Let me give it to you straight: “That’s not my job” is rarely just a statement about a job description.
Often, it reveals something deeper.
It shows where someone believes their responsibility ends. It shows whether they see work as a list of assigned tasks, or whether they care about helping people reach the outcome they need.
A few weeks ago, I was reminded of this during a minor league baseball game.
And, yes, it involved ketchup.
The ketchup problem
A few weeks ago our family and some friends went to our local minor league baseball game.
We had tickets to a lounge area where food was included. Everything was great… until we ran out of ketchup.
No big deal.
I walked over to the attendant assigned to our section.
“Hey, do you know if there’s any more ketchup?”
He looked at me with a blank stare.
“I don’t know.”
“So… is there a way you could find out?”
“That’s not my job.”
I honestly thought he was kidding.
I noticed he had a radio clipped to his belt.
“Could you radio someone and ask?”
“No.”
At this point I was more fascinated than frustrated.
“Okay… if you were me, and you just wanted some ketchup… what would you do?”
Another blank stare.
No answer.
I walked away thinking…
This isn’t a ketchup problem. It’s an ownership problem.
The edge of your job description is not the edge of your responsibility
There are people who see the edge of their job description as the edge of their responsibility.
They complete the task assigned to them. Nothing more.
If a problem falls outside their exact role, they step around it. If someone asks a question they cannot answer immediately, they send that person elsewhere. If a process breaks, they wait for someone with the official authority to notice.
Then there are people who see a problem and think:
“I may not be the one who fixes it, but I can probably help you get to the person who can.”
Those people become invaluable.
The best leaders think that way.
The best customer service teams think that way.
And, in my experience, the very best Executive Assistants think that way too.
Ownership does not mean pretending you can do everything. It does not mean ignoring boundaries, bypassing procedures, or taking on responsibilities that belong to someone else.
It means refusing to leave a person stranded simply because the solution is not technically assigned to you.
You may not own the final answer. But you can own the next helpful step.
That is leadership in practice.
Task-completers versus problem-solvers
A task-completer asks:
- What exactly was assigned to me?
- Where does my responsibility stop?
- Do I have to handle this?
- Who can I redirect this to?
A problem-solver asks:
- What is this person actually trying to accomplish?
- What is preventing progress?
- What information or access is missing?
- Who can help resolve this?
- What can I do to move this forward?
The difference may look small from the outside.
It is not.
A task-completer might organize a calendar exactly as instructed but fail to notice that the schedule leaves no margin for preparation, travel, or recovery.
A problem-solving Executive Assistant sees the bigger issue and says:
- “This meeting is possible, but the current schedule creates unnecessary pressure.”
- “Would you like me to identify a better time?”
- “I noticed this conflict has happened more than once. Can I suggest a scheduling rule to prevent it?”
A task-completer might move an email into a folder.
A problem-solving Executive Assistant might notice that the same urgent issue is appearing repeatedly and recommend a new inbox process.
A task-completer might say, “I don’t have access to that file.”
A problem-solving Executive Assistant might say, “I don’t have access yet, but I can request it and let you know when it’s resolved.”
That is the difference between handling minutia and creating meaningful support.
What ownership looks like in an Executive Assistant relationship
One of the things I love most about our Dream Support Executive Assistants is that they don’t just complete assigned tasks.
They become problem-solvers.
If they don’t know the answer, they find it.
If they don’t have access, they ask for it.
If a system is broken, they suggest a better one.
If an important detail is missing, they ask the question that prevents a bigger problem later.
They are not looking for opportunities to say, “That’s not my job.”
They are looking for opportunities to make your life easier.
That matters because leaders rarely need another person who can simply check items off a list. You need someone who can help reduce the fog around your work.
You need someone who can recognize patterns.
You need someone who can protect your attention.
You need someone who understands that a calendar is not just a calendar, an inbox is not just an inbox, and a file system is not just a collection of folders.
These systems affect your decision-making, your energy, and your ability to focus on what only you can do for your business.
