When two Managers work closely together, it makes sense to have a single Assistant. Indeed, having a single point of contact for both leaders saves a lot of duplication and doubling up of administrative tasks.
To make this work in practice, it requires the Managers and the Assistant to be highly adaptable and flexible to navigate potentially competing priorities.

Here are a few tips to make it work for all parties.

1. Begin by sharing expectations and requirements

   When it comes to sharing an assistant, the thing to avoid is conflict caused by misunderstanding, stress, and work overload.

   To avoid this, it is essential that the Managers with the Assistant jointly define the latter’s annual objectives and deliverables in line with the Job Description. There needs to be a frank and open discussion about what are the different priorities and establish ground rules on key issues like how weekly or daily tasks are allocated or how performance reviews will be handled.

   The discussion should also include expectations in terms of what percentage of time the Assistant will spend on each Manager’s tasks. Don’t assume it will be 50/50. It may be 70/30 or 60/40. What matters is that it is openly discussed, and agreement is reached on this. The principle is that the more that is agreed upon at the beginning of the arrangement, the better.

2. Agree on common procedures and ways of working

   The more consistency there is in operational procedures, the easier it is for the Assistant. So, while each Manager will have their unique leadership style and ways of working, it makes life much easier for the Assistant if there are uniform procedures for tasks that are the same for both Managers (e.g., scheduling meetings).

   We all have our preferences and ways of working but adhering to two (or more) different sets of operational protocols is very likely to be untenable for the Assistant. It’s time consuming and it limits scalability.

3. Have clear lines of communication and boundaries

   Both leaders need to commit to being highly communicative so that the Assistant knows what is always expected. This means forward planning on a regular basis, strong project management and avoidance of last- minute requests (unless they are urgent).

   In this respect, avoid pulling the Assistant away when they are in the middle of long-term project for the other Manager to do short term stints of work. It might mean focus on the long-term project gets lost and it takes longer to do than required. So, while flexibility is important, discuss with the other Manager and the Assistant first before pulling them off into another assignment.

   A simple meeting at the start of each week to agree priorities may be all that is required to ensure everyone knows the key deliverables for the week. Transparency is key there.

4. Take the time to regularly meet to adjust

   Don’t leave the Assistant as the messenger. When two leaders have conflicting priorities, the Assistant can be stuck in the middle. The Managers should provide guidance to the Assistant on how she or he should choose what to focus on when they are competing priorities.

   It is therefore pivotal that both leaders and the Assistant take the time to regularly meet to discuss the arrangement.