Every time I go to this local fast-casual spot, the experience is almost identical.
Right by the checkout line there is a high-top table. Prime real estate. The kind of spot where you would expect a customer to set down a tray, finish a conversation, or take a breath before heading out the door.
Instead, it is always occupied by the same thing. A spiral notebook and a pen. It appears to be an employee sign-in and shift log. Important admin work, for sure. But it is out in the open, in the customer’s space, every single time.
And every time I see it, I think about leadership.
There is a simple principle at work here. The work that keeps your operation running should not displace the people you are trying to serve. Admin work belongs in the background. Customers belong in the foreground.
When internal systems spill into customer space, it sends an unintended message. This space is not really for you. We needed it for something else.
This happens all the time in businesses, too. Leaders become the high-top table. Their time, attention, and energy get taken over by internal logistics, approvals, follow-ups, and tracking. Important work, yes. But not the work they were meant to be doing.
If you are constantly crowded out of the space where you should be thinking, creating, shepherding, or leading, it might be a sign that your admin work is living in the wrong place.
That is exactly what a great Executive Assistant helps correct. They move the notebook off the customer table. They handle the background work so you can fully occupy the role that only you can fill.
Micah Foster, Co-Owner
Micah Foster is a partner at Dream Support LLC who has been providing remote executive assistants to busy leaders who need administrative and organizational help for over five years.
He has a passion for creating and maintaining positive and productive work environments and empowering people to reach their full potential.