Castalia Coaching & Training's Official Blog

Review of 2011 and a very big Thank You

2011-12-31T13:27:00.000Z

To follow shorty.

RIP Steve Jobs: The man who didn't know what impossible meant

2011-10-06T10:29:00.000+01:00

6 Key Steps to Effective Decision Making as PAs & EAs

2011-10-04T11:51:00.004+01:00

As PAs and EAs we need to make many decisions every day, some have very little consequences, i.e. whether you have toast or cereal for breakfast, but others have a much greater impact on our lives and the consequences of these decisions can affect our professional reputation and our own, and our boss’s, success or failure, i.e. if you choose to put a call through to your boss from the Chairman five minutes before he/she gets on a 13 hour flight or not. If we don’t make clear, informed decisions we still get a result but we have potentially lost control of the outcomes and life just happens at us, rather than with us.

Why is this skill so important to PAs? Because our lives are based around making decisions for our bosses and ourselves, whether that be in event management, managing the careers and direction of teams of PAs, or what information, and who, gets through to our bosses - you’re making executive level decisions every day that have far reaching consequences and it’s crucial that we have a frame work to get it right.

All successful PAs and EAs, without expectation, need to cultivate the ability to make clear and confident decisions on behalf of their boss quickly and accurately.

Effective decision making puts us in control of our circumstances and is about making transparent, informed and pro-active assessments and choices. It is in fact a hugely complex and in-depth subject, there are a multitude of internal and external factors that influence how we make decisions. I’m not going to cover all of these here, what I’m going to do is offer you an effective framework for you to start to put into practice and apply to enhance your own personal and professional decision making skills.

1. Define what exactly the actual decision to be made is.

If we let our minds speed away with us it’s easy to leave out important information that we do actually require to make a fully informed decision, we start to *filter* and make assumptions based on our previous experience and our own personal values. Stop for a moment and think analytically. Start off by analysing and identifying the issues that the decision must address. What is the decision to be made? Why am I making this decision? What is my aim and objective of making this decision? What will be consequences of making this decision be?

2. Fully understand the context in which the decision is being made.

Each situation that you face is unique, whilst our previous experience is an important baseline of knowledge we can draw from, be cautious of a *one size fits all* approach to decision making. You’ll need to consider many factors that will influence the context of the decision to be made. If you are making a decision on whether or not to put a call through to your boss from the Chairman before a 13 hour flight but have similar previous experience of putting a call through in which your boss was furious because he/she missed their flight because of it, consider the new context. Is the situation the same, what is going on with the company right now, if in the middle of a takeover, this call has a very different context to your last experience of putting a call through at a time critical moment.

3. What options do you have available to you.

Get creative and don’t box yourself in, this is the time to let your mind run wild and think up as many outrageous solutions as possible – if you don’t dream it, it can never happen. Get input from others outside of the situation, brain storm, develop your ideas. If your boss needs to be meeting with 3 different clients in 3 different cities in one day don’t automatically think “This can’t be done.” Think “how can this be done”. Do the meetings need to be formal; will an evening dinner work just as well? Does the meeting need to be in person: will video conferencing work just as well? Is the location set in stone; would hosting one of the meetings at a novel or unusual venue closer to one of the other meetings work?

4. Assess the consequences of your decision

The assessment of the consequences of your decision is about which option will produce the optimum result in relation to the context and your objectives of making your decision. It involves understanding the very real consequence of your decision. One way to assess the consequences of a decision is to ask yourself: “How much will I regret making this decision”. Decision making isn’t about not taking a risk; it’s about what is a reasonable risk and assessing the consequences of those risks.

5. Prioritise your options – and chose one

Having analysed, brain stormed and assessed your options, you should have arrived at a list of possible ways forward. Now is the time to commit to your decision, own it and ensure that you can justify the why’s and the how’s of your decision. Have you understood the context? Do you know what the options are and the consequences of each? Is your reason decisive and convincing?

6. Obtain buy-in and support for your decision – take action

If your decision involves other people it is critical to get their buy-in for you to be able to implement it. If you have decided to select a particular venue for the next Management Meeting that hasn’t been used before and is 100 miles further away for people to travel you must be able to validate your decision, the reasons that you took it, and the benefits to the Management Team. If you are confident that you have addressed each of the steps above and can demonstrate the advantages of your decision you should have no trouble at all in justifying your decision.

