The Rusty George Podcast

00;00;00;00 - 00;00;22;05
Rusty George
It's common to spend hours looking for a therapist, only to find a long wait list. Or that your values don't align. This process can be discouraging and can create even more hurt and despair. Saga Mental Health and Relationship Centers is here as a trusted source to offer a network of vetted and trusted Christian mental health professionals to support you in your journey towards healing and wholeness.

00;00;22;25 - 00;00;47;06
Rusty George
As a nonprofit organization, Saga's goal is to help people in need and ensure that they can find a therapist easily and be confident that they will receive wise, biblically backed counsel to stand against the chaos of today's world. If you need help or know someone who does, go to Saga center dot org that's www.sagacenter.org.

00;00;53;08 - 00;01;03;13
Intro/Outro
Welcome to leading simple with Rusty George. Our goal is to make following Jesus and leading others a bit more simple. Here's your host, Rusty George.

00;01;04;01 - 00;01;27;11
Rusty George
Hey, everybody. Welcome to Leading Simple. My name's Rusty George, and today I have the honor of speaking with my executive assistant, Debbie Robert. Now, why do I do this? Because so many of you have asked. Hey, what do I look for in hiring an executive assistant? Somebody that can just really help me connect the dots, set up meetings, make my life easier, but also somebody that sees this as their ministry as well.

00;01;27;19 - 00;01;58;10
Rusty George
Kind of be me when I can't be in that room. The old term secretary. I don't need that. I need a co laborer in this process. One that is so valuable but also sees their value in that role. Well, I happen to have the perfect one. Unfortunately, she's not for hire. Her name is Debbie. Robert. She is a sought after advocate for executive assistants and continues to speak into other executive assistants and how to do their job in a way that honors God and honors their pastor.

00;01;58;10 - 00;02;23;20
Rusty George
And I think you're really going to have a lot to learn from what she has to say. Single handedly, she has revolutionized my calendar, my ministry life. Huge impact on our ministry at the church. And I think you're going to be really blessed by what she has to say. So here's my conversation with my good friend and my executive assistant, Debbie Robert.

Debbie, Robert, thank you for joining the podcast. This is so surreal because you have helped produce and make so many of these podcasts happen and set up all of the guests and now you're on the other side of the microphone.

00;03;05;03 - 00;03;05;29
Rusty George
How does that feel?

00;03;06;13 - 00;03;20;05
Debbie Robert
Well, first of all, Rusty, thanks so much for inviting me to be on. It feels really different being on this side. I'm usually on the other side of it, so it'll be fun and I'm planning on us having a good time.

00;03;21;11 - 00;03;49;18
Rusty George
Okay, so for our listeners that don't know you, you currently serve as a director, executive, director of administration at at real life, but that doesn't sum up near what you do. You're an administrative assistant deputy assistant. You plan all of our culture rallies and leadership trainings and so many other things. But tell us how you got here. Tell us your story a little bit.

00;03;49;19 - 00;03;50;11
Rusty George
Who are you?

00;03;50;29 - 00;03;58;16
Debbie Robert
Well, I'm married and a dog, and I've been married for 18 years. And Rusty, you married us. So how about.

00;03;58;16 - 00;04;01;20
Rusty George
That? Wow. It's been 18 years.

00;04;01;26 - 00;04;10;23
Debbie Robert
It's been 18 years. And we have three adult kids. And and then I have we have three grandkids as well.

00;04;10;27 - 00;04;11;21
Rusty George
And two dogs.

00;04;11;23 - 00;04;15;12
Debbie Robert
And two dogs. And they're. Ours are related to, aren't they?

00;04;15;25 - 00;04;16;20
Rusty George
Mm hmm. They are.

00;04;16;24 - 00;04;44;24
Debbie Robert
Yeah. I came on staff about ten years ago. It's been a little bit over ten years that Rusty right before that, as you know, I was in the medical field, and so I was in the medical field for 20 plus years. And that's what my background and my training is. So I spent all those years in working with patients, building the business for the practice as well.

00;04;44;24 - 00;05;24;11
Debbie Robert
And then eventually I oversaw the practice. We had two practices and I was the practice manager and I enjoyed every part of that and really felt like I was going to be there for ever. I really enjoyed what I was doing. My husband and I started attending Real Life Church and then I started volunteering. We volunteer together and I volunteered in several areas at the church, enjoyed at Gas Services community team, even doing a mentoring ministry and and one thing led to another.

00;05;24;11 - 00;05;46;15
Debbie Robert
I was invited and saw really that there was a mission trip. There was going to be a mission trip. And I was like, I want to do that. I want to go to Uganda. I want to see what that's like. That changed my whole world. And when I got there, things were really different. I had the space and the time to really connect, enjoyed every part of it.

