9 suggerimenti per ottenere una promozione

Probabilmente avete pensato più volte a come ottenere una promozione forse ancor prima di cominciare un nuovo lavoro. Spesso mi viene fatta questa domanda a cui in realtà non è facile rispondere, anche perché ho la sensazione che molti si aspettino di essere promossi ma senza capire che una promozione viene da un precedente duro lavoro.

Queste domande mi hanno spinto a scrivere questi nove consigli ovvi e banali su come ottenere una promozione ma spesso non presi in considerazione. Fare propri questi suggerimenti interiorizzandoli, li renderanno parte del vostro piano di carriera manageriale. E prima che ve ne accorgiate sarete state promosse!

Una delle ragioni principali per cui le persone ignorano queste semplici tecniche su come ottenere una promozione è perché sembrano progetti a lunghissimo termine. Ma non lo sono affatto. Tutto quello che dovete fare è metterle in pratica.

Li ho suddivisi in 3 sezioni principali: Piano, Attitudine e Azione.

Il Piano

1. Dove siete e perché siete proprio lì?

Come ottenere una promozione? In primo luogo è necessario avere un punto di riferimento. Chiedete a voi stesse, dove sono adesso? E perché ci sono? C'è un punto di forza che mi ha portato dove sono ora che è possibile continuare a sfruttare per la prossima promozione?

Ci sono dei punti deboli, le famose aree di miglioramento, che avete realmente bisogno di correggere prima di pensare a una prossima promozione? Si tratta di aspetti semplici ma strategici. Vi consentono di verificare i punti di forza e di debolezza. Vi costringono a valutare bene e considerare attentamente ciò che ha funzionato bene nel vostro passato e che cosa potrà funzionare ancora in futuro, aiutandovi ad evitare “errori di percorso”.

2. Dove vorreste arrivare e come ci vorreste arrivare?

Ovviamente dovete avere un obiettivo e un piano. Se volete ottenere una promozione non è sufficiente. È necessario avere ben chiaro in mente quale è la posizione: è una promozione nel vostro stesso ruolo oppure volete cambiare completamente attività? Cominciate mettendolo per iscritto.

Ora che vi siete decise e avete messo per iscritto cosa volete diventare, come dovete procedere per ottenere la promozione? Sviluppate un piano strategico per ottenere il vostro obiettivo. Se sarete fortunate, potreste anche riuscire a parlarne con il vostro capo, anche se la maggior parte dei capi non sono disponibili a discutere queste cose direttamente con voi, ma per lo meno potreste avere un idea di quali siano le aspettative.

 

L’Attitudine

3. Metteteci orgoglio, passione, e credete in quello che state facendo

Le persone che vengono promosse sono quelle che sono orgogliose del lavoro che fanno, sono quelle che sono guidate da un genuino entusiasmo e voglia di fare del loro meglio, non importa quale siano i compiti loro assegnati.
Credono in se stesse e nelle loro possibilità e condividono gli obiettivi più grandi della loro azienda, lavorando in funzione del successo sia personale che aziendale.

Come ottenere una promozione? Chiedetelo a voi stesse, vi comportate e lavorate con orgoglio, passione e convinzione?

4. Competenze e conoscenze, obiettivi e azioni

Avere autostima, passione e “crederci” è solo una parte di come ottenere una promozione. La richiesta deve essere sostenuta da competenze e conoscenze. Questo significa avere le competenze e le conoscenze necessarie per fare un lavoro eccellente. Seguire una precisa direzione – il nostro piano strategico – è importante per canalizzare l'energia generata dalla vostra passione. In caso contrario, lo sforzo è sprecato. Senza questo tipo di “azione” che è l'effettivo completamento del piano strategico, tutto il resto è un esercizio accademico fine a se stesso. Sarete sempre giudicate in base a quello che fate.

 

5. Guardate le sfide come opportunità

Un altro suggerimento ovvio su come ottenere una promozione è quello di vedere le sfide come opportunità. Molto spesso mi è capitato di essere buttata, nel vero senso della parola, ad occuparmi di incarichi impegnativi, che molte persone avrebbero visto come un compito aggiuntivo, mentre in realtà io li ho sempre visti come occasioni per far emergere il mio talento, anche in ambiti non consueti.
Se volete essere promosse, guardate le sfide come opportunità per brillare. Non lamentatevi del vostro lavoro quotidiano o di un compito assegnatovi che vi sembra troppo difficile o al di sopra delle vostre possibilità. Fidatevi di me, nessuno vuole sapere quanto duramente lavorate, perché tutti pensano che sia il loro, il lavoro più difficile.