As mentioned above, decision making is a complex psychological area that is driven by many different internal and external factors. The above points provide a foundation structure to allow you to become more confident and methodical with the decisions you need to make on a daily basis. If you are interested in developing your decision making and problem solving skills further you might benefit from our 1 day intensive training course The Strategic Business Assistant which covers these subjects in depth.

* Preview of article written for International Confex PA Day 8th March 2012

Quote of the week...

2011-09-22T10:21:00.002+01:00

"If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning." ~ Catherine Aird

The Office* Show 2011 - A personal review

2011-09-19T08:03:00.007+01:00

Well, the Office* Show 2011 is over, the stands have been broken down and packed away, the pink carpet rolled up and the seminar theatres returned to empty rooms devoid of the sounds of networking, laughing and engaged PAs.

Running for the second time in London’s famous Earls Court Exhibition Centre it was a huge event dedicated to the working lives of Executive PAs, EAs and Office Managers, it launched the first ever National PA Day and welcomed approximately 5,000 professional Assistants through its doors, close to 200 exhibitors and a glitzy party at London’s Planet Hollywood complete with drag artists, not to mention the celebrity key note speakers and a Ricky Gervais impersonator and a flash mob.

So what’s the verdict? Was it worth all the travelling, time away from the office and wear and tear on the shoe leather of walking miles around the show each day?

The Castalia Coaching & Training Stand

From my perspective... yes, absolutely. It was a great chance to catch up with lots of old friends that I’ve made over the years and the Show gave so many PAs the opportunity to all be in the same place at the same time; to network with peers, share experiences, learn and meet new suppliers. I met hundreds of PAs in my training seminars and on the exhibiting stand who wanted to talk about their development and hope to be able to welcome many of them onto our training courses in the future to support them to develop and grow in their roles.

We were delighted to have hundreds of new subscribers to our monthly PA Development Bulletin who I hope will enjoy reading about news and events from the PA industry and benefit from the development articles and maybe win the odd prize or two from the competitions that we run throughout the year.

Personal Effectivness in an Executive Environment Seminar

The seminars seemed to go extremely well, for many PAs with limited access to training budgets this show is a valuable opportunity to learn and develop new skills that they might not necessarily be able to do otherwise, it is a huge part of the appeal of the Show and I hope that everyone who attended my seminars came away inspired with some new found skills to apply back at work. And even though the Show itself seemed a little quieter on the second day, the seminars certainly weren’t, with a capacity of 80 in our seminar theatre, we counted in 98 PAs to our Friday morning session on Personal Effectiveness in an Executive Environment, and had people sitting on the floor and standing but everyone who came along to it seemed to have a great time.

Sadly I personally didn’t attend the Show party at Planet Hollywood, being in the middle of the show and running seminars the next day; I popped myself into bed for an early night to be fresh for the second day of running my seminars - well that was the plan to start with but ended up having several glasses of wine with the lovely Lucy Brazier who owns Executive Secretary Magazine, and that's kind of the point of this Show, you end up meeting new people and making new friends. I had great chats with everyone from the pa-assist.com team to Executive PA Magazine, I heard all about the fabulous new PA Life and the exciting things the IPA are up to. But a personal plea to the Office Show organisers – can we have the party on the second night of the show next year, it sounded fantastic and I do so hate to miss a good party!!!

All in all a great event, it’s the PAs and EAs that make it or break it, and I hope that all who attended found benefit from networking with fellow PAs, to the Key Note Speakers, meeting new suppliers and the training seminars. This show is the biggest and best - and I'm already looking foward to next year.

Laura, Gerry, Susie, Sophia & Lisa

I’d also like to add my heartfelt personal thanks to the Castalia Coaching & Training team: Gerry, Sophia, Laura and Lisa who where all completely fabulous and worked amazingly hard to make the Show a success for Castalia – thank you ladies from the bottom of my heart :)

So did you attend? I’d love to hear your verdicts as well, how was it for you?

Quote of the week...

2011-09-01T07:38:00.002+01:00

"There is no such thing as failure. There are only results." ~ Tony Robbins

Business networking for PAs & EAs – is it really worth it?

2011-08-29T10:57:00.006+01:00

With the UK’s largest Expo for senior level PAs just around the corner, I’ve turned my mind to the reasons and benefits of business networking for PAs. The Office* Show (www.officeshow.co.uk) will attract around 5,000 PAs and EAs and hundreds of exhibitors, there will be parties, seminars, keynote speeches, competitions and many other attractions to the event specifically aimed at PAs. There are of course, many other business events for PAs, with more and more networking groups springing up every month. So why are we seeing a rise in networking events and what are the benefits?

