Do you have what it takes to be Revolutionary?
Well, I have finally recuperated from hosting our big conference. It was a huge success and was worth all our time and energy. Our event this year was much bigger (in numbers) than 2015 and we were in a much larger convention space area than ever in the history of Office Dynamics so it took a tremendous amount of mental and physical energy on my part for 4 full days and nights. I was quite exhausted for several days after our event but it was the good kind as I was very pleased to meet the needs of hundreds of assistants.
We had amazing speakers who focused on how to be revolutionary. I thought it would be fun and useful for me to share some of the best points I heard from our speakers and share a few of my own words of advice. Maybe you can think about how to apply the ideas to your own role.
First, though, let me tell you why it’s important to be revolutionary:
- Become an indispensable strategic asset to your leader and organization
- Create opportunities for yourself
- Minimize career risk
- Be taken more seriously by management
- Experience tremendous self-satisfaction
- Be more influential
Dr. Daren Martin is the author of the bestselling book, A Company of Owners. Daren encourages all employees to think like owners. Daren says “owners” are fundamentally different from employees. They have a psychological stake in the success of the company that drives their daily behavior. They treat the company as if it were their own. They take losses personally; celebrate successes as if they were their own; have an enterprise mentality versus a silo mentality. Is this you?
Peggy Vasquez talked about creating your inner circle. She asked some self-reflection questions such as:
- Who is influencing you?
- Who are you role modeling?
- Are you modeling behaviors that attract meaningful connection?
I hosted a session with our Gold Sponsor, Steelcase Inc., regarding Making the Modern Workplace Work for You. We discussed the pros and cons of the new open collaborative office environment. While you currently may not be experiencing this, I’m sure it will come your way over the next few years. It will be important for all workers to be adaptable, flexible and considerate.
We loved advice from Chrissy Scivicque, who just released her new book, The Proactive Professional. After years of research, Chrissy was able to identify the proactive skillset. How would you rate yourself in each of these areas?
- Big picture understanding
- Situational awareness
- Future focus
- Strategic foresight
- Intentional action
- Self-evaluation
We absolutely loved Colette Carlson, author of Step Up and Speak Out! Colette said assertiveness shows respect to you and others. It’s a core belief we are equal as human beings regardless of job title, status or life experiences. She shared several timeless truths:
- Speaking your truth is being honest with yourself.
- Speaking your truth is being honest with others.
- Speaking your truth is an alignment of your thoughts, words and actions.
The ever-inspiring Lisa Olsen taught us how to think like Leonardo Da Vinci. Lisa reviewed the 6 Principles of Da Vinci Thinking. I’ll share one principle with you that you can start using right away, it is called Curiosity (an insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning). How can you sharpen your question asking skills so solutions will start to come to you? Here are some ideas:
- Begin by asking the “naïve” questions that others are prone to overlook.
- Ask awkward questions like: Why is this a problem? Is this the real issue? Why have we always done it this way?
- Ask: What will happen if I ignore it? What possibilities have I not yet considered?
We had several other awesome speakers but I will stop here since I’m sure you have to get back to your work.
I am grateful for the opportunity to host another amazing conference and we are already planning our 24th Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence which is themed The Accelerated Assistant.
In case you were unable to attend our 2016 conference, there is an On Demand option available for purchase. Watch sessions from this year’s conference wherever and whenever. Watch Now!
Have an awesome week.
Joan Burge