Last Minute Request To Come In Early

[Cypress]

The Director of the program I work for organized a two day workshop to which I was asked to collect registration materials. At the outset, I asked what my role was as I am her assistant. I did send out notices about the workshop via electronic mail and was the person designated on the form for questions. She said only to collect the material and pass it along to her.

She is adding things piece meal to my task list. I placed a food order as requested. When I ordered the food to arrive at 7 a.m. I left it as is and made no comment about who was going to set up that part of the workshop. Today, she asked me to come in early to assist with registration, to meet people at the door and check them in. This would be a 7 a.m. start time where I normally arrive at 8:30 a.m. I told her I'd let her know tomorrow. There is another person with whom she is organizing the event from off site. The event is expecting 30 people or so.

Frankly, I am inclined to say no as I am normally grumpy in the morning and I would have to leave my house at 6 a.m. There is no benefit to me and this is a favor for her. I just mumbled it was last minute and I'd check my calendar to let her know tomorrow. This has happened on other occasions and I have found she forgets to mention key details about what I am to do exactly. Often, I find out as the event is happening what her expectations are. I just don't know what to say. I just see me ending up taking care of food and much more than is discussed.

[lhamo]

Obviously this person has very poor management skills. But if your role is to be her assistant, then I think you should generally expect that you are going to be expected to help with major program events she is working on. Maybe she just assumes that is understood, or thinks that if she asks you in advance you might say no and then she'd have to scramble to cover at the last minute.

I'd be very direct and say something like "I'll step in and help this time but in the future if my services are going to be required for offsite events or events with irregular hours we need to discuss and agree upon the schedule at least X days in advance so that I can plan appropriately." That seems reasonable to me, without getting into your personal life -- I mean, she doesn't have to know if the reason you can't leave home that early is because you have a kid, a dog, or a chameleon to take care of, but she should respect the fact that people have commitments outside of work and need to be able to plan ahead, especially when it is not a last minute emergency.

I would also work on setting good boundaries and establishing better communication patterns with her. She may be horribly disorganized and piecemeal about things, but that doesn't mean you have to work the same way.

And while she may be challenging to work with, she is your boss and helping her does have benefits to you. And helping her be a better boss could have HUGE benefits to you.

[Shari]

Saying no would not work at my job. Are you sure you want to do that?

[reader99]

Obviously this person has very poor management skills. But if your role is to be her assistant, then I think you should generally expect that you are going to be expected to help with major program events she is working on. Maybe she just assumes that is understood, or thinks that if she asks you in advance you might say no and then she'd have to scramble to cover at the last minute.

I'd be very direct and say something like "I'll step in and help this time but in the future if my services are going to be required for offsite events or events with irregular hours we need to discuss and agree upon the schedule at least X days in advance so that I can plan appropriately." That seems reasonable to me, without getting into your personal life -- I mean, she doesn't have to know if the reason you can't leave home that early is because you have a kid, a dog, or a chameleon to take care of, but she should respect the fact that people have commitments outside of work and need to be able to plan ahead, especially when it is not a last minute emergency.

I would also work on setting good boundaries and establishing better communication patterns with her. She may be horribly disorganized and piecemeal about things, but that doesn't mean you have to work the same way.

And while she may be challenging to work with, she is your boss and helping her does have benefits to you. And helping her be a better boss could have HUGE benefits to you.

+1

[catherine]

I agree what what's been said above, especially the helping her be a better boss part. Going earlier will be a goodwill "deposit" in your favor.

[Miss Cellane]

The Director of the program I work for organized a two day workshop to which I was asked to collect registration materials. At the outset, I asked what my role was as I am her assistant. I did send out notices about the workshop via electronic mail and was the person designated on the form for questions. She said only to collect the material and pass it along to her.

She is adding things piece meal to my task list. I placed a food order as requested. When I ordered the food to arrive at 7 a.m. I left it as is and made no comment about who was going to set up that part of the workshop. Today, she asked me to come in early to assist with registration, to meet people at the door and check them in. This would be a 7 a.m. start time where I normally arrive at 8:30 a.m. I told her I'd let her know tomorrow. There is another person with whom she is organizing the event from off site. The event is expecting 30 people or so.