Well, firstly to answer the question in the title of this blog – is it really worth it - the answer for me is a huge resounding YES! Networking is one of the strongest business tools we have available to us and most of the time it’s fun as well – that sounds like a win-win to me! If you’re new to the world of business networking, it really can feel like an overwhelming prospect, walking into a room full of strangers, initiating conversations, talking about yourself – and the most overwhelming thing of all – SELLING YOURSELF!!

Ok, so let’s break this down a little. There are two things I’d like to look at here. Firstly, I’d like to breakdown the reasons and benefits of business networking, and secondly, how to do it effectively and make it work for your own benefit.

Reasons and benefits to business networking

1. Sharing experiences. Over the last couple of years the profession of being a PA has taken massive leaps forward in terms of how the role is viewed – as a profession, but we all know that being a senior PA can still remain an isolated position at times. By linking in with other professional PAs you can share your experiences, the highs along with the lows. I talk a lot about the idea of creating a ‘professional identity’, and networking with your peers will give you just that, the feeling of belonging to a profession.

2. Benching marking best practice. By sharing best practice with your peers across industries you are able to bench mark your own working practices and learn about new innovations in technology and skill development that will support your own continued high performance.

3. Sharing information. By increasing your professional network you will increase your access to a huge pool of information of suppliers, recommendations of good and bad services and have instant access to the success (and failures) of your peers.

4. Enhance your career prospects. Should the worst happen and you are made redundant, or the time has come for you to move on from your current role, your network will be an invaluable source of information for new opportunities.

How to become a successful business networker

1. Relax and be yourself! You’re not walking into a vipers nest, you’re walking into a room full of people feeling the exactly the same way that you are! You’re all in the same boat and other people will be genuinely interested to know the real you, putting on a false front will be seen through and diminish your credibility.

2. Make a positive first impression. When you walk into the room for the first time – do it positively! Walk with purpose, our mothers where right when they told us to stand up straight and put our shoulders back and get our hair out of faces! Make direct eye contact, smile and practice a firm hand shake.

3. Practice your opening line and have a few questions up your sleeve. “Hi, my name is Jane Smith, I’m an EA at Global Bank, this is my first time at this event, have you been here before?” Your opening line/question will set the tone for the conversation; practice it until you are confident in its delivery. Keep it positive – no moaning about the delayed train on the way to the event!

4. Be interested in others. Networking is a two way street, focus on the other person you are talking to, ask questions, find out about who they work for, what their specialities are and find common ground. What are their passions, their challenges; can you offer them any recommendations? Ask if they can offer you any recommendations, people love to be asked their opinions!

5. Professional appearance. I love the saying “dress for the job you want, not for the job you have”. Pull out all the stops when it comes to your personal appearance at networking events. Best bib and tucker are the order of the day, like it or not we’re all judged on our physical appearance. This doesn’t mean go and blow 3 months’ salary on a Channel Suit, it means being smart, clean and professional – colour never goes amiss either. At you next networking event, look around and see what stands out – colour...

6. Follow up. Meeting your peers at a networking event is the first step in building a long term relationship. It’s is essential for you to have a follow up plan which is why business cards are a vital tool for you. Connect on LinkedIn and suggest connecting again at another networking event. On the subject of LinkedIn, if you’re not on it – you need to be, in my opinion it’s the best online networking business resource out there. It’s a great resource for not only connect with your contacts but a great resource for information and articles (such as this one). Please feel free to connect with me on there and add me to your network.

7. Have fun! Business networking shouldn’t be a chore, it should be fun. Sure you need to have a clear purpose of attending events, but life is short and happy people are the most successful and draw people in with their magnetism. Relax and enjoy!

So be brave, get yourself out there and start networking and never forget the saying: It’s not what you know, it’s who you know...

Quote of the week...

2011-08-13T09:35:00.002+01:00

Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach. ~ Tony Robbins

5 strategies to improve unreceptive or defensive Executive PA team dynamics

2011-08-10T20:41:00.003+01:00

We’re seeing more and more organisations formally bringing the team of Executive PAs together in a more structured and focused way, as a visible and cohesive team that underpins the operations of the leadership team. I’m a great supporter of this, I think there is a long list of benefits to the PAs in terms of *Professional Identity*, knowledge sharing, information sharing, mentoring, sharing skills, team building, career structure, support... the list goes on and on... And Executives themselves benefit from a greater consistency of support - really, I am a huge fan of internal PA Networks.

