Extend a helping hand to your workplace rival
Take a lesson from successful execs and create an alliance with another admin pro you consider a competitor.
Category: People Skills
To forgive is divine … and productive
Want to step up your productivity by 25 percent? Simply forgive someone—the boss, a co-worker, a friend—for whatever “evil” he or she has done you.
Help new employees start on a good foot
Give new employees a running start at their jobs, with these little-noticed but much-appreciated assists.
Being micromanaged? Let’s talk
If your boss’s micromanagement interferes with your ability to do your job, quit casting yourself as a victim. You can’t change the boss, but you can influence many of the situations you face, says Harry Chambers, a trainer and author of My Way or the Highway: The Micromanagement Survival Guide.
Shh! Keep your personal life private
You know best about your boss, your co-workers and your workplace’s culture, but, in general, don’t talk about your personal life in the office when it’s unnecessary, unflattering or confidential.
Crystallize the job before you start
Launching into an assignment before you’re absolutely sure what the boss wants just wastes your effort … and the boss’s time.
Cubicle etiquette: Don’t be a prairie dog
If you’ve noticed a lack of “cubicle etiquette” around the office lately, distribute the following “good neighbor” checklist to your co-workers. Example: Don’t be an office prairie dog. Instead of popping your head over the top of a partition, walk around it to see your neighbor.
Save the boss time: Screen applicants
To keep hiring from stealing too much time from your boss’s day, offer to interview promising candidates by phone before you set up an appointment.
Before tackling that objection…
Do you have a great idea but can’t overcome a "problem" your boss sees with it?
Stand firm when marketing yourself
Sherry Turner, Chicago, wanted to apply for a newly created position in her organization that combined three jobs and offered more management duties than her existing admin job did.