Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery

Recently, an attendee approached me after a presentation I gave entitled, Supercharge your Self-Confidence and she was very upset. In tears, she said that she enjoyed my presentation and wished she could speak with confidence and be assertive like me. I was flattered and at the same time concerned that this caused her so much grief.

My response to this young woman was:

“I must admit I was not born with confidence; I had to learn from my mistakes, as well as the mistakes of others. I had to be open and honest with myself and realize that in order to achieve my goals I needed to change.”

Here’s how I implemented change:

Got a mentor. A mentor is someone who will be your co-pilot. Mentors provide advice and feedback along the journey until you reach your destination. They may give you feedback that is not so favorable, but that’s their role; respect the advice as “constructive comments.”

Joined professional development organizations. The best way to grow within yourself is to be around others with the same mindset. Nine years ago, I joined the IAAP, an organization for administrative professionals; this was the best decision I ever made because I learned many new skills, such as leadership and technology and met new acquaintances along the way. There are many other organizations out there, find one that suits you and get involved!

Practiced. Practice does make perfect and it makes you comfortable. Just like when you learn how to cook a new dish, wouldn’t you prepare it a few times after you learn the recipe? Once you learn the ingredients and have cooked the dish, you will add your own spice. Have you ever heard of the “spice of life?” What is your spice?

I asked her, “Are you willing to change?” She smiled, nodded her head slowly, and said, “Yes. I’m tired of feeling like people are walking over me.” Her tears of sadness became tears of joy because she accepted that it was time for a change and change is good when it’s necessary.

The first thing to do is to identify your mission, then you will be able to create goals based on what your life’s purpose. Stephen Covey, author of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, says, “If you don’t set your goals based upon your mission statement, you may be climbing the ladder of success only to realize, when you get to the top, you are standing on the wrong building.” You have to know what you want out of life, in order to get what you want in your life.

She thanked me profusely and said she would call me to setup an appointment to talk about her mission statement.

Happy 4th Anniversary to the Office Professionals Place!

Happy 4th Anniversary!

 It's the largest office party on the internet! 

The Office Professionals Place is celebrating 4 years of service for the most important people in the office - YOU!

For the entire month of August, we will be celebrating office professionals all over the world!

Post your funniest office party story or idea for a great party and win a chance to be featured on the Office Professionals Place blog! Oh yea, you will receive a special gift for your next office party - a $50 gift card to your favorite store or restaurant!


 Office Party Guidelines:
1 .RSVP. Like Elite Office Concepts on Facebook.
2. Attend the Party. Post your office party story or idea on this page. No duplicate posts allowed.
3. Invite your Friends. Tweet or Facebook your post and get comments.
4. Network. The post with the most comments WINS! The more the merrier! Comments from the Office Professionals Place personnel (Dewoun Hayes) are exempt from the contest.
5. Party responsibly. (no profanity, don't use real names, and be respectful).

  Let's party!

Thanks for keeping the party going!

Performance Review Blues

Dear Worklife Coach,

I am dreading my upcoming performance review. My supervisor always seems to find fault in my work. I feel like the review is turning into a one-sided gripe session. How can I prepare myself for the criticisms without feeling bad about myself?

Signed,

Performance Review Pooped

Dear Pooped,

Performance reviews are designed to develop and improve skills, not feel like an attack. They identify areas for improvement  as well as acknowledge achievements. Unfortunately, many reviews leave out achievements.

First, prepare a self-evaluation of your own and be honest. Think of it as a personal critique and don't forget to list accomplishments. Conducting an honest, well thought out, self-evaluation will better prepare your responses to the evaluation your supervisor will conduct. Also, if your accomplishments are not mentioned, you will be ready to politely remind your supervisor of what you have done since the last review.

Second, create an action plan for your pitfalls. List ways that you will improve on your shortcomings. Develop processes, change methods, and ask for suggestions/recommendations.

Third, and most important, thank your boss for the feedback. This let's them know that you appreciate the feedback and will do your best to improve so that this item will not be a pitfall but an improvement/accomplishment.

Be thankful for performance reviews, they are supposed to be used a tool that will help you make one step forward to being a better employee for the company.



Thanks for the question.