Over the last month or so, I’ve been speaking to 4 or 5 separate companies about internal training programmes for Executive PAs, and one subject that seems to be re-occurring currently is that the team dynamics can be tricky to manage, that within the PA teams there are varying degrees of support for the internal PA network framework and that buy-in and dynamics can, at times be spiky, and at worst, outright hostile and aggressive.

Not a positive or happy place to be, so I’d like to look at 5 ways in which PAs themselves can actively nurture an atmosphere that really supports ALL the members of the PA team to contribute, be involved and benefit from the team structure.

1. Respect is key. Accept that each of the PAs come from different age groups, backgrounds, personalities, experiences, and have different responsibilities and pressures – and of course, very different bosses to support. You don’t have to be best friends with everyone on the team, but you do need to building effective working relationships with them, for you to be performing as a team which ultimate supports your own personal effectiveness. Allow people their foibles – none of us are perfect – be tolerant to different personality types.

2. Through experience of working with PA teams I have absolutely come to accept that a flat structure works best. All groups need strong leadership and direction, but when all of the PAs have ownership of the success and outputs of the group, the group does tend to be a more harmonious and stable environment. A *revolving chair* at the team meetings is an effective way to achieve this, although I would avoid forcing somebody who is utterly terrified of the prospect of chairing a meeting into it, and another role allocated to them. I have yet to come across a congruous PA team that has been aggressively “managed” or told what they should be doing by another PA.

3. Stay focused on a relevant and constructive business agenda. Nobody wants to waste their time attending meetings that have no relevance to them, especially if finding the time to fit the meeting in is challenging in itself. Ask all of the PAs what they would like to achieve during the meetings and get their buy-in, create a purpose and agenda that meets the needs of the team. The fastest way to lose the credibility of the PA team is for meetings to be held too regularly and then descend into coffee morning gossip sessions and moaning about what biscuits are in the kitchen. (I’ve seen it happen). Stay focused on the business purpose.

4. Utilise the strengths of individual team members. We all have different strengths and talents – draw on this. Find out what people love doing – do you have a passionate writer in the group, would they like to take ownership of a newsletter? Do you have a technical whizz who would like to set up an intranet page or SharePoint? Social planner, budding Excel trainer, data gatherer.... the list is yours to create...

5. Have fun!! There has been a great deal of buzz around some new management research recently into what makes the most productive employees, and top of the list is happy people! Of course we have to be business focused and professional, but there’s always space for some fun. Suggest some icebreaking exercises to get to know each other better at the start of meetings, a quarterly lunch or even a theatre trip. I worked with a great organisation that had 17 PAs who managed to convince management to fund an away day for the PAs as a team building exercises – they had a blast, and are a really strong example of a cohesive, corporative and effective team.

I’ve seen some exemplar models of Executive PA teams; I’ve also seen the opposite, and I’ve seen destructive and uncooperative teams turn into amazing productive and happy teams. We’ve all watched The Apprentice or Big Brother, and we’ve all seen that when the teams are working together on tasks they win, when they are fighting amongst themselves, they lose. Commit to making your Executive PA Team a positive example to the organisation, something that you are proud to be involved in. Oh, and don’t forget number 5!!

Quote of the week...

2011-07-21T10:57:00.002+01:00

Don't let someone else's opinion of you become your reality. ~ Les Brown

The 5 most important attributes of an exceptional PA/EA

2011-07-18T16:32:00.004+01:00

I was recently asked what I thought where the 5 most important attributes of an exceptional PA/EA are, and guess what - it’s turned into a blog, and it’s actually quite a tough question to answer!

There are so many skills and attributes that make PAs and EAs exceptional, and I have a tendency to focus on behaviours and attitudes rather than just ‘technical’ skills as there are a million PAs out there with brilliant technical skills (i.e. IT packages) but I believe it’s the behaviours that make a PA stand out as exceptional.

1. Strong Communication Skills

Possessing strong communication skills is always going to come out top for me, and it also encompasses so much! Developing our communication skills enables us to get things done with the many many people that we interact with as PAs on a daily basis. Influencing skills, negotiation skills, listening (accurately), rapport building, assertiveness, presentation skills and delegation can all come under this heading – it’s a biggie! Develop your communication skills and you will develop your reputation and effectiveness.