00;05;46;15 - 00;06;09;15
Debbie Robert
When I came back, I thought I felt God was leading me to do something else, and I didn't know what that something else was at all. And so went back to the place that I was working that I love so much and just kind of said, Hey, I gave my notice. I gave my notice at that time just because I loved the mission and vision of real life church.

00;06;09;24 - 00;06;22;11
Debbie Robert
And I heard it and I love do anything, not that I had any idea that I would even ever work at a church. That was the furthest thing from my mind. But I wanted to be in this valley because I wanted to be a part of what was happening there.

00;06;22;27 - 00;06;47;06
Rusty George
So you go from working in the medical field, you know, in the offices and taking care of patients and everything and organizing doctors, which I think you'll be the first to tell us that doctors are not the most organized people in the world as indicated by their their handwriting. So you have to deal with all of that. And then suddenly you decide to come volunteer to church and eventually work at a church.

00;06;47;09 - 00;07;06;12
Rusty George
Give us some compare and contrast. What's been the biggest difference or the biggest similarity between working for doctors in a doctor's office, in the medical profession, dealing with physically sick people, versus working at a church, dealing with equally scattered pastors, dealing with old, sick people.

00;07;06;24 - 00;07;32;07
Debbie Robert
Wow. That's, you know, the way you put that together is really great. It's something that I actually thought about on how God leads us and how he takes us on a journey. Because I've often looked at what I did there and was seven and I was in pediatrics. So I would say of all the physicians out there, pediatricians are awesome because of the way they care and love for babies.

00;07;32;07 - 00;07;58;14
Debbie Robert
Right. But I, you know, doing that and with the practice and then what we do today and the team I sit on with everyone, just the similarities are amazing. And I do believe that God prepared me for that. All along. I really do. But in that I think there are differences in the work culture, big differences in that that's where you do life.

00;07;58;14 - 00;08;26;02
Debbie Robert
You go to church, you have your friends. If you're not doing things and keeping your friendships outside of that, it can be all consuming. So and in pediatrics, in medical field, when I was done, I was done here. It's not it's not the same thing. It's ongoing and you're caring for people's souls, which is a big responsibility. And yeah, I just think there are the efficiencies.

00;08;26;02 - 00;08;35;08
Debbie Robert
There's a difference in what I actually even thought it would be like working at a church. I think my perception was something to overcome as well.

00;08;36;06 - 00;08;55;10
Rusty George
So it does take a little bit of time. I remember many different people that have come from the marketplace in the ministry and it's a big transition because what used to be their place of worship now is their place of work. Who used to be their pastor is now their boss. And you begin to figure out people are people.

00;08;55;10 - 00;09;16;01
Rusty George
And whether we work in a church or you work in a medical office, we've all got our stuff, we've got our issues, we've got our tendencies, we've got our, you know, how we deal with anger and conflict and all those kind of things. Was it was it difficult to be around people that maybe at one point you had kind of revered and now you realize, boy, they're just real?

00;09;16;14 - 00;09;30;26
Rusty George
And how did you process that? Because a lot of people can't process that. They they begin to see, well, it's not just Kumbaya and holding hands and praying all the time. This is this is tough work. And there's people that just sometimes are people.

00;09;31;21 - 00;09;57;00
Debbie Robert
Yeah, I think that was a learning. I really do. I think it again, my perception of coming into it would be exactly what you just explained. It would be like, gosh, you get to pray at work, people are all going to be nice, you know, they're going to get along all of those things and you know it. It is a workplace and people are people.

00;09;57;11 - 00;10;26;17
Debbie Robert
And I think it just takes time to process and learn that. And I did it through watching, watching others. There are people that do it really well. And I looked at that and I started reading and listening and trying to understand the culture itself. Then to be honest, I had a really heart for the culture because I think the church does so many things well in people with people and loving people.

00;10;26;17 - 00;10;40;12
Debbie Robert
But there are things that we don't do that well sometimes on the business side of things. So looking at the whole thing, I just had to learn over time and make a lot of mistakes along the way. Quite honestly.

00;10;41;08 - 00;11;06;04
Rusty George
You know, as much as we try to make the workplace kind of this equal opportunity place and we try not to say, well, this is a man's role or this is a woman's role, there are certainly some female intuitions and a mother and grandmothers perception that you brought to the table when you got here. We were probably at one of our worst moments culturally wise because we just added so many people so quickly.

