Office Dynamics

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Fighting Office Dragons – Managers (1 of 3 part series)

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Did my title get your attention? Last week I certified 7 people to teach my Star Achievement Series® curriculum for administrative professionals in their organizations. I spent 3 full days with these wonderful individuals who are going to create change in their companies. One of the modules in Star Achievement is all about attitude and events and feelings that affect our attitudes such as fear and intimidation.

One of the topics I cover in that module is called Fighting Office Dragons. Participants discuss 3 species of dragons: 1) Manager, 2) Co-workers, and 3) Themselves. I have participants discuss things people in those categories do that make them appear to be a dragon. Today, I will focus on the manager dragon. Here are some common responses I hear. See if any of your responses are like theirs. [Read more…]

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Thriving On Change

Managing_Change

Wow…. Something is definitely in the air… it is something that disrupts our lives; pushes us out of our comfort zones; often causes stress and pressure, but can be rewarding and invigorating. Can you guess what it is?

CHANGE! I have been speaking on change since 1990. It has always been a great topic because everyone can relate to change personally and professionally. I have been through massive changes over the past 10 years and have experienced all levels of change since I was a young person.

However, never in my 64 years of life have I seen so much change at such a rapid pace as I have seen in the past 6 months. I don’t know what is going on but everyone I have talked to is going through change, most of them are big changes like moving, career changes, health challenges, (lots) organizational change, and retirement. While a career change or job change can be a good thing, it still disrupts our life. We have to go through a period of transition and adjustment. While some people see retirement as a good thing, my dad of 92 years old, who just retired, is struggling terribly. On the other hand, buying a new first home is very exciting.

The pace of change in our workplace is accelerating. Technological advances combined with global economic forces have made the workplace more complex, interconnected and chaotic than most people ever dreamed possible, even just a few years ago. Today, we’re experiencing a brand new era of efficiency, innovation and discovery.

There is hope and there are answers! I’d like to share my best tips for thriving on change. Sometimes one tip will work by itself but most often, you need to use a combination of strategies.

Anticipate

  • Guess where things are going, if you can. Keep your ears and eyes open. Know what is going on around you at work, in your community and with your family.

Prepare

  • Gather relevant information and stay informed.
  • Make specific plans for the upcoming changes so you feel more in control. Be active, not passive.

Visualize

  • Imagine yourself being successful in a new situation.
  • Look for the good in the change. With change comes danger and opportunity. See both, but focus on the opportunity. You might wonder, “What is the opportunity in a job loss? Or illness?” Trust me, there is opportunity or lessons to learn if you choose to do so. I have had to apply this multiple times to several serious life-altering changes. It’s our choice as to what lessons we want to learn when life throws us big lemons!

Accept the change

  • Don’t fight change that is inevitable. You will just drain your energy. Instead, focus on the area of the change that you can control. Example: maybe a person can’t control that their job is being eliminated but they can control getting their resume in order, talking to people, updating their LinkedIn profile, job searching, interviewing and even considering a different career.
  • Get on with your life; don’t procrastinate.
  • Do something that makes you feel good, something that gives you a sense of achievement. As we move through some change, we may feel like not getting out of bed! That is ok. We are human. It is especially during these times that you should pamper yourself or be easy on yourself. Men, included!!

Get Support

  • This is critical. I would not have made it through all my life changes without the following.
    Share your feelings with a trusted friend or family member, someone who will let you cry or laugh, and who will listen. People can’t always give you the answers, but if they really listen, sometimes that is help enough.
  • Look for someone who will encourage you, who can lift you up, inspire you, and spur you on.
  • Read inspirational books, blogs, articles and listen to people who motivate and inspire. Some of my favorites are Joel Osteen and Daren Hardy.
  • Seek spiritual support.

Hang Tough

  • Visualize yourself with your feet dug deep in the sand while the waves of change come over you. They get stronger and the wind blows harder. Finally, the calm comes and you are still standing. You have survived the storm of change.

Go easy on yourself

  • Don’t be too hard on yourself when you are feeling down or can’t adapt as quickly as you had hoped.
  • Catch yourself doing things well and reward yourself.
  • Take care of yourself. Enjoy outside interests and relationships.

Keep the best of the old

  • Try not to make several changes at once. In other words, don’t change careers, move, and get married or divorced all at once (if you can help it.)
  • Hang on to the good things or people in your life as you move through change.

Look at change as an opportunity to grow

  • Tell yourself, “I am just stretching right now.” Change puts us in an uncomfortable place but that is ok because one day, that change will become your new comfort zone and will feel completely normal.

Purposely change

  • Make small changes occasionally to become more comfortable with change. Take a different route to work, change your seat at the dinner table, or sleep on the other side of the bed. Thriving on change is a skill you can develop. But you have to exercise that muscle. Force yourself out of comfort every now and then.
  • If you have children, create small changes with them so they will learn to cope with change more easily. If you think life is moving fast now, just imagine what life will be like for our children and grandchildren!