2. Relationship builder

This is an extension of communication skills; it’s who you use your communication skills on. Understanding who is important to you in your role and actively building a reputation as a well connected individual (and I’ve blogged about this before). Identify the key players in your professional life and strategically manage them.

3. Structured, controlled and detail driven

“The devil is in the detail” Too true!! As a PA/EA detail is the name of the game and it’s your responsibility to put the systems and structures in place to ensure that no stone is left unturned when it comes to the details. Being disciplined with your own internal structures and putting effective systems in place allows you to manage the details.

4. Strategic thinking

The reverse side of the coin from the above point! Yeap, as a PA/EA you have to be both detail driven and look up and see the bigger picture. This is about thinking big picture, thinking about what’s happening in the future and your role in that and ensuring that you keep your eye half on the future and half on the here and now.

5. Pro-active, focused and motivated!

Pushing forward with high energy, having the confidence to input into the effectiveness of the relationship you have with your Executive. After all you’re the expert at being a PA/EA – put your ideas forward, focus on improving business relationships and systems. Energy is infectious, tap into your creativity and ideas and push them forward!

I could go on and on about so many more attributes of being exceptional - but these are my top 5! I'd love to hear what you feel are the most important attributes as well...

Quote of the week...

2011-07-16T09:19:00.004+01:00

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart ~ Confucius

Strategically managing relationships and the expectations of your key stakeholders...

2011-07-11T10:15:00.001+01:00

As an Executive PA there are many people around us that contribute to our success in the role. Being a PA is not an isolated position, we rely heavily on the input and cooperation of many different people at all levels within the organisation and often, external people/companies as well.

In the May Office* Elite newsletter I wrote about the need to clearly identify who these people are, and the need to create a personal *Map of Influence*. I now want to go into greater depth about how we manage each of these relationships to reach successful working relationships and ultimately reach business success as an Executive PA as a collaborative and successful Assistant who manages critical communication that satisfies each of your key stakeholder groups.

I want to create a strategy for you to communicate your key *stakeholders*, I want to think in terms of *Power* and *Interest* and these can be broken down into four main categories, those with:

High Power, High Interest High Power, Low Interest

Low Power, High Interest Low Power, Low Interest

All of your stakeholders that you identified on your *Map of Influence* will fit into one of these four groups and each group needs to be communicated with differently in order to satisfy their needs.

High Power, high interest people (Collaboration Strategy):

The people affiliated with this category are the ones that will need to be fully informed about your role, actions and decisions. This group needs a high level of two way communication. Your own Executive will fall into this group.

High Power, low interest people (Involve Strategy):

This group of people will be satisfied if positive results are presented. At the same time, make sure these stakeholders are not becoming uninterested and bored with any communications, do not over communicate with this group.

Low Power, high interest people (Monitor Strategy):

These people will need to be communicated with frequently to make sure that no issues concern them. These people often pay very close attention to detail and to the look and measurement of what’s going on but hold little power or influence.

Low Power, low interest people (Maintain Strategy):

This category is usually people with little involvement with your role, but they should still be monitored. Do not over communicate with this group with constant communication.

Once you have identified where those from your *Map of Influence* fit into each categories, you are in a much stronger position to manage how, and the frequency, with which you communicate with them, enabling you to keep them engaged and informed in confident and successful way.

* Preview of article written for the July Office* Elite Newsletter

Ode to my PA...

2011-06-09T15:29:00.000+01:00

I’m going to be away from the office, and the UK, for two and half weeks very soon, and I’ve just had my final debrief with my PA Gerry. It has made me release JUST how grateful I am for the relationship we have! Castalia is my company, my baby, that I’ve grown and loved and nurtured over the years and handing that over to someone else could feel terrifying – but it doesn’t, Gerry’s in charge and I have absolute and complete trust that she will run things with commitment, dedication and efficiency. She’ll be in touch with anything that needs my attention, and will hold back things that can wait until I get back; her judgement is impeccable.

As we’re a small specialist company Gerry wears many hats. She’s straight forward, direct and says things like they are to me and offers opinions and advice, and she’s friendly, efficient and helpful to all our clients and other business associates.

There really is no greater asset than a fantastic PA who you have unshakable trust with, who knows your priorities, likes/dislikes, fills in the gaps of your weakness (yes, I’ll sort out my receipts before I go!) and makes decisions and acts with good judgement.

Only problem is she has twins – that’ll double the stuffed Kola/Kangaroo count on the way back...

