How do young women professionals manage their secretaries...

[Anonymous]

So I've been frustrated with lack of administrative support at a corporate law firm, and also deal with the same issue now that I've transitioned to government. Our small team of attorneys has one administrative support person, who appears to have ample time on our hands. She provides extensive admin support to the head of our group, and she is also supposed to support the other 5-6 of us. I've found that sometimes she is very slow in carrying out my requests, or sometimes she acknowledges the request but then does NOTHING until I bring it up again. She is perfectly pleasant on a personal level, but I don't know what approach to take. Just give up and do it myself? Put everything in an e-mail so she knows I have a written record? I'm currently trying the butter her up and "act nice" approach. I mention that I am in govt b/c I recognize that there is obviously less administrative support but still it seems she should do the very minimal tasks I request of her.

For other female attorneys under 40 -- is this just par for the course in dealing with a secretary who is a decade or two older than you? What are some tactics/stategies I can use?

Even when I was in a corporate law firm, I often was frustrated with the level of / lack of administrative support and/or lack of respect shown to me by my secretary, who would defer to the partners but seem to ignore my work requests...

[Anonymous]

Very common problem.

[Anonymous]

Some women are socialized to think they only need to work for men. It is difficult. Try the meet for five minutes every morning approach. Schedule a regular time to meet to go over assignments.

[Anonymous]

I am the OP. Do you think dressing more profesionally would help? Should I be more curt/less friendly? I tend to dress on the casual side b/c honestly we are all pretty casual, but I wonder if this makes me appear younger and less authoritative.

To the PP: I think the regularly scheduled meeting would be overkill b/c no one else in our office (even the head) does that. And honestly, it's not many tasks that I even give to her.

[Anonymous]

I have no idea if this will work for you, but for me, what worked was to make my admin part of my "team." Meaning, filling her in on what the case/contract/issue was about, and then when there was something I needed her to do, explaining how that task fit into the project. For example, if I'm working on drafting/revising a contract, telling her what the contract is about and who it's between, and when I needed her to type in my handwritten edits, telling her "hey, remember that contract that I told you about? I made some edits and they need to get back to so-and-so by x time...will you please type them in in redline for me?"

[Anonymous]

This is tricky.

Speaking as an admin myself, I absolutely understand the tendency to let things slide. I don't, because I'm a grown-up and a professional, but when you know that the task is make-work or laziness on the part of the requestor, or when you know that the memo you painstakingly research and write is never going to be read by anyone, it's hard to stay motivated.

My suggestion is to stop condescending, first of all. Stop "acting nice", and "buttering up". Think of the admins as respected professionals, ones you might know something you don't. We tend to stay in our positions for way longer than the folks "above" us, and we amass institutional knowledge and relationships that you'll never touch. Use that, and let it be known that you value it.

Next, find out if the admin in your department has a special area of interest, and make sure that all work in that area, even if you'd normally do it yourself, gets sent her way. Perhaps she really excels at event planning. Let her do all of it, and let it be known that it's because she does it better than you could. Then, once you've communicated all the requirements and made sure that she's clear on the assignment, back off. Resist the urge to micromanage. Find the happy medium between overbearing/ controlling, and total neglect (which leads to boredom, which kills productivity in the long run).

I won't pretend that I've never seen the types who give all admins a bad name-- often older ladies who think their seniority grants them pre-retirement. But don't start by assuming you have one of those. If you're her manager, it behooves you to get to know her and her strengths, such that EVERYONE can do his or her best work.

I know that someone will respond "I'm the boss! I have important things to do! It's not my job to coddle the secretary!" Just remember, management is a two-way street. A poorly managed admin will automatically fail at her job, no matter how much she wants to succeed. It's the nature of the position, and it's very, very trying.

[Anonymous]

I've never used the word "secretary" in referring to my assistants over the years. I think it's outdated and is a loaded word. Could that be part of the problem? By the way, I was the youngest director in history in my company (almost 25 years ago), so I had plenty of older assistants in the beginning. I tried to respect their experience and their time spent working here, and I solicited their input.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have no idea if this will work for you, but for me, what worked was to make my admin part of my "team." Meaning, filling her in on what the case/contract/issue was about, and then when there was something I needed her to do, explaining how that task fit into the project. For example, if I'm working on drafting/revising a contract, telling her what the contract is about and who it's between, and when I needed her to type in my handwritten edits, telling her "hey, remember that contract that I told you about? I made some edits and they need to get back to so-and-so by x time...will you please type them in in redline for me?"

Admin from 11:17 here... YES! Context is so important to effective support. Also, by talking with her about the larger issues, you are showing that you assume she has the intelligence to follow. Too many managers act as if they think this stuff will go over our heads, so they break it down into small, simple, "manageable" tasks, without sharing the larger picture.