00;11;06;04 - 00;11;30;10
Rusty George
We've grown so fast. We were just trying to keep up with everything God was doing, and somewhere along the way we just lost some of that camaraderie and team spirit and culture. You figured that out and you had to begin thinking through, Boy, how do we change this? But how do I do that in a loving way? Because you don't just walk into somebody's office and say, Hey, you're a jerk and you need to fix that.

00;11;30;24 - 00;11;39;22
Rusty George
What were some of the things you noticed and what were some of the strategies you kind of came up with, whether you meant to or not, and how to handle some of the difficult people and situations.

00;11;40;22 - 00;12;07;16
Debbie Robert
I think that's a piece that experience has helped me. I really believe in some of the things that I navigated in the past and in the medical practice with people. It helped me. I read a lot and I remember this one book called Reading People. I read a lot on that. But really navigating it was really to understand and know, you know, who people were.

00;12;07;16 - 00;12;28;15
Debbie Robert
I really wanted and had a passion, and I still do have a passion for people and for us to be our best and to do our best and to really understand people. And so I don't know if I always navigated it that well. I think I learned I think we all learned together and what it would, you know, how we would do it.

00;12;28;15 - 00;12;41;27
Debbie Robert
But it's gosh, that's a it's a good question because it's just comes down to loving people. I think it just comes down to loving people and trying to look at the best of who they are.

00;12;42;20 - 00;13;04;19
Rusty George
Yeah, that's that's certainly one of the great characteristics you bring, but you certainly bring a lot of patience as well. I think about, you know, one of the earlier days of your even being a volunteer, I don't even think you're on staff yet. We have kind of what we refer to as the coup de taw in the office where a couple of staff members began to yell at each other and as each other out.

00;13;04;19 - 00;13;22;26
Rusty George
And there was just pandemonium. And some people responded in different ways. Some people just closed their door and didn't deal with it. Other people began to weep and cry and and think the end was near. And then there were people like you that just said, All right, well, we have some people that are expressing their pain. Let's begin to deal with this.

00;13;23;22 - 00;13;35;04
Rusty George
What is kind of the the the checklist that goes on in your mind when something dramatic happens, you tend to respond differently than other people. What do you begin thinking in those moments?

00;13;36;09 - 00;13;56;19
Debbie Robert
Oh, I was on staff when that happened. I think I was newly on staff when that happened. And it is I think it is a checklist that when you're in a crisis, what are the things that you need to do? And you don't react? That's one of the things you don't do is you don't immediately react. You take time.

00;13;56;29 - 00;14;16;21
Debbie Robert
You try to understand really the situation that you're dealing with and you come with the helpers mind. And I think that's a piece of that is always coming in and how I can diffuse the situation. How can I help this situation and really what's the truth in this situation? And then how do we have to deal with it?

00;14;17;14 - 00;14;32;16
Debbie Robert
And I think being able to be levelheaded in things and not again, not react to them and think through what you're dealing with at the time. Well, you know, serve everyone well.

00;14;33;01 - 00;14;54;18
Rusty George
I love that you said that. What's the truth in the situation? Because in those moments where it's very intense, everybody takes their side as the gospel truth and everybody else is wrong. When you're able to step back from that, you're able to say, okay, there's probably truth from both sides. Let's let's kind of parse that out and figure out what's really going on here.

00;14;54;22 - 00;15;07;22
Rusty George
And only levelheaded people can do that. Is that is that part of your Enneagram number? I know that's something you've studied a lot and are well schooled in, you know, is that something that just comes natural for you?

00;15;08;09 - 00;15;44;00
Debbie Robert
Oh, gosh, I don't know. I really don't know. I it may I don't know if it's part of my Enneagram number, my Enneagram number I keep looking at. I was just even listening this morning to a two and I'm like, okay, am ia2? So I'm still working through that piece of it, but I just think it's part of a desire that I have inside to make any situation better and to have people see things differently when they walk around, when they walk away from it.

00;15;44;11 - 00;16;07;24
Debbie Robert
And so I do believe that in the role and even the role that, you know, I do. And serve you in is there is a thing that I don't know if you can touch or if you can name a soft skill, but there has to be a finesse, a certain way of handling yourself and handling a situation. And I think back to Rusty, I really do.

00;16;08;06 - 00;16;21;20
Debbie Robert
I think back to gentleness and kindness and exercising self-control and walking into the situations. That's what I desire to do the best I can. Doesn't always happen, but that's what I desire to do.