Thanks Gerry J

8 effective ways for PAs to defuse hostile behaviour

2011-06-07T08:15:00.000+01:00

I was coaching a PA last week who was experiencing hostility/aggressive behaviour from someone with within her organisation – in this instance, it happened to be middle manager wanting access to her boss.
Now, there are many reasons why people might be hostile towards PAs – personal style, lack of awareness, poor professional communication skills, power trips, frustration, company culture etc. And I’m not going to go into the many, and often complex, reasons for this in this article, (watch out for a future blog about this) but I do want to give you a couple of quick wins as to how to defuse antagonistic/aggressive behaviour from your *customers* if it is aimed at you....

PAs & EAs are, of course, a representative and reflection of their Executive, and are quite often dealing with tricky personalities (and situations) at all levels, whether that be an internal or external customer, and by customer, I mean anyone that you interact with and needs information/action/assistance from you. I do think it’s quite useful to think of all of your key stake holders as customers – and to think in terms of customer service.

How you deal with an aggressive individual has a lot resting on it – and is something that we do a great deal of work around in our training courses, for good reason. Defusing antagonistic behaviours to get to a workable solution and influencing your *customers* in a positive or negative way is often pivotal to your success in a particular task, project or relationship – and whether your reputation stays intact. People will talk about their experiences with you/your Executive/your company - for better or for worse.

So here are a couple of guidelines to take the wind out of aggressive behaviour and to make your customers/stake holders feel valued, loved and listened to (even if they are angry) – and to reach a successful outcome:

1. Use their name. A simple thing that is actually quite powerful, you’re acknowledging that you are dealing with them as an individual and human being.

2. Tell them that you hear them and understand them. “John, I hear what you saying and understand that you need time with the Chairman this week and can see that this is a priority for you.”

3. Acknowledging someone’s emotions. Tell them you are going to help them. “John, I can see that your frustrated/angry with the situation, I’m going to do my best to help you resolve this”.

4. Set clear expectations. “Ok, I’m going to take this forward personally, leave it with me and I will come back to you by 4pm”.

5. Watch your tone. 38% of our communication is the tone of our voice. Say the right thing in the wrong way, and unhappiness can escalate. Meet agression with reason.

6. Use the word *however* and take forward solutions. “John, I’ve done everything in my power to find you a slot with the Chairman this week but I’m unable to shift any of this other appointments, however, I have managed to get you an extended slot with him on Tuesday and have already briefed him on your concerns.”

7. If the above has no impact in diffusing the aggression and you feel in anyway physically threatened, remove yourself from the situation and tell your boss or an HR representative, you have the right to feel safe at work and to expect a certain standard of acceptable behaviour.

8. Once you’ve put the phone down or walked away, vent your own frustrations with an appropriate colleague, not your customer. It’s not always about the problem but about how they feel about the problem.

We all have moments where we’re under pressure and are short or abrupt with people as their concerns/problems might be completely irrelevant to us at that moment, but as a PA you are the front facing customer services representative of your executive or company, even if being faced with unreasonable behaviour. Rise above it, meet aggression with calm and let them own their own behaviours.

Quote of the week...

2011-06-02T11:25:00.002+01:00

Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher. Life is already filled with those who want to bring you down. - Oprah Winfrey

Establishing clear boundaries as a PA / EA

2011-05-31T15:40:00.011+01:00

I had a jaw dropping moment recently when talking with a group of PAs, we were discussing how, and where, to draw boundaries with the Executive’s we work with. One of our delegates told us about an incident she had with a previous boss; her boss’s ex-wife had died and he had asked his PA to break the news to their daughter – unbelievable huh – but I promise you this is true! Now this PA is one of the most accommodating and supportive people I’ve ever met, but she drew the line at doing this and said no. Her boss made an official complaint about her to their HR department for not doing this and, to cut a long story short, the PAs decision to say no and not undertake this rather distressing task was supported by HR.

Now this is a somewhat extreme example of some of the more unusual things PAs are asked to do, but it did generate a great deal of discussion on where we draw the boundaries in our working relationships and when does a PA have the right to say no to their boss. What did come out of the discussions is that all of the PAs in the room had very different perspectives on this. Some where more than happy to be carrying out personal work for their bosses, i.e. booking family holidays and dental appointments, and some were very clear on remaining rigidly within the realms of business.

