The play Fiddler on the Roof recently came through my city, and my friend kept singing her dad’s favorite song from that hit: “If I Were a Rich Man.”
My comment? “I’m glad the lyricist got the grammar right!”
Why is the use of “were” (not “was”) correct in this song title and similar phrases? Consider the conditional meaning associated with using an “if” clause. In this case, the lyrics “if I were a rich man” reflect a wishful condition, not a true statement.
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With the plethora of offerings for administrative training and development, there is also a lot of confusion. People are throwing around terminology that can be confusing to the purchaser. I’d like to help you understand better so you can stop asking yourself “what is the difference between an administrative conference and administrative training?”
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Executive Assistants and Administrative Assistants have to deal with a lot. Whether that is working remotely, working with several managers or executives, and sometimes supporting an entire floor of employees! Usually, these difficult situations bring up situations that leave them asking, “how do I tactfully voice my concern?”
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Establishing rapport is critical to attaining successful business and personal relationships. While everyone must competently use today’s information technology tools, too many of us are ignoring the proven importance and effectiveness of interpersonal communication skills. That is why we’ve put together a list of the top 9 communication tips for executive and administrative assistants that are pulled from our certification and designation course.
1. Try being more specific in what you say. Speak for yourself; don’t use vague generalizations about people. This would be especially important if you are speaking to someone who needs details. You may not always know if the person you are speaking to is more of a “big picture” or “detailed” thinker. But if you really pay attention to people and listen, you can determine if they have a preference.
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I recently received an email from Joan in her trademark professional encouraging style. I realize many of you received this email and maybe additional emails celebrating Administrative Professionals Day and our profession.
Joan stated – Expand your mind; add to your skill set; challenge your thinking; look at your day in a new way; be a life-long student. You will amaze yourself! Who you are today is not all of what you are capable of becoming. Trust me. I congratulate you on how far you have come and where you are today. I encourage you to think bigger and become all you were created to be.
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Meetings, meeting, and more meetings! In spite of all the technology, meetings have not gone away. Whether your executive is holding a virtual meeting or attending a virtual or live meeting, there are certain steps you can take to ensure you are properly scheduling meetings and making your executive’s life easier.
As an assistant of 20 years, I had one perspective of meeting management. But now that I am the executive involved in numerous meetings, I can tell you what really is important. You must keep these things in mind when you are managing your executive’s calendar. Calendar management is an important skill. It is more than dropping in appointments on blank dates and times.
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Organization skills for administrative assistants are one of the most valuable skills to have as an administrative assistant.
Without the ability to organize your work and your resources, you could be twisting in the wind in no time. You may have been able to muddle along back in the day, but in today’s competitive environment, you need to work any advantage in your favor.
Fortunately, there are at least 9 ways to improve your organization skills as an administrative assistant without too much effort on your part.
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You want to be successful in your job as an administrative professional, but you feel your writing may not be as good as it should. Take to heart the following five steps and I guarantee a steady improvement!
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From Ernan:
When we created Ask an Admin we had hopes that we’d get questions from administrative professionals having trouble finding answers to their problems. We also hoped that we’d get answers from administrative assistants and executive assistants that wanted to help. Needless to say, it has gone better than we anticipated! (NICE JOB ALL OF YOU) That is why we decided that we are going to have one of our Guest Bloggers, Dana Buchanan, give her administrative professional advice. Dana is a 20+ year veteran of the administrative field and a good friend to Office Dynamics so we thought this would be a great fit! Enjoy Ask an Admin – Dana’s Thoughts.
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Managing multiple managers can be daunting. But that is the norm today. 90% of administrative and executive assistants support more than 1 person. It is a luxury if you only support one executive or manager. I know some administrative assistants who support an entire department of 60. However, they are not providing support every day to each person. Obviously, that is impossible. The tips below are for supporting a group of managers on a regular basis. Being an excellent communicator and being organized are vital skills to managing multiple managers or executives. I hope these tips help you.
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