00;16;21;29 - 00;16;48;05
Rusty George
You know, I want to shift gears a little bit to a position in the church that a lot of people hire and look for. You know, we call it several different things nowadays, whether it's administrative assistant or ministry assistant, that the old school term was secretary. We don't use that term or as you've told me. So yeah, you know, I think there's a lot of pastors out there that think, well, I just need a little bit of help.

00;16;48;05 - 00;17;11;14
Rusty George
I need a little administrative help, I need a ministry assistant. And so they're looking for somebody who can just get some stuff done, take some stuff off of my plate, make a few calls, set up a few lunches, those kind of things. But, boy, if you can find somebody that's got a little bit of intuition, a little bit of finesse and is able to read a room, boy, that goes really far.

00;17;11;14 - 00;17;32;20
Rusty George
So here's what I want to ask you. You've dealt with a lot of administrative assistants. You know, you've spoken to people both on our staff and at other staffs. You've interviewed people, you've been interviewed by people. What makes a great administrative assistant and what are some of the things that we get kind of enamored by? But that's not really important.

00;17;32;20 - 00;17;35;14
Rusty George
What really works well after all the things you've seen.

00;17;36;13 - 00;18;04;11
Debbie Robert
I think, first of all, being a great learner and being a student of the the pastor, the person that's leading and that you're working with, I think that's really important. It's known and it's sad that it takes about two years to really get to know someone. So I would encourage anyone out there that has an administrative assistant, an executive assistant to give it some time.

00;18;04;11 - 00;18;28;13
Debbie Robert
But mostly I know that there's a struggle well to define the role to best leverage the gifts and skills that the key leaders have and I mean the key leaders of the administrative assistant or the executive assistant. I think you and you and I talked about this. I love that you do what you do and that what you should only do.

00;18;28;13 - 00;18;57;07
Debbie Robert
So I understand, Lee says, do what you only can do. And then so instead I really follow a lot. And in the a Graham teacher says ask yourself the question, what's mine to do? So I think it's a combination of communication between the two. But I do feel like if you use someone's gifts and their talents and you allow them to really use those and the leader does what they can do, you can find a good combination.

00;18;57;07 - 00;19;04;03
Debbie Robert
But it takes time to do that because you have to be a good student and a learner of knowing who each other are.

00;19;04;18 - 00;19;21;22
Rusty George
And I'm really glad you said the two year thing is I talked to a lot of guys that, you know, they get administrative assistant, male or female, and about six weeks in they're like, Oh, I had the wrong person. Person can't keep up. They don't know what I'm thinking, they don't know what I'm doing. And it really is a process.

00;19;21;22 - 00;19;43;16
Rusty George
It takes a good amount of time. And I received some it comes quicker than others, but for a lot of it's kind of learning each other, learning what the role is, what it isn't, and learning some things. And one of the things that I think that a lot of administrative assistants don't realize is what they're doing is ministry, and they tend to think, Oh, I just help out the minister or help out the pastor.

00;19;44;02 - 00;19;49;27
Rusty George
How do you help? Administrative Assistant See that what they're doing is ministry and how do you view it that way as well?

00;19;50;22 - 00;20;16;04
Debbie Robert
Well, because I look beyond you know, I look beyond what I'm doing and think about who I'm doing it for. I think that's a big part of it. We're all looking at the common goal, and for me, it's our mission and vision. So our mission is to help people find and follow Jesus. Well, how do I do it in the seat that I'm sitting in?

00;20;16;04 - 00;20;51;19
Debbie Robert
I think it's really important to think it through that way. And I think there is a part of us that we have to, you know, get rid of our own motives and our own desires of how we thinks things should be and collectively come together and work on how we can make it happen together. I think there is a big part of that and knowing you have to have the confidence, knowing that you're making an impact in what you're doing by helping the leader get to where the leader needs to go as well.

00;20;51;24 - 00;21;18;20
Debbie Robert
Whether I'm the leader at the time or I'm serving, it doesn't matter either way. It is really taking a look at what you have the opportunity to do and that is really the difference, I really would say in the marketplace and in ministry is who am I doing it for and why am I doing it? It's a it's a joy to be able to do those things and to be able to see the outcomes and know and feel good about like, look at that.

00;21;18;20 - 00;21;25;23
Debbie Robert
I see that change in that situation or that person and that makes an impact.

00;21;25;23 - 00;21;48;20
Rusty George
That's good. I wonder if there's any coaching you could give to someone looking to hire an administrative assistant. What should they look for? Are there certain personality traits that you think, Boy, that would really be helpful. Obviously patient is nice, but you know, I look at a two on the Enneagram and think, Oh well, they're helpful. That's a great idea.