My personal view on this is that it is dependent on the unique relationship between each PA and boss and there can be no hard and fast rule that all PAs should adhere to. There are certainly benefits for a PA to be informed about what is going on in their bosses personal life (marriages, bereavements, moving house etc) as this enables a PA have an inclusive overview of their boss’s priorities and potentially enables them to make better informed decisions on their behalf. However, that said, some boss’s want to keep their personal and professional lives entirely separate and share very little personal information with their PAs, and that is entirely their prerogative.

What I do think is important is that these boundaries are considered and discussed, for me it’s about clarity of expectations of how a PA and boss are working together. Our own personal internal value systems are what drives where we draw our boundaries – and these are different for each one of us. When was the last time that you spent time considering your own value system/moral compass/where you draw your ethical lines? If your boss asked you to do something outside of your own value system, how would you navigate that without damaging the working partnership? Where does your role start, and just as importantly, where does your role stop?

So what do you think? What are your thoughts and how have you negotiated your boundaries between yourself and your boss; it would be great to hear your experiences...

Giving yourself time and space to develop and grow

2011-05-24T12:22:00.002+01:00

Later this week I’m off to a fabulous country hotel to run The PA Retreat – and I can’t wait! It’s absolutely my favourite training course to run. When we where first devising this training programme a couple of years ago, we knew what the training content needed to be, but it became very important to me as to where the training should take place. Why? Because the majority of PAs working lives are about noise, speed and high pressure, and to facilitate real learning, real development and insight into how to progress and grow was, of course, a key objective. Giving PAs the opportunity to leave that manic world behind for a couple of days, to truly focus on their own development, needed a physical space that would genuinely facilitate that.

Intensive in-depth training, networking with peers, personal and professional development, wonderful peaceful location away from the unrelenting pressure of daily life is an extraordinary combination that produces powerful and permanent change in delegates. Who says training courses can’t be a pleasure? J

Identifying and managing business critical relationships

2011-05-23T11:26:00.001+01:00

As a senior PA one of the most important elements of your role is creating buy-in and influencing others to work collaboratively with you, ensuring that you are able to reach your business objectives. So much of a PAs role centres around other peoples input and cooperation, and it’s sometimes easy to overlook some of the key players in our professional lives. If, like most PAs, you are constantly managing urgent priorities that have to be dealt with on an immediate basis, are you spending enough time nurturing and strengthening your critical business relationships?

Taking some time out to really stand back and map out who the key players in our working lives are might feel like a luxury in a frantic and demanding week, but the benefits can be enormous. Developing your own personal *Map of Influence* (and I mean physically sitting down with paper and pen – a mind map with you in the middle) will enable you to visibly see who really matters to your success, and it’s not always the obvious people, such as your Executive. Think “outside the box” who are the people that you call on in times of pressure or in an emergency? The Catering Manager, IT support, the company lawyer, the marketing assistant or copywriter. It is precisely these relationships that we should actively cultivate so that in times of need we can rely on their support and cooperation to get things done smoothly and effectively. These are the business relationships that don’t necessarily feature in our working lives on a day to day basis, or even a week by week, or month by month basis, but they are still crucial in enabling you to move fast and efficiently in times of need. We all respond better, and are more willing to help, the people we know and like and already have a good relationship with. Spending time growing these business critical relationships is an investment in your success, and is an important component of being a well connected and accessible PA.

Next time you think to yourself “I haven’t heard from/seen/been in touch with Joe Smith for ages, I really should give him a call”, do it. Schedule time to nurture these relationships, it may not be an urgent priority, but it is an important one. And always remember it’s a two way street, cooperation and teamwork makes the world go round...

Preview of an article written for the May Office* Elite Newsletter

Quote of the day...

2011-05-22T09:55:00.003+01:00

The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. ~ Stephen Covey

The PA/EAs strategic responsibility of managing Board/Meeting Papers

2011-05-22T09:38:00.000+01:00

The majority of PAs/EAs I know have the responsibility of collating and distributing board packs or meeting packs in some form or another, and from my experience this is often a source of much frustration and angst, as it a process that rarely runs smoothly or effectively. The below provides structure to make this undertaking run like clockwork and save you a great deal of time and suffering...

1. Identify and record what is currently going wrong, how many papers/reports/agenda items are late, who are the main culprits in getting their items in late, or not at all. Log the amount of time you are spending chasing people and helping people at the last minute.

2. Recognise what the consequences are for you and the company. E.g. if you are spending 8 hours each month chasing missing items, reformatting badly presented papers – add that up over a year and it works out as over 2 weeks of your working time, is that effective, I’m guessing not. If papers are left out of the pre-distributed pack, time is wasted during meetings reading late papers or items bumped to another month = horribly inefficient use of management time.

