administrative assistant Archives - Office Dynamics - Executive And Administrative Assistant Training

February 19, 2019 By Guest Blogger 3 Comments

All the free training for administrative assistants we offer in one place!

At Office Dynamics International we love what we do. Part of what we do is provide tools and services to administrative professionals to enhance the quality of their work-life that promote administrative excellence. Below you will find all the free training for administrative assistants we offer!

We offer high-level coaching, onsite workshops, an annual conference for administrative excellence, certification and designation courses (World Class Assistant™ and Star Achievement Series®), and more. However, we aren’t able to reach every administrative professional with our premium programs.

We have a ton of value to bring to the profession and we certainly don’t want to exclude the many assistants who aren’t receiving funding to attend our live events.

Learn more about us here in our We BELIEVE credo.

Our free training programs for administrative professionals began in 2009 with the 26 Weeks to Administrative Excellence pre-recorded video program. As the year’s passed we continued to add a few additional programs >view our free video programs<.

We hear from assistants on a daily basis that they love our training materials but they work for a nonprofit or their organization doesn’t believe in training their administrative professionals. We don’t want any of these assistants to miss out on continued education! [Read more…]

May 22, 2017 By Joan Burge Leave a Comment

Email That Works: Best Practices for Truly Busy People

How would you describe your e-mail situation lately?

Are you getting so much that it’s sometimes impossible to manage it properly and still be productive? Do you worry you’ll hit the “send” button too soon, and deliver a message before its ready? Take heart….You’re not alone!

E-mail technology has been great – but it has also wreaked havoc on the way we communicate. For example, you can shoot back a reply to an e-mail in lickety-split time. The question is, should you? Thinking about what the message ought to say often becomes secondary to our ability to communicate immediately. And whenever action precedes thought, trouble will likely follow at some point or another, as you know. [Read more…]

February 6, 2017 By Joan Burge 2 Comments

Teamwork Quotes From Great Leaders

Teamwork is essential in the workplace. It encourages communication and collaboration, and it helps people grow and learn. Two heads really are better than one, as the saying goes. When intelligent team players come together, they build each other up and produce results that no one person can alone.

To remind you how essential teamwork is, GetVoIP put together this visual on teamwork quotes from great leaders. It features leaders in a variety of industries from business to sports to entertainment, to show you that no matter what industry you’re in, surrounding yourself with upstanding people will lead to success.

Please include attribution to GetVoIP.com with this graphic.

February 1, 2017 By Joan Burge 1 Comment

Building the Partnership with Your Executive: Are You a Center of Influence?

High-quality assistants can be a distinct competitive advantage for executives and the organizations they serve. Here at Office Dynamics, we are constantly reminded of this when we help executive and assistant teams develop truly strategic partnerships.

As one Fortune 500 CEO puts it, “Administrative Assistants are the center of influence.” He describes his assistant as a “flow manager,” meaning she helps facilitate progress. She has the power to keep things moving at an optimal pace.

As an assistant, we want to help you position yourself as a center of influence for your executive. A strong strategic partnership between the executive and assistant is built on this idea.

So, what does that mean for you? Well, for most assistants, it means taking on more. As a center of influence, everything should flow through you—calendar appointments, meeting information, phone calls, projects and more.

You should be the buffer or filter for your executive. You are a conduit for collecting information, processing it, and sending it back out in the appropriate fashion. This allows your executive to focus his or her attention where it is most needed, with the peace of mind that you will ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

Most assistants agree that this is a tall order! It requires a deep level of trust and constant communication. The executive must be willing to release control of certain items and allow the assistant more authority and responsibility. The assistant must be able to shoulder that responsibility capably.

When exploring this idea, many assistants express fear. After all, being a center of influence is challenging. It forces you into a position where you are, quite literally, at the center of the storm. It’s a powerful and dangerous place to be.

But you are more than capable of stepping up to the challenge! And the rewards are extraordinary. You will experience greater job satisfaction when you contribute more meaningfully. You will experience greater professional growth and financial incentives. You will get to be a true strategic partner for your executive.

If you’re ready to embrace this idea and become a center of influence (or expand your existing influence) you may wonder:

How do I develop the kind of trust required?
How do I manage all of these things for my executive?
How do I get my executive to release control and let me do more?
How do I facilitate greater levels of communication?

These are all valid questions! Thankfully, Joan Burge has the answers. In fact, she’ll be addressing these topics and more in her upcoming live workshop “Building a Star Partnership” in Chicago.

Kick off Administrative Professionals Week with Joan on Monday, April 24^th where you’ll learn her secret success formula for becoming a center of influence.

Are you ready to become a center of influence? Do you think you already are? Are there areas you’d like to expand your influence? Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!

We are also holding a FREE WEBINAR on Building A Star Partnership and you can register here.

January 23, 2017 By Joan Burge 1 Comment

Tactfully Voicing Your Opinion In The Workplace

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!

Photo Credit: Designed by Katemangostar / Freepik

January 16, 2017 By Jasmine Freeman 1 Comment

Bridge the Generational Communication Gap

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…]