00;21;48;21 - 00;22;01;10
Rusty George
A five on the Instagram they observe well, they see things I don't want to for their drama, but what are some things that you think about? Boy, that's what you should be looking for when you hire an administrative assistant.

00;22;01;18 - 00;22;34;29
Debbie Robert
I think be besides the normal skills that you should be looking for, which is is someone organized? Right? Can they hold a confidence? Are they trustworthy? They should be able to multitask. Those are things that you should always be looking for. And do they have many experiences? What different experiences do they have? I think there are some soft skills that you have to be looking at, and it's something that we talked about is, you know, is there a finesse, is there are they able to read a room?

00;22;35;11 - 00;22;59;11
Debbie Robert
Are they able to be good problem solvers? How do they react? Look in a situation and watch them? How do they react Like you said, I didn't even know that when you said earlier, like your patient. I was like, I didn't realize that that was something that came through. So I would say, well, you know, someone and look at some of those qualities that you would want in them and some that compliment you.

00;22;59;16 - 00;23;20;16
Rusty George
Yeah, we tend to just look for somebody that we like or we get along with or those kind of things, or maybe even a family friend. Some people hire their spouse to be their admin. Oh man, nothing like arguing at work and at home. So I just think it's a great opportunity for drama. Okay, So let me let's get real practical here.

00;23;21;10 - 00;23;44;26
Debbie Robert
Yeah. Can I tell you a story really fast, right? Yeah. So I don't even know if you remember this, but I remember when we first started working together a you are. You're an introvert, and I'm an introvert, right? And so we just started working together. I remember where it was, and I just remember and I don't know if you felt that way, but I just felt really awkward.

00;23;44;26 - 00;24;10;21
Debbie Robert
I wanted to be I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to do it right. And I would leave and I would feel like, did I do that right? Did I ask him enough questions? But you gave me the grace and the time to learn through that. And I just remember that and I remember that I was appreciative very much of that, and that it took time and that I had to had to learn.

00;24;10;21 - 00;24;18;26
Debbie Robert
I had to learn how to ask questions. I had to learn to know really what you want. And that's where I was talking about being a student and a learner and so.

00;24;18;26 - 00;24;51;09
Rusty George
Good. Well, I don't recall you ever feeling awkward, but okay, let's talk about some of the tricks of the trade over the course of our many years working together, you've had to deal with a lot of unique situations and some common situations for people. So maybe for somebody out there that's just starting off as an executive assistant or administrative assistant, I'm going to give you a, you know, kind of a a list of things one at a time.

00;24;51;21 - 00;25;05;18
Rusty George
And you just sum up in a few sentences. What are some things you've learned about how to deal with those things? Here's the first one. How do you deal with when I or the church gets negative emails that are sent to my email accounts?

00;25;06;10 - 00;25;31;17
Debbie Robert
I'd say you always keep your composure when you're reading it, right? You refrain from reacting, from reacting to a situation. There are times that I even give it some time before I send it on and not a lot of time, but just give it some time to think through what I need to do. So I never react and I seek understanding.

00;25;31;17 - 00;25;39;12
Debbie Robert
And then I ask. I ask, Would you like to see this email? Here's the content of it. And so and then we go from there.

00;25;39;29 - 00;25;52;07
Rusty George
So in that moment, what if it's something that you think? I think I can probably respond to that on my own. What's kind of the general response you give in those moments?

00;25;52;29 - 00;26;26;04
Debbie Robert
It really depends on the situation, but I would I would say I want to make sure that I'm always responding in a kind way. I'm always responding because emails are really interesting. You know, it may be a response of, Hey, I'd love to sit down and have coffee with you so we can talk about it. It may be a response of, you know, just I'm sorry for the situation and or it may be a response that is direct to the situation.

00;26;26;04 - 00;26;29;13
Debbie Robert
It really depends on what I'm dealing with.

00;26;30;06 - 00;26;47;08
Rusty George
I certainly there are some that you're able to handle people that are outsiders looking in, people I don't even know, and you kind of deal with it on my behalf. One of the things that's worked really well for us is I have an email that comes through the church website, which is pretty standard, and most of those go directly to you.

00;26;47;08 - 00;27;12;10
Rusty George
And then a lot of times they ask for things that they think I have the answer to, but most likely I do not. It needs to go directly to children's ministry or to a counseling ministry or something like that. You're able to kind of redirect. But then the ones that come directly to me, I have a different email address that I'll be with friends and family and subscriptions and those kind of things, or there's something that you think, Oh, you probably need to see this or hear this and send it on.

00;27;13;02 - 00;27;23;01
Rusty George
Okay, what about an aggressive staff member? Somebody rolls up to you and they're really upset. They're mad. They need to see me right away. And, you know, how do you kind of slow things down?

