Administrative Assistant's Update

DECEMBER 2015 2 Administrative Assistant's Update is published once a month by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Director, Carswell Media: Karen Lorimer Publisher: John Hobel Editor: George Pearson george@adminupdate.ca Associate Editor: Jennifer Lewington jennifer@adminupdate.ca EDITORIAL OFFICE (519) 271-6000 Administrative Assistant's Update Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 1 Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Road Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 CUSTOMER SERVICE (416) 609-3800 (800) 387-5164 FAX (416) 298-5082 (877) 750-9041 carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com Contents copyright. All rights reserved. © 2015 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 UPDATE Administrative Assistant's E D I TO R ' S N OT E George Pearson Succeeding as an admin pro We always like to talk to or read about people who share their considerable experience as admin pros or as executives who employ admin pros. This month we are delighted to publish the fond recollections of a one-time admin who is now a senior manager. Aurora F. Bonin (page 3) relates how the skills she developed during ground-level stints as an admin are still used every day in her position as a senior member of the communications team of a major Canadian bank. Also, we noticed a blog post, "How to Succeed as an Executive Assistant," written by Larry M. Elkin (CPA, CFP), founder and CEO of Palisades Hudson Financial Group LLC, headquartered in Scarsdale, N.Y. A friend, who had recently been interviewed for a position as EA to a CEO, asked him what he thought would be the five most important attributes of an outstanding assistant. "Executive assistants, like administrative assistants generally, share some traits with the secretaries who were their historical predecessors," says Mr. Elkin. "Yet the position looks different today. Yes, some EAs do field their bosses' phone calls or manage their calendars, but they may also attend meetings or negotiations, analyze business documents, prepare research reports and supervise more junior staff. Each executive will need a slightly different skill set from an assistant, depending on the industry, the company and the executive's personal work style. Although the precise duties vary, the best assistants will typically display many of the same qualities." 1. Loyalty. An outstanding assistant must be committed to the success of the enterprise as a whole, and to the executive's efforts to guide it. The best EAs will not hesitate to give their boss an honest opinion, whether to agree or disagree, but they will never criticize or undermine their bosses behind their backs. 2. Discretion. A high-level EA will inevitably have access to highly sensitive information, including information about the company itself, its clients or customers, and fellow employees. The assistant's boss must trust that the EA will never share or use this information inappropriately. 3. Judgment. An executive assistant is the gatekeeper for much of the information flowing toward his or her boss. He or she must discern which items require immediate attention, which can wait and which should be redirected to someone else's desk. Perhaps most important, excellent EAs know when to ask their bosses for guidance. Some of this judgment comes with experience, but some is simply a cultivated sense of how to properly evaluate the boss's priorities. A smart EA will also know when something is worth handling differently than usual. 4. Initiative. To maximize both their assistant's efficiency and their own, accomplished executives want to drop as many problems as possible into the assistant's lap. Assistants must be prepared to tackle a wide array of challenges, from regular tasks to rare and complex projects they have never encountered before. By the way, bosses also appreciate assistants who, when alerting them to a problem, simultaneously offer a potential solution. 5. Accuracy. Top executives usually care a lot about details, but their jobs do not allow the time to get deep into the weeds. They rely on others to present information clearly, concisely and – above all – accurately. After all, you can't make good decisions on bad information. The strongest EAs are masters of detail. "I did not include items like organization, effective communication or time management," Elkin says. "That is because those sorts of skills are basic requirements, not distinguishing traits of a star performer."

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