 

L’azione

6. Quale è il vostro ruolo?

Qual è il tuo ruolo? Sei un realizzatore di nuove idee? Sei un leader? Oppure preferisci aspettare che si muovano gli altri? Sapere esattamente ciò che siete e ciò che è necessario fare per raggiungere i vostri obiettivi è fondamentale.

Conoscere la vostra parte significa essere un giocatore di squadra. Ricordate che nessuno può avere successo senza l'aiuto degli altri. Abbiamo tutti bisogno del supporto dei colleghi. Quando la squadra vince, anche non otteniamo un successo.

7. Dai il tuo massimo, ora!

Considero questo come uno dei suggerimenti fondamentali per ottenere una promozione: fate del vostro meglio ORA. Oggi. Gestite al meglio i progetti e i compiti di questa settimana.

Non crogiolatevi nella gloria del vostro ultimo successo, ormai è acqua passata e con ogni probabilità, nessun altro se ne ricorda più, soprattutto i vostri capi.

E’ oggi e ora che sono importanti.
Non pensate troppo a progetti futuri che non sono ancora stati definiti.

Questo è il futuro e non è ancora arrivato, concentratevi sul fare del vostro meglio ORA.
E’ questo che determina il giudizio su di voi, concentratevi su quello che state facendo e siate eccellenti.

8. Fate più di quanto vi è richiesto: questa è l’eccellenza

Se volete imparare come ottenere una promozione, la tecnica migliore è fare più di quanto vi è stato richiesto. Ciò significa che vi dovete sempre cercare cose nuove ed interessanti da fare, anche quando non ve le offrono e prendere l'iniziativa per dare un risultato eccellente. Questo significa che non dovete stare sedute alla vostra scrivania in attesa che il lavoro ideale vi venga a cercare.

I capi adorano avere collaboratrici che li aiutino a risolvere i problemi. Nel vostro lavoro il problem solving è una delle capacità più apprezzate e ricercate ed essere un supporto su cui contare per il proprio capo è fondamentale: mettete in campo tutta la vostra esperienza e fatevi valere. Se agirete in questo modo diventerete il vantaggio competitivo della vostra squadra.

9. Lavorate per costruirvi un percorso di crescita

Se continuate a fare il vostro solito lavoro, forse non state realmente cercando di crescere e di migliorare la vostra posizione. Le persone che vogliono ottenere una promozione sanno che se desiderano passare a un livello successivo devono darsi da fare e dimostrare che sanno fare molto di più di quello che è stato loro assegnato.

Insomma dovete mettere in evidenza il vostro potenziale e far capire che, nelle giuste condizioni voi siete assolutamente in grado di prendervi maggiori responsabilità e che volete che tutto questo vi sia riconosciuto.

 

Ovviamente, avrete sentito un'infinità di consigli su come ottenere una promozione.

Questi sono alcuni di quelli che, secondo me, possono essere messi in pratica da chi ricopre il ruolo di Manager Assistant.

Metteteli in pratica e aumenterete notevolmente le possibilità di ottenere una promozione.

Plan B - Your road to success when the marching orders come...

The essential training resource for senior

and aspiring administrative professionals

 

www.executivesecretary.com

 

 

When we, the 60s generation, began working we were absolutely sure that the job we were going to choose would last all our lives. Even if we might have decided to change companies, (though in Italy this is not common), we were able to do what we studied for and had a real possibility of finding the best job opportunity.

In the last 20 years the job environment has changed, slowly but relentlessly. In the last two years this change has been accelerated by the economic situation with companies firing people left, right and centre.

I was one of them and after six months I am still unemployed and with me, I have noticed, many women of my age, whom I refer to as the “differently young”.

In a culture where experience seems not to be considered an important skill and employers are looking only to save money, many women my age have suffered.

And the solution? Here is my Plan B.

Plan B

I took into consideration my 20 years of experience as executive assistant, the last three years as President of MACSE Italia and I thought about all the people I have met in these 20 years and the network I have. I thought about my skills and expertise and I decided to become an entrepreneur. My initial investment was only my free time.

To become an entrepreneur without spending a lot of money there are 3 steps.

Step 1

I had a lot of free time and I used it to go to all the free conferences and seminars there were in town and I became a great networker by attending associations and business meetings.

Then I used LinkedIn to increase my professional visibility and credibility. I wrote my opinions in many professional groups I was interested in and in blogs relevant to the profession I intended to work in. I built up new contacts both with colleagues and with HR managers and companies.

Last but not least I found other colleagues with whom to share the project and cooperate, each following their vocation, Roberta who wants to be a Virtual Assistant and Michela who is specialized in interviewing and resume editing.

Step 2

The most important thing: I selected the area of interest in which I was going to operate.