00;27;23;10 - 00;27;56;18
Debbie Robert
Well, yeah, we all deal with aggressive people, period. Right. And we have to deal with in a way. So we either deal with it, I try to defuze it completely defuze the situation and and understand what what it is and never deal with anything publicly, but always deal with it privately. And that's what I normally do. If it's if I have to slow it down, you know, I'll have the give the person some things to think about and then come back to it.

00;27;56;18 - 00;28;00;22
Debbie Robert
But never dealing with anything publicly, always privately.

00;28;01;02 - 00;28;14;25
Rusty George
You know, I've watched you navigate that was various people for any kind of reason. They weren't even just mad at me. It could have been somebody else. But to sit down with them and listen to them, because as we know, most of us just need to have our say more than we need to have our way of feeling.

00;28;14;25 - 00;28;37;04
Rusty George
A herd goes a long, long ways. Okay, so scheduling meetings, people contact you. Hey, I need lunch with Rusty in an hour. With Rusty? I need 30 minutes with Rusty. You know, How do you deal with that? What are some of the things that we've done in the past to try to help maximize my time, but also their time as well?

00;28;37;20 - 00;29;03;24
Debbie Robert
Yeah, if they need to meet with you, if they're someone because we know you don't need to meet with everyone. And so depending on what the situation is, I might find someone else that I could have them meet with that works just fine for them, depending on what it is, if it's for you. You and I have an agreed upon schedule for your time because you can't do meetings all the time.

00;29;03;24 - 00;29;26;22
Debbie Robert
You you just wouldn't have time to do everything else that you do. So we typically do 30 minute meetings with someone to set up a coffee. And I know the days know that way, that we will schedule it. I know the times and what that looks like. And so that's what we normally do for your schedule. If they have to and if they need to meet with you.

00;29;27;00 - 00;29;29;02
Debbie Robert
Sometimes they don't, often they don't.

00;29;29;11 - 00;29;51;23
Rusty George
Yeah. One of the things that's worked well for us in the past is also trying to meet between services. Yes, finite amount of time. I'm already there. I can meet with people. Usually a lot of their questions are pretty quickly resolved or they just want to be prayed for or with. And I can do that as well. What about just managing schedules like a calendar and that kind of thing?

00;29;51;23 - 00;29;59;21
Rusty George
You put together a calendar or let's say I need to meet with six people and now you've got to coordinate all their schedules. What have you learned with that?

00;30;00;21 - 00;30;36;21
Debbie Robert
Communication is really important of what that looks like. You are pretty flexible when it comes to, you know, what you what we need to do, especially if we have a goal, you know, of meeting with several people and you want to do some coffees, you'll really work with people. But I just mean I just try to manage it and work people in together to maximize your time and not spread it all out all over your calendar and do early morning meetings, do things like you said earlier between services.

00;30;36;21 - 00;30;45;26
Debbie Robert
If you're on the campus, if you're at another campus schedule, when you're on the other campus. So really trying to make utilize your time.

00;30;46;23 - 00;31;10;14
Rusty George
Okay. So obviously sometimes the problem is not the people requesting my time. The problem is me and I can often change my mind or I need to move this because I just found out that my daughters graduations that we can or I have family coming in town or I got a doctor's appointment. Now we got to move some things.

00;31;11;01 - 00;31;30;14
Rusty George
You've always been very kind, but you've also put up with a lot of scheduling changes on my end. And how do you how do you keep up with decision changes for me? Are there are there times that you set up meetings on my behalf and say, Hey, just pencil this in, this may change? You know, do you always buy the insurance for travel?

00;31;30;14 - 00;31;35;02
Rusty George
Because I might change my mind or a particular trip. What have you learned along the way?

00;31;35;18 - 00;31;56;15
Debbie Robert
That's a funny one, because on the travel let's talk about the travel for a second. What I've learned along the way is don't buy the insurance because it doesn't help you out. It's so funny. We would buy it, but several times, especially before the last couple of years, we tried to utilize it because of changes in the schedule and everything.

00;31;56;15 - 00;32;20;28
Debbie Robert
But there is there are very few reasons why they allow you to do it. So not very often do I buy the insurance. I you travel a lot, so I'm able to make changes easily and I've learned how to do that by just switching your the taking a credit and using that to purchase something else. So that's a that's a tip right there.

00;32;22;02 - 00;32;54;01
Debbie Robert
Regarding some of the other changes, you know, I would say flexibility and adaptability is really important. It just happens. I mean, life happens and you have to move things. And I now kind of make it a fun game, like, what can I do with this and how can I make this change where it works out really well for you, But for the church, if we're purchasing something so I just do the best I can really to try to make those things.

