Administrative Assistant's Update

AUGUST 2013 In appreciation of "consistency" FR OM TH E E D I TOR Joyce Grant The older I get, the more I appreciate consistency. Consistency gets a bad rap; people underestimate its value. That's because consistency is not sexy like power. It's not exciting like charisma. And it's not fun like enthusiasm. People who are powerful, enthusiastic and charismatic often have crowds around them, and I get that. But people who are consistent are easier to talk to, tend to let you down less often, are clearer and easier to understand and generally they make better bosses and work colleagues. Administrative Assistant's UPDATE Administrative Assistant's Update is published once a month by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. EDITORIAL OFFICE v joycegrant@sympatico.ca S (416) 656-7796 U Joyce Grant, Editor Administrative Assistant's Update Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 1 Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Road Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 CUSTOMER SERVICE S (416) 609-3800 (800) 387-5164 T FAX (416) 298-5082 (877) 750-9041 v carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com Contents copyright. All rights reserved. © 2013 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Contents may not be reproduced without written permission. Brief extracts may be made with due acknowledgement. Annual subscription: $189. Publications Mail Registration No. 40065782 GST# 897176350 2 Let's say you go into your colleague's cubicle. She's on the phone, so you wait. And wait. And finally, you leave her a note. She gets back to you at the end of the day, fuming. She says "I needed this information! Why didn't you just interrupt my phone call?" So the next time you walk in and she's on the phone, you interrupt her—but this time she glares at you, turns her back and goes on talking. It's the same person—in a completely different mood. In the same situation, you've tried to follow the rules. But because of her inconsistent reaction, you find that the rules have changed. Now you're not going to be sure what to do next time—interrupt her or not. Inconsistency is annoying. It's the same with inconsistent bosses. Haven't you ever done something and gotten heaps of praise for it, only to do the exact same thing another day and have your hard work ignored? When people are inconsistent, it's hard to know where you stand. Generally, most people want to do what they think is right. But inconsistent people change the definition of "right" from day to day. What's right one day, is wrong the next. That makes them hard to work with or, worse yet, for. Inconsistent people force other people to find "workarounds." Since I don't know whether you'll be angry with me or not when I interrupt your phone call, I'll devise a "workaround" to your behaviour. Next time I need to tell you something urgent when you're on the phone, I'll tell the person who works in the cubicle beside you. I'll leave the note with them, and ask them to give it to you when you're off the phone. Yes, that will inconvenience them. But inconsistent people do that to people. Inconsistent people are also not very detail-oriented. Depending on their mood, they may either focus on something or completely ignore it. I once had an inconsistent boss who apparently cared deeply about the kind of cookies we put out for the executive meetings. How many, what kind, how big... the cookie issue took up a lot of time one day. The next time she found me fussing over the cookies, however, she snidely derided me for spending so much time on something so silly. Is this the same person who made it such a big deal the last time? Well, kind of. It's the same person—in a completely different mood. There may be only one way to deal with inconsistent people, and it's simple to say but not always easy to do. The way to deal with someone's inconsistencies is to always just "be yourself." If you don't care about executive cookies, then refuse to be drawn into a discussion about them. Try to resist the boss's attempt to draw you into her drama. Then, when she no longer cares about them (at the next meeting) your reaction will make more sense to her. In other words, the way to combat someone else's inconsistency... is to be consistent, yourself.

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