I am an executive assistant and during my work experience I managed and organized people

and things, I interviewed candidates, helped to develop careers and suggested and organized training. I found my niche by considering my past in order to invent my future.

My areas of competence are recruiting and training but to differentiate myself (in Italy there are more or less 14,000 training companies) I decided to focus only on executive assistants.

I intend to be the best recruiter of executive assistants because I have been one myself for 20

years and I know the role perfectly and which skills are important and necessary.

I want to be a good recruiter respecting candidates, giving correct and positive answers and timely feed-back, making them feel like people, and not just numbers. In addition I have worked in many companies and I know the internal logic that moves them.

I am the perfect training organizer because I know what executive assistants need to improve their professional performance. In the past three years through MACSE Italia activity I have had a lot of contact with trainers and discussed with them the content of many courses and seminars in order to develop an interesting and useful program.

This focuses on what is important to learn to be a successful executive assistant and to have a great career.

Step 3

When you have reached this step you are sure of what you want to do (and that it will be almost impossible to change your mind or to go back) therefore you can invest some money.

First of all choose the name and the logo of your new company. Second, if you still don’t have business cards it is time to print them.

Third, it’s a good idea to have visibility on the Internet, a website is perfect but you can begin advertising your company through LinkedIn creating a new company profile. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a website there are cheaper ways of creating a basic but really nice website, Squarespace is one that springs to mind, a drag and drop platform that anyone can build starting from $8 a month including a domain and full support.

My final suggestions are: think about what you did in your life and about what you really like and want. Identify an area where your competencies are strong and study the market in which you want to operate. Don’t imagine impossible things, but stay grounded and don’t overreach yourself.

I wish good luck to all the “differently young”!

 

About the author

Mariachiara Novati lives in Milan, has a degree in foreign languages, a Masters in HR management and a degree in marketing and communication management. With almost 20 years of experience she has changed many companies and improved her skills through different experiences and continuous learning. In 2005, accepting a new challenge, she went to Singapore where she lived and worked for two years. When she came back to Italy she founded the free website MACSE (www.macse.it) dedicated to the professional development and training of Manager Assistants and after one year she became president of the first Italian Association dedicated to Manager Assistants (www.macseitalia.it).

it.linkedin.com/in/mariachiaranovati/






 




 




 

 

 

 

The essential training resource for senior and aspiring administrative professionals

I Am So Organised Because Of A Bump In The Road

One Assistant wonders why all has gone quiet on the office front

Well, that’s another job done’, I think to myself with some satisfaction. It has been ages since I had time to sort out the hard files and archive older files. Electronically, my files are all organised so I can always find documents.

Anything significant that comes in by post or fax is scanned in straight away and filed electronically. But my hard copy files are another matter! Its something that I tend to put on the end of the long finger. It is my one organisational weakness. My PA kryptonite! I just never seem to have the time to file away documents. Anyway, I can find anything in minutes electronically; therefore, the hard files are not a priority. But lately, I have managed to get most of my ‘long finger’ jobs done.

‘What’s your new found organizational method?’ I can hear you all shout! This took me a little while to figure out myself. At first I didn’t think about it, I was just working though my task list. I was delighted that I was getting through my urgent and important tasks and then finally getting the lower priority work done too. There is something so satisfying about placing those completed ticks after each task!

But, after about a week or so of ticking off tasks and reducing my task list, I started to think that something unusual was happening. My task list was reducing, and meanwhile, very few new tasks were being added. What on earth is going on? How come my phone and email have gone very quiet lately? Where are all the colleagues asking for ‘favours’ and help with various projects? One of the reasons I like being an Executive Assistant to the Chair is because I am not attached to any one unit so I get to help out and learn about the entire organisation. The downside to this, is that I get called on for help by many managers. This can make my role very fast paced and varied. I could be helping finance one day and HR the next, then organising an event or meeting the following week.

But lately, things have become terribly quite.

Is the economy downturn starting to seriously affect us in the public sector too? I had thought that the service we provide to the public would need to be done, whatever the economic climate. Certainly, up until a few weeks ago it was business as usual. I wonder if everyone in the organisation is also in a work lull. Perhaps it’s just a week of calm before the next storm?

Well, I would have had the management meeting this week, but they have moved it from Thursday to Friday, and I am off on Friday. Therefore, I am free from minuting this three hour meeting this week. As the agenda and supporting documents are normally only finalised in the hour before the meeting I can’t really help with the meeting preparation either. Come to think of it, I also missed the last management meeting as I was out of the office then too.

I have already offered my services to the managers, but they have no work for me at the moment. The quiet is unnerving now. So, I decide to subtly ask colleagues about their workload.