00;32;54;01 - 00;32;55;11
Debbie Robert
And it usually works out.

00;32;56;07 - 00;33;19;28
Rusty George
One of the things that you have done so well and I think people don't realize how much this reflects on a church, but if you have a guest speaker come in the way that the church handles that guest speaker and I don't mean that you lavish them with gifts or you pick up their dry cleaning or get green them names for the back room or anything, but just the way that they're their met, received, educated aid.

00;33;20;17 - 00;33;39;27
Rusty George
Here's where you stay, here's where you go. Those kind of things says a lot about the church. And I've learned that from when I travel. But you have been so gracious to our guest speakers that they all rave about you. So what are some of the things that you have done or learn or what is standard operating procedure for when we have a guest?

00;33;40;01 - 00;34;06;29
Debbie Robert
That's an area I really enjoy. I mean, it's so much fun. It's like having a guest at your home. It's hospitality is really what it is. And it's, you know, as they're coming onto our campus, making people feel as comfortable as they can, they come on our campus. We have one of our campuses has a large amphitheater. And as they come down, I'm looking for them because I know I can give them instructions, but they're going to be looking around.

00;34;06;29 - 00;34;27;09
Debbie Robert
So I look for them and I look to greet them and let and show them and show them the way. And I just we do a guest speaker, I would say document that we send and this is who we are. So we have a letter that we send them prior to coming to the campus with all the specifics.

00;34;27;17 - 00;34;45;06
Debbie Robert
So over time we've refined it to help them feel I want them to feel really comfortable and feel like they want to come back. So those are, you know, just a couple of things that we do. It's just hospitality, really.

00;34;45;21 - 00;35;07;21
Rusty George
John. A lot of it's just little things like letting them know where the restroom is, finding them, a place they can be alone with their thoughts or go with their message, helping them get to the stage there. Mike checked their slides, checked even ahead of time, collecting those things on an email and passing that along. You know, all those little things that we often continue to overlook.

00;35;07;21 - 00;35;26;15
Rusty George
I know I've been in places where they provided gift baskets backstage or, you know, recently we had a guy show up here to teach and he's he's English. We always give a Lakers t shirt to the guests. And he looked at me and said, What's a Laker? So, you know, they don't always pick up on it, but it's our attempt at house.

00;35;26;15 - 00;35;28;05
Debbie Robert
But yeah, that was fun.

00;35;28;05 - 00;35;42;15
Rusty George
Yeah. Okay. So for every new administrative assistant out there, there's probably a few questions they can ask the person they work for that would just help them understand them better. What are a few What's a few questions they should be asking?

00;35;43;03 - 00;36;14;00
Debbie Robert
What do you like? What works for you? What do you need me to do? Like be direct? How can I do that better? What can I take off your plate? I would just say anything like that to open up the communication to help make your job easier, think about those kind of things. So when I do things and I'm doing things for you and I'm like, Oh, I could have done that better, I'll just whatever that situation's, I'll come back to you and go, Hey, how about if we do it this way?

00;36;14;00 - 00;36;31;20
Debbie Robert
Because you like that? You're like, Just tell. Or how can how? What should I do? Rusty? Help me to understand how I can do this part better. So I think it's really open communication, but asking questions along the way and learning those things.

00;36;32;28 - 00;37;00;06
Rusty George
Yeah, I think that that that goes a long ways. There's just so many things that I have not even thought that I needed to communicate that you have asked or discerned and then clarified like, do you want any meetings in the evening or how is how early can I schedule you if I make you a flight reservation? Do you want the I'll the exit row or the window?

00;37;00;26 - 00;37;24;04
Rusty George
No one wants the middle. But you know, what are some things that I can do there? Just knowing that I'm an introvert and I need a little margin in between meetings just to recharge so I can have something to give in the next meeting knowing that a certain individual might be very draining. So you plan a little bit more down time after that person or situation.

00;37;24;27 - 00;37;40;06
Rusty George
Boy, a lot of those go a long ways and I would say you have helped me out immensely with, Hey, this person just had a day off. You need to know about this or I'm not sure if you saw this on the news, but this happened and this affected somebody or it's a staff person's work. They just employee.

00;37;40;18 - 00;37;55;02
Rusty George
You know, we've never gotten to the level where I've asked you to by my wife's birthday gift or to pick up my dry cleaning or reminding my kids names or anything like that. But you certainly have. I've made my life a lot easier.

