Office Dynamics

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Lessons in Revolutionary Thinking

Guest post by Tara Browne, DTM, 2016 Conference Scholarship Winner. 

When I was awarded one of three scholarships for the 2016 Conference for Administrative Excellence, I was beyond excited. I looked forward to acquiring strategies and tools to advance my administrative career. I expected to be totally blown away by insights and techniques from thought leaders on the cutting edge of the administrative professions: new measures for peak performance; creative methodologies for problem solving; fresh perspectives for relating to those I work with every day.

What I got was all of the above…and so much more.

As speaker after speaker challenged our assumptions about administrative work, and I found myself being inspired by a profession that I had so long ago wandered into with neither purpose nor ambition. There were so many “AHA!” moments in this conference that it would be impossible to do justice to them all in a single blog post, but I’d like to share my top three with you here. These were paradigm-shifting moments that sharpened my sense of mission, strengthened my commitment to cultivating professional community, and expanded my vision for our potential to impact our careers, the companies we work for and the communities we serve. [Read more…]

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From Possibility to Reality

This past October, I was honored to be part of the 2016 Office Dynamics International Conference, The Revolutionary Assistant. If you had asked me several years ago if it were possible to pull off a 400-person think tank, I’m not sure how I would have responded. Happily, I believe in exploration thinking, so today, I can say, “Absolutely!” And here’s why.

About a year ago, I found myself on a catch-up call with Joan Burge, something we’ve done regularly in our relationship over the past 18 years or so. We were talking about my new company, 84.51°, and how my new building was designed to support innovation in our work with Kroger. I was sharing how I had started doing think tanks in our new “creative thinking space” using Compression Planning®, which sparked a conversation on helping assistants be more revolutionary, the theme Joan was planning for her 2016 Conference for Administrative Excellence. The seed of possibility was planted. [Read more…]

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Revolutionary Ways Assistants Can Get Information from Their Managers

The theme for our 23rd Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence was The Revolutionary Assistant. Our conference was held in October 2016 in Las Vegas. We had 450 assistants from 11 countries attend.

Our team-building activity for 2016 was called Compression Planning®: From Idea to Action and Results Faster. Annette Brown who is a certified McNellis Compression Planning Instructor hosted the session with my assistance.

We were really excited about this activity because the main goal was to get assistants to come up with revolutionary solutions on time-old problems such as managers not making time for their assistants; managers not providing sufficient information to their assistants; handling constantly changing priorities; getting support for training and development.

The concept I loved most about Compression Planning is to move “it” from the conversation to the action. For more than 4 decades assistants have been complaining about the same issues (I mentioned above). When I was an assistant 40 years ago we complained about not getting time with our executives; we complained about not getting enough information from our managers; we complained about not getting support for training.

And yet here we are 40 years later and I still here the same complaints from assistants. We have to stop having these same conversations over and over. The idea is to come up with revolutionary answers that will create change and therefore create better conversations.

Our team-building session was 2 hours long and we just touched the surface. I can’t possibly share everything with you about Compression Planning.

But what we did promise our attendees is that we would share the 4 main issues we covered during the session and provide all the answers our 450 attendees developed. The 4 main topics to be addressed were:

  1. Revolutionary ways to get the communication and information you need from your manager.
  2. Revolutionary ways to approach your leader to get their undivided attention and more one-on-one time with them.
  3. Revolutionary ways to handle constantly changing priorities and increasing work volume.
  4. Revolutionary ways to gain true manager support for your ongoing professional development.

I will write one blog for each issue and we will provide the 25 ideas for each topic that our attendees developed. By the way, all 450 attendees did not work on all 4 issues. We broke the room into quadrants and a section of the room worked on 1 of the 4 issues.

Let’s take the first topic/issue regarding managers and executives not providing enough information to their assistants. First I’d like to give you some background information. In 2015, Jasmine Freeman sent out a survey to our webinar attendees and asked them to identify one thing that was standing in the way or was a barrier in their relationship with their manager. We received 700 responses!!! Wow. That was huge. And I read every single response. I realized that 80% of the assistants could resolve their problems if they would communicate with their executives or if they would have courageous conversations with their executives.

From the survey responses, I created a chart to show our conference attendees the types of issues assistants were having around their executives and communications.

communicationSince there is a long list of ideas, I have pulled what I consider the top 4 and will expand on them. Then you will see the entire list. [Read more…]

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What I Learned From 450 Revolutionary Assistants in Las Vegas

When I was asked to speak at the Office Dynamics Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence, I was ecstatic. It was the first time my company OfficeTeam was participating in the event. And in my nearly 20 years around the administrative staffing industry, I had heard only fantastic things about the conference. So did the revolutionary event live up to its billing? Without a doubt.

officeteam-conference-for-assistants

Upon entering the opening session at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, I immediately sensed how warm and inviting the group was. It didn’t take me long to also appreciate the strength and knowledge that was in that room – from the speakers and attendees alike.

You Say You Want a Revolution …

[Read more…]

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The Revolutionary Assistant Facebook Live Recap with Joan and Jasmine

Our 23rd Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence, The Revolutionary Assistant. This is a video recap from Joan Burge & Jasmine Freeman.

[Read more…]

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Revelations from the Revolution at the Conference for Administrative Excellence

chrissy-scivicque-on-stage

Just over a week ago, I had the honor of attending the Office Dynamics Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence. I was there both as a participant and a speaker, and the experience was, indeed, nothing short of revolutionary.

As a proud former administrative professional, I consider myself intimately familiar with the unique challenges—and unique rewards—of the field. Though my career has evolved into training and development, I always feel most at home when surrounded by growth-oriented assistants. That’s one of the reasons I always jump at the opportunity to attend Conference.

The theme for this year, in particular, really struck me: The Revolutionary Assistant. It’s no secret that the administrative field has dramatically changed over the years and will continue to do so. But what can we, collectively as a group, do to push our profession to the next level? How can we revolutionize our thinking and behaviors to not only meet the demands of the modern workplace, but to also lead the charge into the future?

These are the questions I had going into the Conference, and I’m pleased to say that I not only found the answers, but also uncovered a whole new depth of thought around these same topics.

Here are just a few of the key takeaways I received: [Read more…]

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Office Dynamics International
5575 South Durango Dr. Suite 106
Las Vegas, NV 89113
800-STAR-139
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