The PR Officer is my first stop and she says that she is ‘up the walls busy’. In addition to her usual role in communicating with various trade and national press, she and a technical officer have even been asked to organise the logistics and facilities for a big event. Of course, she will also have to market the event and contain the usual media hype associated with such an occasion. This is strange – I am normally asked to do event logistics. Until casually speaking with the PR Officer over coffee, I wasn’t even aware of the event. Why on earth were the PR Officer and a technical officer involved with organising registration packs and catering?

The next colleague I spoke with was in a more similar role and grade to me, as an Administrative Team Support. She said that she was also very busy. So busy, in fact, that she had an application for 3 weeks leave turned down. In addition, she said that she has been asked by ‘The Executive’ (my boss) to minute the next management meeting. This was in spite of the fact that she tried to get out of facilitating the management meeting as she has a number of pressing tasks to complete for her own manager.

Once again, this meeting is something that I would normally do, but it was changed at short notice from Thursday to Friday – the day I have off on annual leave. I wonder why they didn’t bring the meeting forward to Wednesday, when I would have been available. A quick check of the manager’s diaries shows a diary gap and that the meeting could have been held on the Wednesday.

Okay, this is starting to look personal now. For the last three weeks or so, I have been avoided, cut out of email correspondences, my work handed to other people and meetings changed at short notice to dates that I am unable to attend. In addition, various queries from me to my boss have gone unanswered. The type of queries that would usually result in a reply something along the lines of: ‘Thanks for the reminder, can you arrange X or Y.’

WHAT IS GOING ON?

Have I annoyed my boss in some way? Did I do something that has displeased him so much that he feels like he is unable trust me to continue doing my job, or even talk to me about it? Perhaps he was searching for an original hard copy file? I look guiltily at the newly diminished pile in the corner. But no, he would have asked me to fetch whatever it was if he was unable to find it.

I think back to around three weeks ago to when all the strange behaviour began, and I wrack my brains for some incident that might have started all this off. I have that awful stomach churning feeling you get when you think you have lost something important, like your wallet. I am really worried about this. I resolve that whatever it is I have done, I have to fix it.

I will apologise and learn from the experience and never do it again. Surely The boss will be okay with whatever it is I have done or not done? I have been working with him for five years! But I am unable to think of any incidents that may cast aspersions on my professionalism.

I haven’t had any heated discussions with him or colleagues. I delve into my reading pile searching for the March 2012 Executive Secretary article about saying sorry, although, I am not aware of forgetting anything critical or menial.

Wasn’t there an article in that issue about getting an appraisal too?

The only thing that has changed is…but no… surely it cannot be THAT.

Not is this day and age? Isn’t that illegal? But ‘it’ is the only thing I can think of. About three weeks ago I told my boss that I was four months pregnant.

Is this the bump in my professional road?

www.excecutivesecretary.com

Abusi: quanto sono frequenti nella nostra professione

Circa un mese fa ho lanciato una poll sul nostro gruppo di LinkedIn in cui chiedevo di rispondere a una semplice domanda:

Hai mai subito abusi durante la tua vita professionale?

Le categorie di abuso che ho individuato sono:

• Abusi verbali, come urli, risposte maleducate, l’uso di appellatavi sgradevoli, le richieste rivolte come fossero ordini
• Abusi psicologici, quando il capo in modo sistematico critica tutto quello che facciamo e come lo facciamo, scatenando quello che io chiamo il senso di inadeguatezza
• Abusi fisici e qui non ho bisogno di spiegarli a nessuno

Il gruppo è costituito da 722 colleghe e queste sono le risposte ottenute:

• Hai mai subito un abuso verbale, es urli
  10 (27%)
• Psicologico, ti fanno sentire inadeguata
  18 (50%)
• Uno fisico
  2 (5%)
• Non ha mai subito nessun abuso
  6 (16%)

Significa che su 36 persone che hanno risposto l’82% ha subito abusi, il 16% non ha mai subito abusi di nessun genere e il 2% non si è espresso.

Significa che su 722 persone circa il 4% ha subito un qualsivoglia tipo di abuso dal proprio capo.

Sono cifre importanti, un vero e proprio campanello di allarme.

In realtà, come si può leggere dai commenti delle colleghe, che sono e restano riservati, gli abusi fisici sarebbero di più, ma si fa molta fatica ad ammettere di aver vissuto situazioni simili, perché per qualche strana ragione, la vittima si sente in colpa.

Anche per quanto riguarda il tema degli abusi psicologici e verbali, il senso di inadeguatezza, più che di colpa, gioca un ruolo importante.

