First, I want to thank my incredible administrative partner who grew into a Vice President at Office Dynamics . . . Jasmine Freeman. I always say an executive assistant will make or break an executive and Jasmine has certainly allowed me to be successful.
The Administrative Profession Is An Admirable Profession
Happy Administrative Professionals Week! Wow, I can’t believe it is that time of year again. Of course this profession is near and dear to my heart since I worked in the administrative profession for 20 years and Office Dynamics has been dedicated to administrative training and development for 25 years. This truly is very special and you have been a big part of our success.
One thing I wanted to talk about today is the many skills you develop when you work in the administrative profession. When I think back to my 20 years, all the different companies I worked in and people I supported and met, it is incredible. I can do what I do today because of what I learned during those 20 years.
Assistants manage crazy schedules that constantly change, create order out of chaos, plan complex trips, book hotels, deal with difficult people, prepare meeting rooms, greet visitors and ensure their needs are met, run a busy executive’s life, manages stress, is a gatherer of information, deals with complex systems, interacts with hundreds of personalities, has to be organized, be a leader, be assertive and so much more.
Those are all skills that transfer to your personal life and skills that you will take with you the rest of your life. I am a business owner, CEO, speaker and consultant. I have to be extremely organized, deal with multiple personalities, manage my time, gather and process tons of information, be a leader, be assertive, tactfully communicate with other CEOs, consult with CEOs, teach others and the list goes on.
I remember when I started speaking, other experienced speakers (who had never been assistants) came to me to help them set up and organize their client files. They weren’t great with their follow-up systems and managing their travel. I was excited to realize all the skills I developed by being an executive assistant would be fully utilized in my new career.
It’s Administrative Professionals Week. As you live out this special week in honor of your profession, I hope you see it as a worthwhile career. You get to work with the movers and the shakers; you know and learn things other people in your company are not privy to! It is an admirable profession and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Why did I leave after 20 years? Because I had tremendous exposure during my career. I was pretty mobile and had numerous experiences. I felt quite passionate about providing in-depth training and learning opportunities to assistants to fill a huge gap that I saw as an assistant. It made no sense to me that executive and administrative assistants did not get the caliber of training and learning that their executive got. So I am still very involved in the profession.
Be proud of the path you have chosen. Celebrate you this week! You don’t need to wait for someone to take you to lunch or buy you flowers. (Although that is really nice.) Even better is being supported in your professional development.
How will you be celebrating Administrative Professionals Week this year?
Have a fantastic week!
Joan Burge
