Executive assistant email management starts with a written answer to one question: which messages can your assistant handle without asking you? Separate permission to read a mailbox from permission to speak for you. Give routine coordination a clear owner, and keep decisions about commitments with the person authorized to make them.
Use the editable inbox rules template below to record the message category, allowed action, exception, decision owner, and review time. It is designed for a founder and one executive assistant working in the founder's inbox. For a broader record of delegated work, see the task delegation template. That office-work register covers task handoffs; this matrix defines authority to handle the founder's correspondence.
Agree on authority before opening the inbox
A scheduling reply can look harmless until it accepts a meeting you intended to decline. A short acknowledgment can accidentally promise a delivery date. Write the boundary in terms of what the assistant may do, not just the type of email they may read.
For each recurring category, choose an action: leave for the founder, summarize for a decision, draft for approval, or send within an agreed rule. Add the conditions that stop that action. A scheduling rule might allow offering existing availability to an established contact, but require approval before moving a protected focus block or adding a new attendee.
Keep access limits separate. If a category must remain private, a written instruction to ignore it is not an access control. Have the account owner or administrator choose an arrangement that actually withholds those messages. Do not grant broad mailbox access when a narrow, owner-prepared set of messages will do.
Know what Gmail delegation actually permits
Google's Gmail delegation documentation says a delegate can read, send, and delete email. It also says a delegate cannot change the account password. Standard Gmail delegation is therefore not a read-only arrangement, and a draft-only working rule does not disable the Send button.
The same documentation says that work or school accounts can delegate only to people or groups within their organization, and that an administrator may need to enable delegation. Check eligibility with your administrator before choosing this setup. These are Gmail-specific statements, not claims about every email platform.
Start a draft-only trial with access appropriate to the material involved. If broader access is not acceptable, prepare a limited set of messages through your organization's approved process and review the assistant's proposed responses there. Confirm who can see the material and where it can be copied. Do not put private email into the public worksheet on this page.
Build your inbox approval matrix
Fill in rules, not real correspondence. The sample button loads illustrative rules for discussion; none represents a client policy or an approval already given. Replace role labels with your own internal owners in your private copy. The tool does not connect to an inbox, grant access, send email, or enforce the rules you write.
Editable inbox rules template
Enter non-sensitive rule descriptions only. Edits stay in this page's memory and disappear when you reload. Downloads create a file on your device; keep any private working version in your approved system.
| Category | Allowed action | Stop condition | Decision owner | Review / escalation |
|---|
Write a specific exception in every row. "Use judgment" sends the ambiguity back to your assistant. "Do not accept an invitation that changes the approved attendee list" gives them a usable stop condition. Leave a rule in draft-for-approval mode until both of you can explain what it permits.
Work through a founder's ordinary inbox
Scheduling and meeting logistics
An illustrative rule might permit confirming a previously agreed time and sharing the approved meeting link. Stop if the sender changes the meeting purpose, requests an additional participant, or asks for time outside your stated availability. The assistant can gather options without accepting the change.
Example reply, for an already-approved meeting: "The agreed time still works. I have included the meeting link below. Please let us know if the attendee list changes." Use this only when the time and link have actually been confirmed. For a new request, a draft can say: "Would either of these times work? I will confirm once the meeting is approved."
Requests that need your decision
A partnership invitation might need a summary rather than an immediate reply. Ask the assistant to bring you the request, relevant thread link, proposed next action, and response deadline. Keep the summary short enough to decide from, with the original available when you need context.
An approval request could read: "The sender wants a joint announcement next week. No commitment has been made. May I ask for their proposed wording, or would you prefer to decline? They requested a reply by Thursday." This is an illustrative format, not a real conversation. Your assistant should not approve publicity, terms, or a commercial commitment on the strength of an inbox label.
Investor, legal, finance, and personnel messages
Route these according to the principal's explicit access and handling rules. Where handling is permitted, the assistant can flag a deadline or coordinate an approved meeting. The responsible principal or qualified specialist retains investment, legal, tax, financial, and confidentiality decisions. Do not use a general email-management rule to authorize advice, negotiate terms, approve a payment, or release confidential material.
If even reading a thread is outside scope, exclude it from the access arrangement. A "founder only" label is a reminder, not a technical barrier. Avoid copying the contents into a broad task list just to show that the email exists.
Make approvals easy to answer
Keep the proposed outgoing text beside the decision request in your approved working system. State what approval covers: this exact reply, a reusable response under stated conditions, or a single administrative action. A general "looks good" on a summary should not silently become approval for a different outgoing message.
Agree on check-in windows and a separate channel for deadlines that arrive before the next check-in. Record the backup decision owner and what happens if nobody responds. Silence is not approval. Hold the action, flag the deadline, and follow the escalation rule rather than inventing authority.
Once a reply has been approved, recheck the recipients, attachments, and latest message before sending. If the thread changes materially, return to approval. Keep follow-up ownership visible in the private register: who is waiting on whom, and when should the assistant check again?
Review real exceptions, then update the rule
At the weekly review, use permitted examples from your own inbox to identify unclear boundaries. Look at replies that needed substantial edits, requests that missed a decision window, and threads that stayed open without an owner. Update the relevant rule rather than adding an unrelated instruction to a chat history.
Record the rule's approval date and next review date in your private working document. Remove obsolete permissions when responsibilities change, and have the account owner review access as well. A clearer matrix is useful only if the people and permissions still match it.
A dedicated, full-time executive assistant can own this routine as part of a broader operating role. Early Bird maps the full scope during onboarding, then stabilizes one priority workflow at a time with ongoing support. See executive assistant support for founders and how Early Bird works for the service model. The inbox matrix defines a working boundary; it does not replace account administration or specialist judgment.
Questions before handing over the inbox
Can an executive assistant send email without asking every time?
Only when the principal has authorized that action within a clear rule. Use draft-for-approval for exceptions and new commitments. Mailbox access alone is not a business approval.
Is Gmail delegation read-only?
No. Google's documentation says delegates can read, send, and delete email. If read-only handling is required, ask your administrator for a suitable arrangement rather than treating a written draft-only rule as a software restriction.
Does this template access or save my email?
No. The worksheet has no inbox connection. Entries stay in page memory until reload or reset; a CSV download saves a local file. Use non-sensitive rule descriptions here and keep private correspondence in your approved system.