Senza voler fare la psicologa, che non sono, mi sembra evidente che noi subiamo queste situazioni per svariati motivi personali, che possiamo ricondurre a tre macro categorie:

1. non possiamo rischiare di perdere il lavoro ribellandoci
2. non siamo psicologicamente forti per affrontare un contradditorio con il nostro capo
3. accettiamo il maltrattamento perché in un certo senso lo riteniamo giusto, il capo è un uomo – nella maggior parte dei casi, un nostro superiore – in tutti i sensi, quindi ha ragione

Il primo punto lo si può risolvere solo nel momento in cui decidiamo di averne avuto abbastanza, troviamo il coraggio di guardarci intorno e cominciamo a cercare un nuovo lavoro.

Attualmente la situazione economica non gioca a nostro favore, ma nulla e nessuno ci vieta di provarci, non si sa mai che capiti una buona occasione.

Gli altri due punti sono un po’ più complessi perché riguardano il nostro modo di essere, l’educazione che abbiamo ricevuto fin da bambine, i forti condizionamenti culturali di una società che è centrata sul maschio e che vede la donna come un appendice, sicuramente necessaria, ma sempre un appendice.

Come possiamo trovare la soluzione? vi posso dire che c’è, non è impossibile arrivarci, ma di sicuro è un percorso lungo, faticoso e a volte anche doloroso.

Alcune di noi hanno già raggiunto alcuni traguardi, hanno almeno preso coscienza della situazione e capiscono che è sbagliata e vogliono cambiarla, ma spesso non sanno come fare.

Altre neanche hanno capito che sono trattate ingiustamente, perché è da sempre che la situazione va avanti in quel modo, sin da quando, bambine, venivano messe in secondo piano rispetto al fratello.

Purtroppo comincia tutto da lì, dalla famiglia, dalle nostre madri che ci hanno educato ad essere passive, umili, disponibili e disposte ad accettare tutto, il bene, ma anche il male e che non ci hanno detto che possiamo e dobbiamo decidere per noi stesse.

Così arriviamo nel modo del lavoro con questo bel bagaglio di consigli, che a me sembra più che altro un lavaggio del cervello, pronte a dire sempre si, a stringere i denti e a non protestare mai, incapaci di negoziare per noi stesse, incapaci di chiedere per noi stesse, incapaci di dire basta.

Chi ha dei figli si faccia una domanda: cosa sarei disposta a fare per il benessere dei miei figli? certe madri arrivano ad uccidere per l’incolumità dei propri figli.

Perché allora non riusciamo ad applicare, anche solo in minima parte, questa attitudine anche nei riguardi del nostro benessere?

Perché non chiediamo mai per noi?

The case of Executive Assistants by Melba Duncan (the full article)

Harvard Business Review

The Case for Executive Assistants, by Melba J. Duncan.

Among the most striking details of the corporate era depicted in the AMC series Mad Men, along with constant smoking and mid-day drinking, is the army of secretaries who populate Sterling Cooper, the 1960s ad agency featured in the show. The secretary of those days has gone the way of the carbon copy and been replaced by the executive assistant, now typically reserved for senior management. Technologies like e-mail, voice mail, mobile devices, and online calendars have allowed managers at all levels to operate with a greater degree of self-sufficiency. At the same time, companies have faced enormous pressure to cut costs, reduce head count, and flatten organizational structures. As a result, the numbers of assistants at lower corporate levels have dwindled in most corporations. That’s unfortunate, because effective assistants can make enormous contributions to productivity at all levels of the organization.

At very senior levels, the return on investment from a skilled assistant can be substantial. Consider a senior executive whose total compensation package is $1 million annually, who works with an assistant who earns $80,000. For the organization to break even, the assistant must make the executive 8% more productive than he or she would be working solo—for instance, the assistant needs to save the executive roughly five hours in a 60-hour workweek. In reality, good assistants save their bosses much more than that. They ensure that meetings begin on time with prep material delivered in advance. They optimize travel schedules and enable remote decision making, keeping projects on track. And they filter the distractions that can turn a manager into a reactive type who spends all day answering e-mail instead of a leader who proactively sets the organization’s agenda. As Robert Pozen writes in this issue: A top-notch assistant “is crucial to being productive.”

That’s true not only for top executives. In their zeal to cut administrative expenses, many companies have gone too far, leaving countless highly paid middle and upper managers to arrange their own travel, file expense reports, and schedule meetings. Some companies may be drawn to the notion of egalitarianism they believe this assistant-less structure represents—when workers see the boss loading paper into the copy machine, the theory goes, a “we’re all in this together” spirit is created. But as a management practice, the structure rarely makes economic sense. Generally speaking, work should be delegated to the lowest-cost employee who can do it well. Although companies have embraced this logic by outsourcing work to vendors or to operations abroad, back at headquarters they ignore it, forcing top talent to misuse their time. As a longtime recruiter for executive assistants, I’ve worked with many organizations suffering from the same problem: There’s too much administrative work and too few assistants to whom it can be assigned.