Got a question? Email worklifecoach@excite.com or Tweet #worklifecoach

Worklife Coach Disclaimer:
Ask a Worklife Coach provides information and advice on topics impacting todays busy office professional. Dewoun Hayes, Elite Office Concepts and The Office Professionals Place will not be held responsible for advice taken out of context or acted upon negatively.

Ask a Worklife Coach - Dealing with Disappointment

Dear Worklife Coach, 

I was recently passed up for a promotion to someone else in the department who has been with the company fewer years than I have and this was a position that I know very well because I worked closely with the individual who left. I am very disappointed in the decision and think the company is devaluing my skills. Should I look for another job? And how will I be able to work with this person who has stolen this job from me?

Undermined

Dear Undermined,

The fact that you applied for the job and got as far as the final interview deserves kudos. Dealing with disappointment is an important skill we need as is rampant in the workplace. First, ask yourself (on a scale of 1 to 10) how dissatisfied you are as a whole? Remove the disappointment factor of the current situation. In other words, do you like your job? Do you like what you do? If you answered yes to either of the questions, or your level of dissatisfaction is below 6, then re-think how you can adjust to the situation. Here are three ways:

1.       Accept the decision – acceptance means that you understand the decision that was made and you will look at the future with a positive outlook.

2.       Adjust your attitude – now that you have accepted the circumstances, change your attitude. The good news is that you can change YOUR behavior, emotions, and feelings. Winston Churchill said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” Make a difference and start with changing how you think.

3.       Acknowledge – if you can do the first two, this will be easy. Recognize that this person was chosen for a reason, so give your new boss a chance.  

Once you can accept, adjust, and acknowledge, you can think logically and not let your emotions jeopardized your professionalism. Don’t let others behavior dictate yours.  If all else fails, seek new employment.

Got a question? Email worklifecoach@excite.com or Tweet #worklifecoach

Effectively Working Together in Smaller Offices

A two-person office can be just as intimidating as an office of 25 or more.  Smaller offices are required to do more with the resources given them and that includes empowering the few bodies available to accomplish the tasks. The bar of effectiveness and productivity is raised and the atmosphere can get intense.

The most important task is the ability to get along with each other and work as a team (short-handed team) to perform the business activities of the organization. Do you have to like each other? Of course, it would help, but we all know that there are some personalities that are hard to like. However, as an administrative professional, it is in our job description to remain professional. Here are 4 ways the small office can succeed:

World Laughter Day!

Just know everyone is being watched.

Today is World Laughter Day! Laughter is the cure for what ails us! Having a good chuckle will reduce stress, release tension, and boost your immunity system.

Stress got you down? Need a good laugh? Here are some expressions for those days when you need to laugh to keep from crying... 

Who knew that the keyboard had other functions?

               I keep hitting the ‘escape’ key but I’m still here.

               I keep hitting the ‘delete’ key, but you’re still here.

The next time the repairman/woman comes to fix your office equipment, ask this….

               How do I set the laser printer to stun?

When you want to make your case about more office space…

               How can I think outside the box when I work in a cube?

Performance review rebuttals…

                I am working on my procrastination issues, just you wait and see.

                I always arrive late at the office, but I make up for it by leaving early.

During  the Interview…

                I like work, it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.

                I will be a team player, if you pay me like a professional athlete.

Make everyday World Laughter Day, your heart, body, and mind will thank you. For more laughs, read the blog, Laughing All the Way to Work, by Patricia Robb, she will have you in office stitches.

Pay Attention to Details Week (March 25-March 29, 2013)

It seems there is a commemorative day, week, and month for everything. Here are the commemorative weeks in March:

March 3-9 - National Problem Gambling Awareness Week
March 11-17 - Brain Awareness Week
March  14-20 - National Farm Safety Week


So, let's declare this week (March 25-March 29) Pay Attention to Detail Week. This week you will especially observe your actions when it comes to completing everyday tasks and look at them in a differently.
 

Try this exercise: Look at the picture on the right, try and find things (not so obvious). For example, what is the name on the garbage can, what time is it, how many laptops are in the office, etc. The idea is small details are just as important.
 