[Anonymous]

Female attorney under 40.

Honestly, I just don't see this as a problem at my law firm. Do you have any idea how many young female attorneys work in law firms? Secretaries are used to working with younger females.

I don't think this is a female issue at all. The reality is that many secretaries focus their attention on the most senior attorneys - partners (some male, some female). The more junior you are, the less time your secretary wants to devote to your work.

But there is a fairly good reason for this. Junior attorneys shouldn't need their secretaries as much (e.g., most of us - though I'm now pretty senior) do our own word processing, etc.).

[Anonymous]

If the situation is as you describe (and I don’t mean to dismiss your account, just to acknowledge the nature of this posting forum) then it’s not an unusual one. While many administrative support professionals do wonderful work, some don’t. So it appears your secretary may be one of those who doesn’t always support the people she works for. What you are describing here is an equation with a common denominator, which is you: in a previous work situation, you perceived your secretary as disrespectful, and now you’re perceiving the same thing in your current work environment. Of course, you should continue being polite to her, but certainly make all future work requests by email so that you can develop a written record of work she performs/doesn’t perform for you. As for buttering her up, better skip that and start looking at how you’re comporting yourself to convey to at least two secretaries that they can be disrespectful to you and get away with it. I’m guessing that you will end up identifying some specific features of your body language, affect, etc. that need modification. Get advice on this from friends, family, and any trusted colleagues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have no idea if this will work for you, but for me, what worked was to make my admin part of my "team." Meaning, filling her in on what the case/contract/issue was about, and then when there was something I needed her to do, explaining how that task fit into the project. For example, if I'm working on drafting/revising a contract, telling her what the contract is about and who it's between, and when I needed her to type in my handwritten edits, telling her "hey, remember that contract that I told you about? I made some edits and they need to get back to so-and-so by x time...will you please type them in in redline for me?"

Young, female gov't manager here. I have to agree with this - My admin assist was slow to want to fill my needs and defered to the male leadership first. However, when I made her part of the team (e.g., invited her to meetings, had her participate in fun projects that I knew were part of her interest grouping, asked for her "ideas" on projects) I found not only did she start to respond to me, but she always does my tasks firsts - and she does little things for me through out the day "extra."

We are forced to do our own travel (and the admins are no longer supposed to support that role) but she still does mine as a "help" because she knows I'm so busy. Sometimes, just understand that they are interested in what we do (vs. just copying documents) helps to make the job go smoother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never used the word "secretary" in referring to my assistants over the years. I think it's outdated and is a loaded word. Could that be part of the problem? By the way, I was the youngest director in history in my company (almost 25 years ago), so I had plenty of older assistants in the beginning. I tried to respect their experience and their time spent working here, and I solicited their input.

I agree- where do you work OP, 1950?

[Anonymous]

OP, I have seen this at many law firms. It may or may not have to do with gender, depending on the secretary (or whatever you call them).

Do people care if you are called attorney or lawyer or whatever? If so she sounds nitpicky and problematic.

Anyway, there are certain secretaries who will only jump for, or even work at all for, the senior staff. They can be a little desperate but really overcompensate in trying not to show it. They will only work for partners, for example. The rest of the day they are (I've seen this) doing their nails. It is really frustrating that they won't simply do their job, but feel there will be little or no ramifications as long as they are not pissing off the big kahunas, so to speak.

Personally, I would report them to the big kahuna. But that is just me. Casually ask "what if so and so constantly fails to perform basic tasks, I know I should be telling (HR) this, but do you know of a history of problems?" for example. Be as passive aggressive as her, since that is how she wants to play.

This will get flamed. But I for one have seen this in different metropolitan areas, so it seems almost epidemic. Though I have also had outstanding secretaries (admin., whatever) who have been compensated as such. It does bother me that the ones with attitude can be paid more than the paralegals who work harder sans attitude. We don't want the whole place tainted, really. I say try to nip it in the bud with the people that matter to her. GL.

[Anonymous]

Being overly nice in my experience gets you nowhere in this type of situation. She needs to understand that what you ask of her is not optional. Hold her accountable, set firm deadlines and, if itis not your job to manage her, make her supervisor aware that you are dissatisifed with her work. Publicly noting bs has also proven effective. (e.g. Boss: Just letting y know that xyz document has been fully executed. Assistant: please notify us when the originals I gave you to fedex two weeks ago have been delivered)

[Anonymous]

You know, I'm in my mid 40s and I've had different secretaries over the past couple of decades and I've never figured it out. Either they're competitive with me, or slackers. Can't get 'em to move fast enough.