Granting middle managers access to an assistant—or shared resources—can give a quick boost to productivity even at lean, well-run companies. Firms should also think about the broader developmental benefits of providing assistants for up-and-coming managers. The real payoff may come when the manager arrives in a job a few levels up better prepared and habitually more productive. An experienced assistant can be particularly helpful if the manager is a new hire. The assistant becomes a crucial on-boarding resource, helping the manager read and understand the organizational culture, guiding him or her through its different (and difficult) personalities, and serving as a sounding board during the crucial acclimation. In this way, knowledgeable assistants are more than a productivity asset: They’re reverse mentors, using their experience to teach new executives how people are expected to behave at that level in the organization.

Getting the Most from Assistants

Two critical factors determine how well a manager utilizes an assistant. The first is the executive’s willingness to delegate pieces of his or her workload to the assistant. The second is the assistant’s willingness to stretch beyond his or her comfort zone to assume new responsibilities.

Delegating wisely.

The most effective executives think deeply about the pieces of their workload that can be taken on—or restructured to be partially taken on—by the assistant. Triaging and drafting replies to e-mails is a central task for virtually all assistants. Some executives have assistants listen in on phone calls in order to organize and follow up on action items. Today many assistants are taking on more-supervisory roles: They’re managing information flow, dealing with basic financial management, attending meetings, and doing more planning and organizing. Executives can help empower their assistants by making it clear to the organization that the assistant has real authority. The message the executive should convey is, “I trust this person to represent me and make decisions.”

Not every executive is well-suited for this type of delegating. Younger managers in particular have grown up with technology that encourages self-sufficiency. Some have become so accustomed to doing their own administrative tasks that they don’t communicate well with assistants. These managers should think of assistants as strategic assets and realize that part of their job is managing the relationship to get the highest possible return.

Stretching the limits.

Great assistants proactively look for ways to improve their skills. When I was the assistant to Pete Peterson, the former U.S. commerce secretary and head of Lehman Brothers, I took night classes in law, marketing, and presentations to burnish my skills. Today I see executive assistants learning new languages and technologies to improve their performance working for global corporations.

In my work, I frequently encounter world-class executive assistants. Loretta Sophocleous is the executive assistant to Roger Ferguson, the president and CEO of TIAA-CREF; her title is Director, Executive Office Operations. She manages teams. She leads meetings. Roger says that he runs many decisions past Loretta before he weighs in.

Another example is Noreen Denihan, whom I placed over 13 years ago as the executive assistant to Donald J. Gogel, the president and CEO of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC. According to Don, Noreen fills an informal leadership role, has an unparalleled ability to read complex settings, and can recognize and respond to challenging people and circumstances. “A spectacular executive assistant can defy the laws of the physical world,” Gogel says. “She [or he] can see around corners.”

Trudy Vitti is the executive assistant to Kevin Roberts, the CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi. Often when you ask him a question, he’ll say, “Ask Trudy.” He travels for weeks at a time and says that he has utter confidence in Trudy to run the office in his absence.

Compared with managers in other countries, those in the United States do a better job of delegating important work to their assistants—and of treating them as a real part of the management team. Outside the United States, educational requirements for assistants are less intensive, salaries are lower, and the role is more typically described as personal assistant.

You can often tell a lot about an executive’s management style—and effectiveness—from the way he interacts with his assistant. Can the executive trust and delegate, or does he micromanage? Do assistants like working for her, or does she have a history of many assistants leaving quickly or being fired? Not every boss–assistant relationship is made in heaven, but an executive’s ability to manage conflicts with an assistant can be an important indicator of his overall ability to manage people.

Finding the Right Fit

Hiring the right assistant can be a challenge. In some ways, it’s trickier than filling traditional management positions, because personal chemistry and the one-on-one dynamic are so important—sometimes more so than skills or experience.

Expert assistants understand the unspoken needs and characteristics of the people with whom they work.

They have high levels of emotional intelligence:

They respond to subtle cues and react with situational appropriateness.

They pay close attention to shifts in an executive’s behavior and temperament and understand that timing and judgment are the foundation of a smooth working relationship.

A good assistant quickly learns what an executive needs, what his or her strengths and weaknesses are, what might trigger anger or stress, and how to best accommodate his or her personal style.

Good matches are hard to come by: That’s the reason so many good assistants follow an executive from job to job.

