Administrative
Assistant's
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR CANADA'S OFFICE SUPPORT STAFF
There are lots of things you
wouldn't say if your boss was
standing right in front of you.
For instance, how stupid she
is. That's something that could
easily get you fired. So why
do people think it's OK to post
hateful remarks on Twitter? We
did a two-minute search and
found these actual tweets from
people who, one imagines,
must assume their boss doesn't
know how to use Twitter.
(We've maintained the "creative spelling and punctuation"
as per the original tweets.)
@brndonwhite03 tweeted: My
boss is driving me crazy! So
stupid over what he gets mad
about
Continued on page 6
INSIDE
Partnering with the boss . . 3
Our new columnist helps you
read your manager's mind.
Mindfully working. . . . . . . . 3
It's easy to say "be in the
moment," but harder to do.
Freeda Villavarayan tells how.
Making it so . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Lessons from Star Trek.
Dealing with the media . . . 7
How to present your firm in the
best light to a reporter.
2013 July AAU.indd 1
JULY 2013
Stand-out admins
Do you have these superstar-admin qualities?
By Helen Latimer
I've worked with some wonderful
admins over the years. Each had
her or his own style, approach,
strengths and weaknesses. But instead of thinking about what made
them different, I began to consider,
what did they have in common?
What traits did these outstanding
contributors share? Are they skills
that we can all work to improve?
Confidence
We all recognize them when we
see them, these confident administrators. We watch admiringly as
they step sure-footed through even
the messiest of projects, finding order where none existed before. The
stand-out administrators I know all
have well-placed confidence in their
abilities. Not to say they know it
all, but they know what they know
and when they encounter something they don't know, they aren't
afraid to reach out for assistance.
When we work with people who
are confident, we know we're in capable hands and we exhale a little.
We relax.
Initiative
They don't wait around to be
asked. The meeting notice is
already written, the phone call
already made. These administrators
are the team members who think to
pull out the notes from last year's
company picnic and review what
worked and what didn't. They're
Philip Date/shutterstock.com
Careerlimiting
tweets
UPDATE
the people who have a list of pet
projects, tasks they consider important but not urgent, that they pull
out when things slow down.
These administrators are the
ones who know the business
calendar, know that month end is
crazy so they clear the deck ahead
of time. They anticipate. They plan.
Their ability to look ahead brings
tremendous benefit to their organizations.
Responsibility
While they tend not to make many
mistakes, when a mistake occurs,
the amazing administrators take
Continued on page 4
13-06-12 9:26 AM