Frankly, I am inclined to say no as I am normally grumpy in the morning and I would have to leave my house at 6 a.m. There is no benefit to me and this is a favor for her. I just mumbled it was last minute and I'd check my calendar to let her know tomorrow. This has happened on other occasions and I have found she forgets to mention key details about what I am to do exactly. Often, I find out as the event is happening what her expectations are. I just don't know what to say. I just see me ending up taking care of food and much more than is discussed.

RE: the bolded text. One benefit to you of doing all she asks is keeping your job. It is not a favor--she is your boss and has the ability to tell you what to do.

Do you have a written job description? Every job description I've had has included a line such as: "And other duties as assigned."

Clearly, you and your boss have different ideas about what it means to be her assistant. What I'd do is help out as much as possible with this event. Then, when things are calmer, have a discussion as lhamo suggests.

Keep a list of the "extra" tasks associated with this workshop and present it to her. Ask her if this is what you'll be doing for future workshops. Then when the next workshop or special event is being planned, be proactive. "Will you want food ordered? When? What kind? Will you need me in early any of these days? Will we have the same arrangement for the overtime, where I get to take Friday afternoon off? We are running low on name badges, would you like me to order some more?" A good assistant manages and organizes for her boss--and the benefit to you of doing this is that you gain back a little of the control you loose when your boss is throwing requests at you willy-nilly.

Do you have a written job description? Every job description I've had has included a line such as: "And other duties as assigned." Everything you've mentioned would fall under that description.

It seems you want a lot of advance notice for every task you do, while your boss is more comfortable with last-minute requests. That's a difference in working styles. And, usually, what the boss wants is the way things go.

I know--I've been there.

Nothing that you've listed seems at all unusual for a person such as your boss to ask an assistant--I've been given very similar orders when I was the assistant to the director of a non-profit organization that had lots of meetings and ran conferences and trade shows. I've ordered food on the fly, and run out for more toilet paper when the office ran out during a day-long seminar. I've made coffee when it wasn't my job (I don't drink coffee, so maybe that wasn't the best idea!). I've worked 6 am to 8 pm during special events such as trade shows and seminars.

Now, I think it is fair to negotiate things a little. She wants you in an hour and a half early? Does that mean that you can leave an hour and a half early that day, or take an hour and a half off later in the week? Or, if you are paid hourly, does that mean you get overtime?

[Cypress]

Thanks so much, this is awesome advise.

By the by, I was highly proactive and did ask in advance what my role was. I think this person is disorganized and does things at the moment. I prefer a different, thought out approach that considers the details. She commonly only reads the subject line on e-mails. This is revealed in discussions often. After awhile, I get fed up with it all :)

[Tammy]

I manage my bosses by learning their style and then making adjustments. Rather than thinking of it as a problem, I think of it as a way to make my life better. If the respod well to email, I email. If phone, I call. Etc.

[catherine]

Thanks so much, this is awesome advise.

By the by, I was highly proactive and did ask in advance what my role was. I think this person is disorganized and does things at the moment. I prefer a different, thought out approach that considers the details. She commonly only reads the subject line on e-mails. This is revealed in discussions often. After awhile, I get fed up with it all :)

Definitely a stylistic difference.. I imagine someone like you would HATE working with someone like me, because your boss sounds like me, and my invaluable safety net is having people like you around

[SteveinMN]

I manage my bosses by learning their style and then making adjustments. Rather than thinking of it as a problem, I think of it as a way to make my life better. If the respod well to email, I email. If phone, I call. Etc.
+1. There definitely is such a thing as "managing up" and it obviously must be done with this supervisor.

[redfox]

Thanks so much, this is awesome advise.

By the by, I was highly proactive and did ask in advance what my role was. I think this person is disorganized and does things at the moment. I prefer a different, thought out approach that considers the details. She commonly only reads the subject line on e-mails. This is revealed in discussions often. After awhile, I get fed up with it all :)

Time to manage up.

[reader99]

Thanks so much, this is awesome advise.

She commonly only reads the subject line on e-mails. This is revealed in discussions often. After awhile, I get fed up with it all :)

OMG! So an email with a blank subject, would she skip it or read the body of it? I'm wondering what kind of subject would get her to read. Like the teaser on an advertisement.