3. Talk to your boss about the current issues with late submissions etc. If you don’t tell him/her – they won’t know the extent of the problem. You have a strategic overview of how the process is running, point out the consequences as outlined above.

4. Get buy-in from your boss to make a shift in how things currently run to a slick, effective system where Board Packs are a collated and distributed efficiently. Ask for an agenda slot at the next board meeting to discuss the process with the back up and support of your boss.

5. Be brave! Talk to the meeting about the need to tighten up the process of getting the board papers in, explain the current issues and create a culture change in how the process is going to work in the future. Re-state all upcoming/ongoing deadlines. Be clear about the process and expectations and responsibilities.

6. Clearly state the new process, what the deadlines are, when a reminder will be sent, and the consequences of missing deadlines. Be firm. The deadline is the deadline, submissions after this time will not be included in the board packs and it will be highlighted at the meeting. You are creating an internal culture change on how this is done.

7. Take ownership for your responsibilities – and allow others to take responsibility for theirs. Remain flexible and collaborative with others, but shift the accountability back to them for their own board papers and deadlines.

8. Sit back and enjoy an effective process where expectations and responsibilities are clear and the stressful monthly scramble to get the board papers in on time is a thing of the past. Job done. J

Australia’s PAs taking up training & development opportunities

2011-05-21T09:21:00.000+01:00

It’s only a couple of weeks until I’m off to Australia to start a road show of training, and it seems that Australian PAs are committed to their development, and bosses willing to invest it in – Melbourne is close to sold out, and due to demand in Sydney, and the first dates selling out, we’ve added more dates on 23rd/24th June.

I am totally excited to get over to meet the PAs in Australia; I’m passionate about working with PAs in different cultures. One thing’s for sure though, wherever I’m training in the world, whether that be in China, Thailand, South Africa, Dubai or the UK, the role remains the same – to provide consistent, efficient business support to Executives in order to make their lives run more effectively, the cultural nuances may differ, but not the heart of the role.

What do the good PAs/EAs go on to do?

2011-05-20T20:29:00.000+01:00

Interesting question huh? I was asked it by a journalist recently. He was interviewing me about the skills and qualities that top PAs use and what type of support they provide for their bosses these days. I went into some depth about the types of responsibilities and level of authority that senior level Assistants routinely have in the corporate world, how they often now fully integrated members of the Leadership team with management responsibilities of their own, alongside providing business support to their Managers or Executives.

He paused and said “well, if PAs are doing all this, why are they still working as PAs, where do they move onto to use their skills”? This is something that I come across surprisingly frequently, and it goes to show that PAs and EAs do still come up against the feeling of... “But your too clever and talented to be a PA, you’re wasted doing this!”

I came up against this when I was working as an EA, I was being pressurised to move into marketing, because I had a Manager that didn’t understand that the role of the PA could be a fulfilling role in its own right. I didn’t want to go into marketing, I loved being an EA, and it’s where I wanted to be; where I could use my skills to the best effect. In short, I was a career EA and didn’t want to move to another role because that’s what someone else thought I *should* be doing.

Being an EA/PA is a career in its own right, it’s a complex role that requires a dexterity that few other roles require, and it’s unique in its proximity to management, whilst retaining a need to be accessible to all levels of the organisation.

So what do the good PAs/EAs go on to do? Whatever they so choose! It can indeed be a great learning ground in an industry or profession to go on to other things, but equally it’s a fabulous career to grow with and enjoy. Viva PAs!!

The Times/Hays PA of the Year Awards 2011

2011-05-20T16:40:00.000+01:00

I'd like to send my personal congratulations to all the fabulous PAs & EAs that where nominated for this years PA of the Year Awards. The quality of the nominations where just outstanding and it made our life as judges very tough!

I had so much fun being involved once again this year, it really is such a pleasure to interview so many dedicated, passionate and committed PAs!

The results were...

Winner - Louisa James, PA to the MD of Jamie Oliver Ltd
Runner Up - Christopher Juliff, NHS
Third Place - Zara Dyer, Liverpool Football Club
Finalist - Jennifer Batty, Russell Reynolds Associates
Finalist - Sharon Walsh, Channel 4

And lastly, a huge thank you to Hays PA & Secretarial who hosted such a wonderful event at Flemmings Hotel, Mayfair.

A very happy looking Louisa (left) with her boss Tara at The Times/Hays PA of the Year lunch.