Working with a Brilliant Assistant

You know that you’ve got a brilliant assistant when she/he streamlines the day-to-day operation and increases company morale in a way no one has ever thought of before—and it’s only her/his first month on the job. Or your project team was about to miss a major deadline that set the groundwork for the success of the project when your new assistant points it out in a casual conversation.

Choices to be made

It’s enough even to make the most self-confident manager feel a little uneasy. After all, no one wants to be shown up by an underling. The key is accepting the notion that the brilliant assistant is either on the way up in the organization or on the way out. If you help the person move up, you’ll have an ally in a parallel or superior position.

If the capabilities of your brilliant assistant aren’t fully used, the person will become bored and quit. Even worse, the person may stay and think of ways that will run circles around you, causing political battles and turmoil.

Consider these suggestions:

• Try to give this person highly visible assignments, where her/his outstanding performance will redound to your credit as well as theirs.
• Propose that your assistant serves on key interdepartmental or ad hoc committees. Top executives will see her/his talents and may nominate her/his for special projects, creating room for their skill set to shine and their talents to be put to good use, benefiting the overall success of the company or the team.
• Avoid the temptation to call on your superstar for everything. She/he is as susceptible to burnout as anyone else.

Locking horns with organizational values

Dealing with a brilliant assistant may require locking horns with your organization’s cultural attitude toward creativity. Many organizations are more concerned with appropriateness than with breakthroughs. Appropriateness is a conservative organizational value, and it can kill creativity. Most creative individuals have an unbranded streak; their individuality does not go or mash with the group.

The more strictly defined appropriate behavior is, the less you’ll find creative individuals in your organization. Sometimes, you may have to run interference for the talented person who seems to march to a slightly different tune. Do watch out for unchecked negativity; almost no new idea springs forth from its creation state in an entirely developed stage.

It’s all too easy—especially if you felt threatened—to pick out the negatives that overshadow and dismiss great ideas. Try to focus on the positives. Look for the opportunities inherent in an idea and encourage your assistant to develop it.

Creative individuals can be particularly sensitive to authoritarian management styles. A more collegial approach, involving gently working toward general agreement, will probably work best. Naturally, it takes more than one brilliant assistant to make a department run well. Careful, though, with unchecked enthusiasm over the brilliance, make sure that you don’t ignore the rest of your staff. They may be having difficulties with envy.

Provide them opportunities to be part of great projects, and don’t miss an opportunity to say something positive to them. This will boost their self-esteem and improve their attitude toward the job.