When I get together with administrative professionals at networking events, I’m surrounded by like-minded professionals who are not only proud of what they do—they’re good at it.
But not all administrative professionals are like that. Some are not good because they are in the wrong profession. We’ve all worked with those kinds of people; they give good administrative professionals a bad name. They often think of it as taking an “entry level” job so they can grow in the company.
We’ve all also worked with people who are embarrassed to say they are an administrative professional. They don’t give the role the respect or credibility it deserves. They feel they’ve settled for a job that is beneath them and call themselves “just” a secretary, or “just” an admin. They don’t use the word professional after administrative. To this person it isn’t a career, it’s just a job that pays the bills.
Most admins say they are very proud to be administrative professionals, when we are all together, talking about what we do. Yet, outside the circle of your administrative peers are you proud when people ask you what you do for a living? Do you walk the talk you show when you are with your professional colleagues?
Let’s talk about how we show others that we are proud, by the way we work.
Professionalism
Professionalism means different things to different people in different situations, so it is important to understand what it means at your workplace. This isn’t to justify your behavior (“everyone does that here”) or to permit you to be anything less than professional, but instead to figure what the baseline measurement at your organization is, to ensure that you are always well above it.
Professionalism means arriving at work on time and not sneaking out early—even if you are the only one who respects the hours. Professionalism is about how you interact with coworkers and clients. It is the way you dress, the cleanliness of your desk, and it’s not using inappropriate language (even though we hear it everywhere).
If you were on an episode of Undercover Boss and they were able to edit the footage to show you in a negative light (without the background as to why something happened the way it did), could they? Would you need to defend your actions? If so, then you are probably not acting as professionally as you should be.
[ctt template=”3″ link=”f8J6c” via=”yes” ]Professional means professional at all times, not just when someone is watching.[/ctt]
Respect
You don’t have to like someone to respect them. You must hold yourself to a higher standard than anyone else if you want to be a proud administrative professional. If you don’t like someone, no one should be able to tell that you don’t like them. It should never be apparent; “liking someone” is not a prerequisite for treating people with respect. That means you shouldn’t gossip, or judge someone else’s actions, religion, or political preferences. To do any of these things is to display a lack of respect.
If you feel that you aren’t receiving enough respect in the workplace, it is up to you to ensure that everyone you work with feels respected by you. You will not get respect until you give respect.
To be a proud administrative professional, we must respect everyone we work with and not just the ones we like to spend time with.
Observant
I’ve recently been interviewing executives and their admins to find out what works well for them and how their relationship made it to that place. One of the consistent answers I get is, “My admin is incredibly observant. She seems to know what I need before I realize I need it. She is one step ahead of me all the time. She has eyes in the back of her head.”
The proud administrative professional focuses on the needs of her or his executive to the point that the executive doesn’t know how they would manage without them.
If your executive is travelling, perhaps being observant of what they might need is a way to show your pride in your job. For instance, you could sign them up for travel notifications on their cell phone. This way if the flight is delayed, cancelled, or even if the gate is changed, they will get an automatic notification. You could have a car and driver arranged to pick her up at the airport or bring back from the client site. You might have the hotel stock his room with fresh fruit, or special pillows. While they may not realize exactly what it is you do for them, the little touches make their life easier because you are paying attention to their needs.
Ubiquitous
Ubiquitous boils down to being, or feeling like you are, everywhere at once. (For instance, Starbucks is ubiquitous.) Does it seem like you are everywhere, always available, seemingly at the fingertips of your executive at all times? Maybe it isn’t in your physical presence, but in the little things you do, the touches you provide, and the attention to detail to give to everything you do. Your executive never feels like she has to go hunting around to find you. Even when you’re not physically next to her, she still feels supported and assisted because of the systems you’ve put in place and the way you’ve organized things.
Dependable
When you are at work, be at work; give your job your entire focus. Being dependable doesn’t mean that you give yourself over to your executive or organization 24-7, but that when you are at work, you are completely at work. Being dependable means you are worthy of trust and reliable. Dependable means keeping your promises, and ensuring that you don’t overcommit yourself at work. If you say you are going to do something, then you do it.
[ctt template=”3″ link=”3n29t” via=”yes” ]When you are at work, be at work; give your job your entire focus.[/ctt]
It sounds simple, yet many people give excuses as to why they weren’t able to get something done. Don’t be the type of person who impulsively makes performance promises before they’ve considered all of the ramifications. Stay away from using excuses when things go off the rails. Take responsibility when necessary, and when things don’t go according to plan, make other arrangements to fix things.
Even though you may be very proud to be an administrative professional, do your actions reflect that pride? Do you show up every day at work and do the right things the right way, or do you justify why things sometimes slip, or when you don’t give your full 100 per cent?
I hope you not only feel proud to be an administrative professional, but that you also act that way—even when no one is watching!
