I have been tan assistant for much of my time in ministry. Some pastors have treated me with the utmost respect. I have seen other pastors who treat their assistants almost as slaves, giving them the least desirable jobs and neglecting acknowledgment of the work that they do.
Senior pastors should note that they are not the only ones who are giving their time and energies to the church. Many of these assistants are in part time situations sometimes they are not even be paid at all. But these assistants finish their work in industry and then come to ministry to seek to give their talents to God.
There are, in my estimation, three steps that a senior minister must follow if that minister is to have effective assistant ministers.