Speaking of change, I am very excited about hosting a free webinar on March 7, 2017, with guest, Courtney Clark, speaker and author extraordinaire. She is going to share her insights on the following:

  • How are we wired to think about change?
  • What are the 3 personality types when it comes to change?
  • What are the pros and cons of the 3 types? Are any of them worse?
  • Can we change our “type” and should we?
  • What do we do to get more successful at navigating change?
  • What are the 3 strategies to help us connect despite change?

Regardless of your position in your organization, I hope you can join us for this webinar (or even register so you can watch the replay) because everyone can benefit from Courtney’s advice. You can register for the webinar here.

Also, Courtney is going to be doing a deep dive on this topic at our 24th Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence.

Embrace changes that come your way.

 

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Love Your Career

administrative_assistant_career

I have always been a “career-minded” woman since I was a little girl. When I was about 10 or 11, I went from house to house in our neighborhood selling my Mom’s used magazines. When I got a little older, I went to work at my uncle’s beauty salons in Cleveland, OH. I was responsible for collecting money from the customers and straightening the product shelves. After doing that for a few years, I worked at Franklin Ice Cream store, which I loved because I could eat all the ice cream I wanted. And then in my later teens, I worked at a women’s clothing store.

After I graduated high school, I went right to work in an office. I started out as a Receptionist and worked my way up the administrative ranks for 20 years following. The only break I took was when my daughter and son were born. After my daughter was born, I thought I wanted to stay at home, which I did for three months. I realized staying at home was not for me—I needed to be in the workplace. And I haven’t stopped since other than vacations and family emergencies.

I always saw myself as having a career, not a job. It was my dream to quickly move up in the administrative arena and work for top executives as soon as possible. I achieved that by the time I was 25.

Since 1990, I have had a wonderful career in training, writing, coaching and professional speaking. While I don’t love every aspect of running a company, I absolutely love my career in helping administrative professionals and their executives improve the quality of their work life.

There is a big difference between a job and a career. There was a great piece published several years ago by Matthew Bender Times called Career Planning: Myths and Realities. As you read them, check your own thinking.

Myth: Career satisfaction depends on finding the perfect job.
Reality: There’s no such thing; some jobs are more fitted to your personality than others, but all jobs involve some degree of compromise and trade-off.

Myth: Getting ahead is the result of hard work.
Reality: That’s just the beginning. You also have to get people to notice your performance, position yourself carefully, and show team spirit.

Myth: It’s the employer’s responsibility to provide fulfilling work and the chance to grow.
Reality: It’s up to you to seek out challenges and to take charge of your career direction.

Myth: If I just get that degree, promotion and raises are mine.
Reality: Degrees don’t ensure success; they just improve your chances. More important than diplomas are performance and reputation.

Myth: Career success invariably means moving up the corporate ladder.
Reality: It can mean moving sideways to a position that’s closer to your own interest and skills.

Myth: Career planning and change are only for the young.
Reality: Career planning is a lifelong process, especially now when the typical person can expect to labor in three to five different fields over the length of his or her career.

I share the above information with you so you can see that if you want to have a fulfilling career, you have to be involved! It doesn’t just happen to you. In a career, you analyze your options, make decisions, continually learn and grow, and take risks. A career is far more rewarding than just having a job.

In honor of Loving Your Career, we want to give away some tools that will help you learn and grow in your profession. We will be giving away 14 prizes to randomly selected participants. You must participate to be entered in the drawing.

To participate you must do one or more of the following (the more you do, the more chances you have of winning):

  1. Share this post on as many social media platforms as you can using the share buttons below.
  2. Comment on the blog below.
  3. Share the Love Your Career image above on social media (Tag us in your post; Facebook: Office Dynamics, Twitter @OfficeDynamics, Linkedin: Office Dynamics or Joan Burge). Right-click and save the image and then post it!
  4. Post why you love your career and how Office Dynamics has helped you in your career on the Office Dynamics Facebook page.
  5. Follow Us on Facebook, Linkedin and or Twitter
  6. Subscribe to our blog in the upper right-hand corner
  7. Subscribe to Monday Motivators™
  8. Sign up for our free educational videos
  9. Sign up for our free webinars
  10. Sign up for 5 free Conference On Demand videos
  11. Last but not least, smile and love your career!

Prizes to be won are:
2017 Conference On Demand – 1
2016 Conference On Demand – 2
2015 Conference On Demand ­– 2
2014 Conference On Demand ­– 2
2013 Conference On Demand ­– 2
2012 Conference On Demand ­– 2
Managing Your Executive’s Day Online Program – 2
Mastering Exceptional Self-Leadership Course – 1

Administrative_Assistant_TrainingIn the spirit of “feeling the love” for our clients, we are offering a 50% off online learning and our conference on demands as well as 20% off Chrissy Scivicque’s ebooks and guides. This special discount expires end of the day on February 14, 2017. Use Promo Code: LOVEIT at checkout.

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Tactfully Voicing Your Opinion In The Workplace

voicing_your_opinion_at_work

I hope you had a great week last week and were able to apply the tips I had for communicating with people from different generations. In case you did not read the last two Monday Motivators, I have been writing a 3 part series on communicating for business success. The first one was, Be a better communicator at work and the second was, Bridge the Generational Communication Gap.

