“Can you just find out…?”

One of my favourite types of task is the one that initially looks completely baffling.

Recently, I was asked to investigate an international enquiry involving a specialist academic resource relating to ancient Greek biblical texts, establish who was responsible for it, and find out what permissions were needed for its use in a digital project.

I’ll be honest, my first thought was that I had somehow wandered into Greek mythology. 😂 Thankfully, I didn’t need to become an expert in ancient Greek scholarship. My job was to understand what the client actually needed to know, ask the right questions and find the people who could provide the answers.

The supplied contact details may have been outdated, so I needed to establish the correct route into the organisation, identify the right department or individual, make the enquiry and follow the referral if necessary.

The subject matter itself was highly specialised. The task wasn’t.

That’s often what a good PA does. You don’t need to know everything. You need to know how to find out.