You can’t manage what you don’t measure. This old management adage explains why most bosses want administrative professionals to create measurable goals. But how do you measure results in a job that’s often about responding to others’ needs?
One admin wrote: “Our company just reorganized and changed our job titles from administrative assistant to ‘office assistant.’ None of the job functions changed. I feel demoted. Should we go to our manager and speak to him about our displeasure or just be quiet and not say a thing?”
Gauge your long-term prospects with your current organization by assessing its bottom line and culture. Here are the questions you’ll need to answer and the steps you’ll need to take, divided into four key parts:
Entrepreneurship isn’t just about making money or starting a business. It also means having a passion for doing something you love: devising a new procedure, planning a meeting, creating a more organized back office. Take this quiz to assess whether you have an entrepreneurial spirit:
What helped clinch this year’s OfficeTeam Administrative Excellence Award for Deborah Carter? … Perk up your daily emails with MeebleMail … Double-check your work. A survey by Accountemps shows that “lack of attention to detail/sloppy work” is the No. 1 pet peeve of CFOs …
If you’re a “hyperhelper” or “give-aholic,” ask yourself these questions, suggested by a psychologist, when someone asks you to do something:
To stand out in a competitive workplace, you have to do the workaday equivalent of juggling with fire—say, swooping in to save a crucial project just in the nick of time—while streamlining a dozen different processes and keeping your boss on schedule. Right? Actually, little things may make a disproportionately big impact.
“It’s not enough to have an opinion,” Pegasystems CEO Alan Trefler tells The New York Times. “It has to be an informed opinion.” Leaders and managers don’t want “yes” men; they want “thought leaders.”
When faced with a chance to meet someone who could change your future, don’t be afraid to show some chutzpah. That’s what Alison Pincus, founder of the online business One Kings Lane, did when she saw Martha Stewart at an antiques show.
What sort of motto or guideline helps you work ethically every day? Admins work in a reactive frame of mind most of the day, says Nan DeMars, author of You Want Me to Do What? “Basically, we have to react according to our instincts and trust our internal gyroscope.” DeMars recommends using this fast compass:
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