The right Remote Executive Assistant creates margin, not by taking over your leadership, but by helping you stop spending your best energy on work that someone else can carry.
The opportunity is real. The impact is real.
Leaders have an ownership test too
This lesson is not only for Executive Assistants.
Leaders can fail the ownership test just as easily.
You may say you want your team to take initiative, but do you give them enough context to make good decisions?
You may want people to solve problems, but do you punish every mistake they make while trying?
You may ask someone to “own” a responsibility, but do they have the authority, information, and access required to follow through?
Ownership requires both accountability and support.
Research and leadership guidance from Atlassian describes an ownership mindset as taking responsibility for outcomes, not just outputs, and having the authority to make decisions that lead to those outcomes.
That distinction matters.
If you want people to think like owners, you cannot keep every decision at the top of the organization. You cannot make your team ask permission for every small judgment call and then criticize them for moving too slowly.
Instead, clarify:
- What outcome are we trying to achieve?
- What decisions can you make independently?
- When should you bring me in?
- What information do you need?
- What does a successful result look like?
Then let people do the work.
A leader’s job is not to make every decision. A leader’s job is to create the clarity and conditions that help the right people make good decisions.
That is how you free yourself to focus on strategy, growth, relationships, and the bigger picture.
How to practice ownership this week
Here is my challenge for all of us this week.
The next time someone asks you for help, resist the temptation to answer only the question they asked.
Instead, help them solve the problem they are actually trying to solve.
Try this five-step ownership check:
-
Pause before redirecting.
Do not automatically say, “You’ll need to ask someone else.” -
Clarify the real need.
Ask, “What are you hoping to accomplish?” The question behind the question often reveals the real problem. -
Own the next step.
Even if you cannot solve the entire issue, identify one action you can take. -
Connect the person to the right resource.
Make the introduction, send the message, request the access, or explain the process. -
Look for the pattern.
If the same problem keeps happening, do not just solve it again. Ask what system needs to change.
Here are a few practical examples:
- ✅ Instead of “I don’t know,” say, “I’ll find out.”
- ✅ Instead of “That belongs to another department,” say, “Let me connect you with the right person.”
- ✅ Instead of “I don’t have access,” say, “I’ll request access and follow up.”
- ✅ Instead of “That’s how we’ve always done it,” say, “Is this process still serving us?”
- ✅ Instead of “I completed the task,” ask, “Did this actually solve the problem?”
You do not need a senior title to practice ownership.
You do not need unlimited authority.
You do need initiative, empathy, and a willingness to stay engaged long enough to help move the situation forward.
Sometimes leadership looks a lot like finding the ketchup
The attendant at the baseball game was not responsible for stocking every condiment in the lounge.
I understand that.
But he was assigned to serve the people in that section. He had a radio. He had the ability to ask a question. He could have pointed me toward someone who knew the answer.
The issue was never whether ketchup was technically his job.
The issue was whether he was willing to help solve a simple problem.
That same question shows up in every organization, every team, and every support relationship.
When something breaks, do you step around it?
When someone needs help, do you point them away?
When the answer is unclear, do you stop?
Or do you think, “I may not be the one who fixes it, but I can probably help you get to the person who can”?
The best leaders think that way.
The best customer service teams think that way.
The very best Executive Assistants think that way.
And the good news is that ownership can be practiced today: in your next email, your next meeting, and your next unexpected request.
You do not have to solve everything.
You do have to decide whether you will leave people in the fog or help them find a clear path forward.
If administrative work is keeping you from the bigger picture, learn how Dream Support’s Remote Executive Assistants can help. We offer flexible support designed around your needs, whether you need help with email management, calendar coordination, electronic file organization, or the many necessary tasks that consume your attention.
You’ve got the dream. We’ve got the doers.
And we would be glad to help you create more margin for what only you can do. Get in touch with Dream Support.
Sometimes leadership looks a lot like finding the ketchup.
You can start looking for it today. ✅