After many years of debriefing assistants who’ve been fired, I’ve identified several factors that make for bad relationships. The most common missteps an assistant makes are misreading the corporate culture, failing to build bridges with other assistants, failing to ask enough questions about tasks, agreeing to take on too much work, and speaking to external parties without authorization. Bosses usually contribute to these deteriorating relationships by not being open in their communications or not being clear about expectations.

There’s an assistant I placed recently who’s having trouble developing the right relationship with her boss. The executive called me and said, “Melba, I expected her to read through these memos and then get them out very quickly to my managers. But she left them on my desk, didn’t call me over the weekend, and didn’t send them out.” I asked the assistant about it, and she said, “He didn’t tell me it was important—I can’t read someone’s mind.” But in fact, in this job you’re supposed to be able to read minds—or, at the very least, you’re supposed to ask questions.

Simply put, the best executive assistants are indispensable. Microsoft will never develop software that can calm a hysterical sales manager, avert a crisis by redrafting a poorly worded e-mail, smooth a customer’s ruffled feathers, and solve a looming HR issue—all within a single hour, and all without interrupting the manager to whom such problems might otherwise have proven a distraction.

Executive assistants give companies and managers a human face.

They’re troubleshooters, translators, help desk attendants, diplomats, human databases, travel consultants, amateur psychologists, and ambassadors to the inside and outside world.

After years of cutting back, companies can boost productivity by arming more managers with this kind of help—and executives who are fortunate enough to have a skilled assistant can benefit by finding ways to delegate higher-level work to him or her.

Executive–assistant relationships are business partnerships: Strong ones are win-wins between smart people. In fact, they’re win-win-wins because ultimately the companies reap the benefits.

Dressing for summer in the office can be tough

Dressing for summer in the office can be tough. Ninety-degree weather and a suit jacket don’t exactly mix, but neither do guys in shorts and corporate boardrooms. Not to mention the fact that, at any given point during the summer, it’s about 40 degrees cooler in the average office building than it is outside.
But it is possible to create a summer work wardrobe that’s comfortable yet professional, and cool yet collected. Here’s how.

1. No flip flops: Ladies, this faux-pas is typically committed by you, so listen up: “Flip flops are beach wear which transpired into ‘commuter-wear’ and then slowly into office wear,” says Lizandra Vega, author of “The Image of Success: Make a Great Impression and Land the Job You Want.”
Not only do they look unprofessional, but their namesake “flip-flop” noise is an easy way to drive your co-workers nuts every time you walk by their desks, so opt for strappy sandals, espadrilles or ballet flats instead.

2. Choose light colors: “Lighter color garments help you keep cool during hot summer months,” Vega says. “Dark colors absorb heat, while light colors reflect heat.” That said; make sure the color isn’t too light. See below.

3. No peep shows: Summer clothing is often made of lightweight, lightly colored fabric. This can make for a comfortable commute, but it can also make for awkward over exposure. “Avoid apparel in fabrics that are so lightweight that they are see-through,” Vega says.

4. Wear an undershirt: It may seem counter-intuitive to add an extra layer when it’s hot out, but (men especially), if you don’t already wear an undershirt, you might want to start now. The extra layer will help absorb sweat during a mid-summer commute.
“Wearing a cotton undershirt actually helps men feel cooler as it will absorb perspiration,” Vega says. “[Plus],if a lighter fabric shirt is chosen, the undershirt will prevent it from being see-through.”

5. For women, dresses are best: Women are at a serious advantage when it comes to dressing for summer at the office for one simple reason: They can wear dresses.
“Dresses are a great option because it avoids having to wear a jacket,” Vega says. “A wrap dress, a sheath or shift dress are appropriate options.”
If you will be forgoing the jacket, look for styles with short or three-quarter length sleeves, even sleeveless if you feel comfortable. Tank-style dresses are too casual for the office without a jacket or cardigan, though.

6. Keep an extra layer at work: Women can keep a wrap or lightweight, neutral-colored cardigan in their desks in case the air conditioning is kicked into overdrive. Men can do the same with a blazer or sweater.
What is your go-to outfit for summer? What’s the biggest faux-pas for office attire? Share your opinions in the comments section, below.

The Case for Executive Assistants, by Melba Duncan

Ecco i punti rilevanti dell'articolo che diventerà la Bibbia di MACSE Italia:

... companies have faced enormous pressure to cut costs, reduce head count, and flatten organizational structures. As a result, the numbers of assistants at lower corporate levels have dwindled in most corporations. That’s unfortunate, because effective assistants can make enormous contributions to productivity at all levels of the organization.

At very senior levels, the return on investment from a skilled assistant can be substantial.

