What Bruce Springsteen Can Teach Us About Being an Admin

I was watching a webinar recently and marvelled at how quickly Denise could switch screens, change the screen layout and navigate everything smoothly. She made it look so easy! Have you ever watched someone else do something effortlessly and thought, “I wish I were naturally good at that”? Perhaps they untangle complicated spreadsheets or handle unreasonable requests without apologizing seventeen times. Meanwhile, you are wondering whether “Sorry to bother you” counts as a personality trait. Yep, I can relate.

Then I came across an older Seth Godin post, “Born to run (things),” that resonated with me. Godin shared his observations from Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography, painting a different picture from the confident performer we know today. According to Godin’s account, Springsteen struggled with his early guitar lessons and quit. He wasn’t the obvious choice for lead singer in his early bands. Audiences walked out, an agent stopped returning his calls, and bandmates moved on. He didn’t even know how to drive.

Imagine looking at that beginning and predicting the career that would follow! We see the accomplished performer and assume the ability was always there. Watching Denise, I had done something similar. I saw what she could do that day without knowing what it had taken her to learn it. Her ease was visible, but her learning process wasn’t.

How often do we turn that incomplete picture into a judgment about ourselves? “I’m not technical.” “I’m not a confident speaker.” “I’m just not good at that.” We credit someone else’s natural ability without considering the instruction, practice and support behind it. Then we quietly excuse ourselves from trying. They have it. We don’t. Apparently, the auditions are closed.

But experience does not mean you should already know everything. You can be excellent at your job and unfamiliar with a new tool. Twenty years of administrative experience does not automatically prepare you to run an online meeting like Denise. It does, however, give you plenty of evidence that you have learned difficult things before.

The workplace certainly isn’t standing still. In its Future of Jobs Report 2025, the World Economic Forum reported that surveyed employers expected 39% of workers’ core skills to change by 2030. That forecast covers the workforce broadly, but the implication for admins is familiar: learning remains part of the job, no matter how experienced we become. Source: World Economic Forum.

I remember first using Microsoft Word after becoming quite confident in WordPerfect. Yes, I am dating myself! Nothing seemed to have the same label or live in the same place. Suddenly, I was a newbie again. Imagine if I had decided that discomfort meant I wasn’t capable. I might still be demanding that someone bring back my familiar function keys.

While I watched Denise, I coached myself to identify one thing I wanted to learn. Could I practice switching between a presentation and another window in a test meeting? Absolutely. I didn’t need to master everything she demonstrated to improve one part of my own delivery.

The same approach works with people skills. If speaking up in meetings feels uncomfortable, “be more confident” isn’t especially helpful, is it? Instead, be prepared to ask one useful question during the meeting. You might ask, “Who will own that action, and when does it need to be completed?” Asking one relevant question is a way to speak up. You don’t have to suddenly become the loudest person in the room.

If your minutes repeatedly come back with the same corrections, more meetings alone won’t help you improve. Compare your draft with the approved version. Are you missing decisions or recording too much discussion? Ask an experienced colleague to explain why the change is important. Springsteen’s difficult beginning reminds us that early struggles don’t determine the outcome. You may become a great minute taker once you understand the feedback and apply it in future meetings. 

Choose people who will help you make those adjustments. Having a colleague agree that the new software or process is ridiculous might feel satisfying, but hearing, “That confused me too; here’s what helped,” gives you somewhere to go. Watching someone like Denise can prompt you to ask a specific question. Find people willing to explain and offer the same patience when someone asks you for help.

Make room for that learning in your calendar, too. Protect thirty minutes a week to practice a new feature, read an instruction article, watch a YouTube video. This week, choose one skill, try one manageable step, and notice what improves. Effortless is a lovely result, but a terrible entry requirement.

Denise’s webinar and Godin’s account of Bruce Springsteen left me with the same reminder: I cannot judge my potential by someone else’s finished performance. You have helped plenty of people figure things out. Give yourself that same support. You don’t need to become Bruce Springsteen or navigate exactly like Denise. You need to give yourself a chance to learn. Even if everyone already expects you to be a rock star.