00;37;55;02 - 00;38;11;28
Debbie Robert
Well, thank you for that. It's it's it's fun. And some of the things and I think you asked the question some of the things I think I don't even think about and that I do. It's just part of what you do. So I appreciate I appreciate that.

00;38;11;28 - 00;38;34;02
Rusty George
Rusty okay. So what are some expectations that all administrative assistants need to put aside when they take that job? Because we've already mentioned, no, you're not going to be sitting around reading the Bible and praying all day. So let's put a few expectations aside before you become an admin at a church. What what would you say to that?

00;38;34;20 - 00;39;05;29
Debbie Robert
I am I would say the first thing I would say is things don't stay the same. They change and growing churches or changing churches. So be adapt, you know, make sure that you can you have that you can be flexible and you can adapt easily. Those are essential things to have and to know. I think the other expectation, and I don't mean this in any way except for how I'm going to say it, is sometimes people need a lot of credit for things that they do.

00;39;06;26 - 00;39;32;07
Debbie Robert
I think you have to put an expectation inside of that you are going to get credit for everything because your job is really to help make someone else's job easier. And and that's in, you know, clarity is kindness. We want to make sure we're clear about what our role is, what the expectations are, but know that we're all here to win together.

00;39;32;07 - 00;39;38;12
Debbie Robert
So I would say that as well. And I think those are the two biggest things I would say.

00;39;39;00 - 00;39;56;01
Rusty George
Well, I appreciate you being on the podcast. It's been it's been something I've always wanted to have you on to talk about. Let's see you do it so well. I hear people ask me about this all the time because they're looking for help and they want people that trust and that they care for and that represent them well.

00;39;56;01 - 00;40;17;25
Rusty George
And you've certainly done that. So thank you for doing this. But I want to leave with this question, and that is, what's the greatest joy in your job? Because what you do is ministry. And though you may not be on a stage or get accolades, what you do is literally, I believe, changing people's lives. What's the greatest joy that you receive and the job that you do?

00;40;18;14 - 00;40;55;04
Debbie Robert
Hospitality, The thing that you said about the guest speakers, seeing them enjoy and feel that they've been taking care of well, seeing people win, bringing understanding to issues and situations that happen at the church and watching people walk away and things are great, you know, solving problems, making any situation better, whatever it is. And then really the spiritual and leadership growth in others after having spent time with them and seeing the change of life.

00;40;55;04 - 00;41;00;29
Debbie Robert
I just think in any next step, that's such a joy, so many things.

00;41;01;13 - 00;41;11;14
Rusty George
And so great that, well, I really appreciate not only all you do, but I appreciate you being on the podcast and see that wasn't so bad. You did great. Oh, you made it.

00;41;11;14 - 00;41;13;17
Debbie Robert
Thank you. I did.

00;41;14;02 - 00;41;31;23
Rusty George
I know you were dreading it, but you crushed it. And I know a lot of people want to share this with people who have administrative assistance to encourage them, but also pastors who are looking to hire somebody. So thank you for all that you have done. And really appreciate the way that you serve, not just me, but the greater church.

00;41;31;23 - 00;41;33;00
Rusty George
So thanks for coming on the show.

00;41;33;12 - 00;41;34;04
Debbie Robert
Thanks, Rusty.

00;41;35;01 - 00;41;51;12
Rusty George
Well, Debbie, thank you so much for sharing. I know that it's the last thing you wanted to do was to come on the podcast that you have helped set up for so many years, and now you're a guest. And I know that was a little bit scary for you, but you crushed it. So thank you for being on the show as well as helping produce the show.

00;41;51;20 - 00;42;07;07
Rusty George
Hey, next week I'm back with one of our friends of the podcast he's been on before. His name is Brad LEMONICK. If you don't know that name, well, I guess you have not been in leadership very long. Boy, this guy knows everybody. He's written about it. He shares about it on his podcast and he's just one of the best connectors out there.

00;42;07;07 - 00;42;26;10
Rusty George
I know. And he curates content in a way that will help you make your life a lot easier when it comes to getting the resources and content that you need to produce the content that you have. So join us next week for Brad LEMONICK. As always, subscribe to the show, rate the show and share the show. Check out solutions and we will see you next week.

00;42;26;10 - 00;42;27;27
Rusty George
And as always, keep it simple.

00;42;27;27 - 00;42;41;17
Intro/Outro
Take a moment and subscribe to the podcast so you'll get it delivered every week and subscribe to the Rusty George YouTube channel for more devotionals messages and fun videos. Thank you for listening to Leading Simple.

00;42;42;09 - 00;42;52;24
Rusty George
Lessons, please.