Undercover Boss
I don't know whether you've been watching Undercover Boss on Channel 10 lately, in fact you could be totally forgiven for writing it off as more junk TV and reading a book instead. The basic premise of the show is described by Wikipedia as:
Each episode features a high-ranking executive or the owner of a corporation going undercover as an entry-level employee in their own company. The executive alters their appearance and assumes an alias and fictional back story. The fictitious explanation for the accompanying camera crew is that the executive is being filmed as part of a documentary about entry-level workers in a particular industry. They spend approximately one week undercover, working in various areas of the company's operations, with a different job and in most cases a different location each day. He is exposed to a series of predicaments with amusing results. He invariably spends time getting to know the people who work in the company, learning about their professional and personal challenges.
At the end of his week undercover, the boss resumes his true identity and summons the employees he worked with individually to corporate headquarters. The boss reveals their identity and rewards hardworking employees through promotions or financial rewards. Other employees are given training or better working conditions.
So what has this got to do with being a great assistant? Well, assuming that your boss doesn't have a film crew, disguise and lots of spare time on his or her hands to suss out exactly how their employees are feeling, more often than not they won't really know. I think it's important for all assistants to be their bosses 'eyes and ears' on the ground and make sure that management are aware of any situations or problems they may not normally be exposed to.
Now I'm not saying you should go out and spy on the team, and telling your boss what Suzy from accounts said about his new haircut is probably not very helpful, but there are some situations where information you gleam from your relationship with the team can be helpful, for example:
- If a staff member has a great idea that they haven't told the boss
- If a staff member has a really great attitude
- If a staff member has received great feedback from a client
- If a staff member has something going on in their life that impacts on their work performance
- If a staff member has been working excessive overtime
'Frank was so rude this morning, just because he's getting divorced doesn't mean he can snap at everyone.'
or
'Just so you're aware, Frank has some issues going on in his personal life that may be causing him to react differently at the moment.'
Managers rely on their assistants to filter and present information appropriately, so make sure you think about the message you're delivering. You need to 'cheer lead' the good things to your boss, and make sure the bad things don't sound too bad, perhaps by suggesting a solution, i.e.
'I notice Sally has been working late every night and weekends on the Williams file. It would be good if you could make mention of it at the team meeting, and perhaps when that project is finished we might offer her a day off in lieu?'
What do you think? Is this meddling or adding value?
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