... the assistant must make the executive 8% more productive than he or she would be working solo ... In reality, good assistants save their bosses much more than that.

Granting middle managers access to an assistant—or shared resources—can give a quick boost to productivity even at lean, well-run companies.

An experienced assistant can be particularly helpful if the manager is a new hire. The assistant becomes a crucial on-boarding resource, helping the manager read and understand the organizational culture, guiding him or her through its different (and difficult) personalities, and serving as a sounding board during the crucial acclimation.

Two critical factors determine how well a manager utilizes an assistant. The first is the executive’s willingness to delegate pieces of his or her workload to the assistant. The second is the assistant’s willingness to stretch beyond his or her comfort zone to assume new responsibilities.

They’re managing information flow, dealing with basic financial management, attending meetings, and doing more planning and organizing. Executives can help empower their assistants by making it clear to the organization that the assistant has real authority. The message the executive should convey is, “I trust this person to represent me and make decisions.”

Outside the United States, educational requirements for assistants are less intensive, salaries are lower, and the role is more typically described as personal assistant.

Hiring the right assistant can be a challenge. In some ways, it’s trickier than filling traditional management positions, because personal chemistry and the one-on-one dynamic are so important—sometimes more so than skills or experience.

Executive assistants give companies and managers a human face.
They’re troubleshooters, translators, help desk attendants, diplomats, human databases, travel consultants, amateur psychologists, and ambassadors to the inside and outside world.

Autostima, ne siamo sufficientemente provviste?

Recentemente ho parlato con alcune colleghe a proposito di comuni esperienze lavorative e abbiamo scoperto di avere un vissuto molto simile.

Abbiamo avuto infatti dei capi estremamente esigenti.

In che modo queste esigenze, quando diventano eccessive, possono essere arginate?

Io credo che molto dipenda dal nostro livello di autostima.

Citando Wikipedia:

“L'autostima è il processo soggettivo e duraturo che porta il soggetto a valutare e apprezzare se stesso tramite l'autoapprovazione del proprio valore personale fondato su autopercezioni. La parola auto-stima deriva appunto dal termine "stima", ovvero la valutazione e l'apprezzamento di se stessi e degli altri.
Il nostro senso di autostima deriva da: elementi cognitivi ovvero il bagaglio di conoscenze di una persona, la conoscenza di sé e di situazioni che vengono vissute dal soggetto; elementi affettivi che vanno ad influenzare la nostra sensibilità nel provare e ricevere sentimenti, che possono essere stabili, chiari e liberanti; elementi sociali che condizionano l'appartenenza a qualche gruppo e la possibilità di avere un'influenza sul gruppo, di ricevere approvazione o meno dai componenti di quest'ultimo.

Nei vari anni in campo psicologico sono stati portati avanti numerosi studi sull'autostima, un esempio tra questi è la ricerca di William James (1890/1983) il quale definisce l'autostima come rapporto tra sé percepito e sé ideale; il primo è la considerazione che un individuo elabora su di sé in base alle caratteristiche che dal suo punto di vista sono presenti o assenti all'interno della sua vita, il sé ideale è invece l'idea di come vorrebbe essere e del modello di vita che sta prendendo in considerazione.

Secondo lo studioso la persona percepisce bassa autostima nel momento in cui il suo sé percepito non riesce a raggiungere il livello del suo sé ideale e quanto più grande è la discrepanza tra i due, tanto più nasce in un soggetto insoddisfazione (nel caso in cui il sé percepito sia di gran lunga minore) e alto senso di potere e successo (quando il sé percepito supera di molto il sé ideale).

Si può arrivare a dire che secondo James il senso di autostima derivi dal rapporto tra successo e aspettative, infatti senza dubbio la maggior parte dei fattori che va a condizionare la creazione del personale livello di autostima discende dai risultati/esiti delle prove che siamo chiamati ad affrontare quotidianamente.”

Questo credo sia il motivo per cui non riusciamo a mettere i famosi paletti che delimitano la nostra sopravvivenza e lasciamo che un altro ci obblighi a fare cose che non vorremmo fare e che, a volte limitano anche la nostra libertà.

In pratica non sappiamo dire no agli orari prolungati all’eccesso, alle richieste di fare cose che poco hanno a che vedere con la professione della Manager Assistant, a compiti di basso profilo.

A questo punto mi pare evidente che il risultato che ne consegue è che la nostra autostima, dato che “la creazione del personale livello di autostima discende dai risultati/esiti delle prove che siamo chiamati ad affrontare quotidianamente” sparisce completamente a fronte delle mansioni assegnate.

Credo che ognuna di noi dovrebbe volersi un po’ più di bene e cominciare a dire di no.