To those of you who may be offended by the idea of a Gal Friday please understand that I do not mean anything derogatory or diminishing by this term. I simply recognize in myself a propensity to be a good support person to a top leader. As I am studying leadership, I find that I am ideally suited to be in a number two role. I thrive in the variety and stimulation of problem-solving and strategizing and making ideas happen. For six years I was privileged to do just that for the CEO of a medium sized nonprofit. The modern ‘Gal Friday’ isn’t running to Starbucks for her boss, she’s helping him keep all the plates spinning. Nonetheless, she is willing to make the occasional Starbucks run because she is in an environment of mutual respect and appreciation. She is a true servant-leader.
Here’s a partial list of some of my adventures while working at Adventures In Missions:
- Edit books
- Purchase $22,000 worth of plane tickets in one morning [a group of 50 people going to 2 continents]
- Compare phone plans for 2 users who average 4-5000 minutes per month
- Interview potential staff and potential mission candidates
- Buy cameras – ranging from point and shoot, to flip video, to $20,000 HD movie camera
- Price equipment like green screens
- Talk to wives of country music sensations and NFL players about missions
- Prepare initial disaster response plans for Haiti [esp mail campaign and publicity]
- Build websites
- Write procedure manuals
- Teaching and training
- Reconcile Am Ex expenses in the thousands and tens of thousands for boss
- Skype with people all over the globe
- Manage budgets
- Solve travel issues at 2 am via phone for teams in Thailand
- Study traffic on the web for boss stuck in Atlanta trying not to miss a flight
- Host board meetings
- Travel to Tijuana, Matamoros, Lima, Los Angeles, Colorado Springs, and Kensington [Philly]
- Develop infrastructure for 11 month worldwide mission trip
- Design annual report
- Host missionaries
- Plan direct mail campaign that raised tens of thousands
- Review/organize photos and videos for use in documents, calendars, reports, websites, books, blogs
- Manage calendar for executive director
- Order countless books on Amazon
- Manage 100+ emails per day
- Personal travel agent for Exec Director traveling worldwide
- Read books on fundraising and marketing
This is just a partial list to give you a sense of what a great job it was
Six years of exhilarating variety!
I loved working for Seth Barnes at Adventures in Missions and The World Race!
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The job fit you like a glove, Serena. You handled it all with aplomb and grace. We miss you around the office!