives can live in a bubble. Communicate more than you think you need to. This goes a long way, especially within small teams.

A good Assistant knows that making the impossible possible comes with the territory. One of the Exec Assistants there got a request from her boss around 10 A.

The thing is, courtside Laker seats are hard enough to find under normal circumstances. This was the playoffs. It was the hottest ticket in town. She paused, took a deep breath, and immediately got to work.

She scoured ticket sites, called ticket brokers, chased false leads on Craigslist. This may mean a working knowledge of Slack, Calend. Taking the time to fully utilize these tools will help with your overall productivity and can assure your executive that you are prepared for any tool that comes across your path. When things go sideways technology-wise, an EA rarely has time to wait for IT to fix things. The ability to troubleshoot for your boss is a must-have skill.

This is especially true in startup environments, where an EA might be the closest thing to an IT specialist that the company has. Pro-tip: EAs are expected to fix countless problems on the spot, and often that means helping your executive with their tech.

EAs deal with people — lots of them. Internally, you interact with employees at every level within the org, from entry-level contributors to managers, all the way up to the c-suite.

Externally, the same applies. Pro-Tip from The Assist : Compassion is an enormous aspect of emotional intelligence. And emotional intelligence is a vital tool for top caliber EAs.

Assistants can achieve more success and add more value when they develop not just their emotional intelligence, but their listening intelligence as well. Remember, you have a perspective that very few in the company have. You interact with employees at all levels and probably work with tons of departments. Really dig in. Biggest challenges? Which of our competitors keep you up at night?

If you had a magic wand, what would you change about the company overnight? The industry? After your conversation, write down the two or three biggest takeaways from your conversation. Keep these in a spreadsheet for easy reference. Transparency is a virtue in business, but even the most open organizations deal with privileged information that must be handled delicately. Trust is probably the single biggest determining factor when it comes to success in the EA role. One of the surest ways to erode the trust between you and your boss is to be careless with sensitive info.

Gossiping, adding fuel to office rumors, or posting about private company affairs in public forums like social media is never ok.

Of course, mistakes happen. The best thing to do is to own up to it. Let your boss know the situation and work together to remedy the situation. Yes, we know, multi-tasking is a myth. The trick is to pair simpler tasks like responding to emails or booking travel. Definitely prioritize your focus-intensive tasks and knock them out one by one.

But when you can, pair the more mindless activities together to maximize your time. Many taskmasters swear by the Pomodoro Technique for getting through their to-do lists. Simply select a task, set a timer for about 25 minutes, and focus only on that task until the timer runs out.

Then take a break and repeat. The short increments make focused attention more accessible. If you tend to fall into this trap, try time blocking your calendar. Time blocking forces you to create dedicated times to knocking out items on your to-do list, which helps sustain your focus and removes the anxiety around all the other things you need to get done. To really thrive in the role, you have to be able to see ten moves ahead and anticipate issues before they become full-blown problems.

This plays out in two ways. For instance, if your experience has taught you that your boss is sharper in the morning hours than after lunch, schedule that tough meeting in the morning, not the afternoon.

In both cases, anticipating problems and nipping in the bud can save you countless headaches down the road, and allow you and your boss to focus on the important stuff. A good EA sums up the situation, gathers the necessary info, asks the right questions, and then most importantly, acts.