My first boss

What was your job?

I got a job as an administrative assistant for national lottery policy at the Department for National Heritage, which is now the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

I was brand new to the civil service and I had to do filing, upload a database and answer correspondence from the public.

The major thing we were working on was the legislation that ended up becoming the 1998 National Lottery Act. My boss led the briefings for ministers, and I supported her on that.

Who was the boss?

She was Abigail Thomas, who was the civil service fast-track graduate recruit. She was in her mid-twenties at the time and had been team leader for a couple of years.

As a person she was understanding and friendly, and as a boss she was someone who knew how to get the best out of people.

I remember that, even when we were busy, Abigail would always take time to show me how to do something.

Abigail saw busy times as a chance to show me things I wouldn’t normally experience, and she treated even inexperienced staff as assets. She saw it as unlocking potential – invest a little bit of time now for huge paybacks later on.

Other managers, subsequently, haven’t done this – when things are rushed, staff development goes to the bottom of the tray.

Also, planning was key – working on legislation requires detailed planning, project analyses, risk analyses and clear timetables. Abigail instilled in me a sense of making sure you were always prepared.

As a person she was understanding and friendly, and as a boss she knew how to get the best out of people

What did you learn from her?

Time management skills. She sat me down and basically coached me – helped me to develop time management skills.

I’ve been on courses since and I’ve never learned as much as I did in that short period of time.

So she really made an impression?

Absolutely. The things I learned I now adopt as a manager – even junior, inexpert staff have talents you may not know exist and are an asset – they’re a worthwhile investment.

The people you spend time on, they’re the ones that will stay the course.

What would say to her now?

I’d say thank you. She was a relatively junior manager when I knew her – she’s in the senior civil service now – and I’d say managers like her deserve to go far.

I’m pleased the civil service recognised the talent she had.