Separate recurring preparation from founder decisions
A founder inbox often combines routine collection work with decisions that only the founder can make. Start by separating document requests, status follow-ups and record updates from hiring decisions, commitments and approvals. Administrative support can prepare a decision packet without taking over the decision.
Choose one recurring interruption
For a week, note which requests repeatedly break focused work. Look for a queue with a recognizable trigger and output: supplier documentation, onboarding checklist follow-ups, customer record updates or meeting action tracking. Avoid a starting brief that simply says handle whatever comes up.
Define what reaches your desk
A useful decision packet identifies the question, source evidence, missing information, deadline and accountable owner. Require the assistant to distinguish confirmed facts from an unanswered question. Agree which routine steps can proceed under an existing instruction and which require your explicit approval.
Example: supplier onboarding that keeps stalling
An assistant can collect the approved supplier form, check required fields, request missing documentation and prepare a completion checklist. A discrepancy in company details is flagged for review. The designated owner approves the supplier record and payment arrangements. The founder sees the unresolved decision instead of chasing every attachment.
Protect the review window
Set a predictable time to review ordinary exceptions and a separate route for genuinely time-sensitive items. Name a backup owner when you are unavailable. If the same type of question returns every day, improve the procedure rather than relying on more messages.
Measure whether the handoff is working
Review how often you must reconstruct the background, request a missing source or correct an unauthorized assumption. Track unresolved items alongside completed work. Expand the role when the current queue can be reviewed quickly and reliably, not merely when the assistant appears busy.
Define the next handoff
Bring an anonymized example of the queue, the systems involved and the decisions your team retains. Compare data entry support and document management support, then discuss a bounded starting role.