Today I am focusing on tactfully voicing your opinion, which is another topic I cover in our World Class Assistant Certification course.

Throughout my career as an employee—a few decades ago—I had the need to voice my opinion to my manager, colleague, vendors, peers, and others. As a business owner, leader, trainer, coach…I still have situations occur when I need to voice my opinion. We all experience this in the workplace. For some people, it is easy to voice their opinion and for others, it is hard.

The caution is just because someone has the courage to speak up, it doesn’t mean they are presenting it in a way that will be acceptable to the receiver. If we want our voice to be heard and to be taken seriously, we have to think about how we communicate and present our case.

Step #1: Consider these factors. Before you even express your opinion, there are some factors you should take into consideration, such as:

  • What is the other person’s sensitivity to the issue or situation?
  • What is my experience level in the area in which I want to express my views?
  • Is it too late to express my opinion?
  • If the receiver is from a different culture, how will they accept what I have to say?
  • Are there generational differences between me and the person to whom I want to express my views? How might that impact their willingness to be open to what I have to say?
  • My mood? Am I in a low mood? A grumpy mood? Frustrated? That probably is not the time to express my opinion. This could dramatically affect the outcome.
  • Why am I even having this conversation?
  • What is my motive in voicing my opinion? What do I hope to accomplish?

Step #2: Think about the words you will use. Resist rattling off what’s on your real mind. You want to maintain professionalism and have the receiver be open to your suggestions or views.

Step #3: Gather facts to back up your opinion. For example, if Joe in another department consistently turns in a monthly report late, you will have a lot more leverage or chance of getting Joe to change if you were to say something like… “Joe, the January report was due on the 18th of the month; I received the report on January 25. In February, the report was due February 14; I received the report February 19.” Do you see having facts is more powerful than saying, “Joe you are always late with the monthly report.”

Step #4: Make sure you aren’t personally attacking someone. Stay focused on the point or issue at hand or situation. It does us no good to verbally attack a person.

Step #5: Select the best time. Timing is important. Maybe you wish to express your thoughts in a meeting to one of the attendees but you would be better off waiting until after the meeting or even the next day. Again, if we want people to be open to what we have to offer, we need to consider if this is the right time.

Step #6: Clearly explain your point of view. Two people can be right and not be in agreement. What do I mean? I see it all the time when I coach executives and assistants. Each person has their view of a situation, expectations or performance. The executive is right and the assistant is right but they have different view or stories about what happened. Take time to explain your thoughts.

Step #7: Consider your relationship with the other person. How long have you known this person? How will they take your feedback? Are they a superior? (You can still voice your opinion but very carefully.) Do they work within your organization or outside your organization?

It is both important to express our views and maintain another person’s self-esteem. I encourage you to work on this vital business skill.

Have an awesome week!

Joan Burge

Come see me live in Chicago for Administrative Professionals Week!

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Photo Credit: Designed by Katemangostar / Freepik

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Bridge the Generational Communication Gap

How_To_Communicate_In_The_Workplace

We can bridge the generational communication gap between Gen-Xers, Nexters, Baby Boomers and Veterans. We just have to understand and appreciate the uniqueness of each.

If you read the January 9 Monday Motivators, you are aware that I am writing a 3 part series on communication to kick off the New Year! Communication is the umbrella of our relationships and interactions. It is at the core of what can help us be successful in the workplace. If we care about having impact and connecting with others, we have to consider the manner in which we communicate—the tools we use, the words, presentation of information, timing and so much more.

This week I am focusing on generational differences. This is something we cover in great depth at our World Class Assistant™ Certification course in Las Vegas. I’m sure everyone reading this can relate because the various generations are all around us.

Here are some tidbits for consideration when communicating with these 4 generations. [Read more…]

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How to Be a Better Communicator At Work Part 1

How_To_Communicate_In_The_Workplace

Be a better communicator at work. Leverage communication skills for business success.

I thought I would start 2017 by focusing on one of the most vital business skills – communication. We can never know enough about effective ways to communicate. Remember that if you aren’t thinking about the who, what, when, where, and what tool to use, you will not have as great an impact. Your goal should be to create win-win situations by altering your communications based on variables such as generational differences.

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. We must understand the impact of the various mediums available to us. As important as knowing which tools to use, is knowing how various generations like to be communicated to and how to tactfully voice your opinions.

This is going to be a three-part series. I am using information and strategies that I teach in my live World Class Assistant™ Certification course. These are strategies everyone can benefit from!

This week let’s focus on choosing the right medium for greater impact. In other words should you email, text or pick up the telephone? The majority of society communicates through email, texts and IM. But that doesn’t mean they are being impactful, getting more of what they want and being productive. In fact emails that go back and forth can bog down your day and waste a lot of time. Emails can seem cold or the writer might “sound” abrupt when in fact they are just a short and to-the-point communicator (something else I teach in my World Class Assistant™ live course).

So, how can you have maximum impact, be more persuasive and get more of what you need while building powerful relationships?

[Read more…]

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