This week is the week to think "less errors" (especially those that are most common, eliminate the need to complete the same task again due to a mistake, and develop a piece of mind that the task is done and will not have a "boomerang effect" and come back to you because you missed a step or made an error.

 Remember, when paying attention to detail:
1. Ask questions/clarify/confirm - Not only does this improve assertiveness skills, you will get all the information you need and won't have to come back two or three times.

2. Get out of the "robotic" routine - when we get in "robotic mode" we miss details because of the frequency of the task. Snap out of it and pay attention to the process, it may need changing.  "What was yesterday, may not be today." 

3. "Know Thyself" - train the eye to look for specific errors that tend to be your Achilles' heel. My Achilles' heel is dates. I know that today is Monday, March 25, but not paying attention, Monday, March 25 could turn into Monday, March 24 on correspondence.

Here are some examples of details you can add special attention to this week:

February 2013 Elite Admin: Barbara Williams

Barbara Williams

Elite Admin February 2013
Administrative Assistant, Altria, Inc.

Barbara A. Williams serves as an administrative assistant at Altria, Inc. working to streamline processes and the coordination of administrative support tasks. Deemed the “best secretary on the planet,” Barbara is a self-motivator, team player, and positive person. She says, “I create a positive environment where ever I go by encouraging people.”

Working with Time through Organization
The best time management tip Barbara finds useful is organizational management, which entails always organizing projects in order. Her system is similar to Microsoft OneNote. She arranges each component of a project in its appropriate order. Barbara sees organizational management as a mental process- seeing the order in your mind’s eye first in which to organize things. Working in this way allows her to always be ahead of the game. She remarks, “When my executive travels,   first, I organize flight options. Second, I make his reservation after discussing with him; thirdly, I would create an itinerary folder for him to store his receipts and materials for the trip.”

Dealing with Change Using Backup Plans
Barbara’s biggest challenge involves meetings and travel changes. She deals with meeting changes by contacting the assistant to find out what meetings on their executive’s calendar are flexible. She provides the information to the organizer of the meeting; therefore, before the meeting is set up, the logistical items have been discussed - eliminating the need to make further changes.

Barbara deals with travel changes by making sure the flights are refundable and hotel accommodations can be cancelled in a timely manner.

Since 1996, Barbara has received many awards and accolades, including Woman of the Year from the Business & Professional Women’s Club, Inc.   She is very active in her professional organizations which include: the American Society of Administrative Professionals (ASAP) and the International Association of Administrative Professional (IAAP). Barbara’s proactiveness, dedication, and commitment to the profession prove that she is an Elite Admin.

Barbara lives in Richmond, VA with her companion and four children.

January 2013 Elite Admin: Bonnie Low-Kramen

Author of Be the Ultimate Assistant and co-founder of New York Celebrity Assistants

Bonnie Low-Kramen is an Instructor, speaker and Coach. She is the author of, Be the Ultimate Assistant. The Be the Ultimate Assistant workshop is a 15 hour, 2-day workshop that teaches attendees the essential skills needed to be great assistants. Her workshops include instruction on leadership, technology, and communication techniques. Here is the link for the upcoming Santa Monica workshop on Jan 19-20, 2013 http://conta.cc/PDMICF

Bonnie began her career 25 years ago as the Personal Assistant to award-winning actress, Olympia Dukakis. She noted that she had no experience or training; everyday was like "winging it." Bonnie did whatever it took to get the job done. Her passion for education caused her to resign and start her own business with the goal to provide training so that no other assistant has to "wing it." As a result, Be the Ultimate Assistant was born.

November Elite Admin: Jasmine Freeman, Office Dynamics

 

Chief Executive Assistant to the Founder and CEO of Office Dynamics, Joan Burge

 

Originally from Iowa, Jasmine made the leap of faith in 2006, when she attended a World Class Assistant Seminar hosted by Office Dynamics and learned that her mentor, Joan Burge, was looking for an assistant. She phoned Ms. Burge, interviewed for the position, and six years later, is making an impact on office professionals all over the world.

 Jasmine’s duties include, but are not limited to, arranging contracts with speakers and vendors, making travel arrangements for Ms. Burge, organizing Office Dynamic’s annual conference, event management, marketing, maintaining the Office Dynamic’s blog, and managing all social media outlets.