What is the % of actual Words we hear during a conversation?

Make a Team With…

Difficult People & Situations

INVESTIGATE THE ISSUE

UNDERSTAND TEAM CULTURE & PERSONALITIES

Pick your battles ‘carefully’

Leading the imperative business partnership with your Executive

Trust must be both earned and deserved. EARNING TRUST Trust must be both earned and deserved. You must do something to give people evidence that helps them decide whether to trust you. You must be willing to give in order to receive. People tend to trust one another if they are convinced the other is in for the long haul and not looking simply to maximize the short-term benefit of individual interactions. Executive Assistants are not transition jobs. Provide some evidence that your Executive’s interests are as important to you as yours are.

What is your Company doing?

KNOW YOUR TEAM

Be Part of the Solution

Share Team Information Openly “ The word communication comes from the Latin ‘communico’ meaning: to share.”

ASK GREAT QUESTIONS Throughout this Training Primer, you’ll notice encouragement for asking questions. A little caveat on that – Don’t ask questions for the sake of asking questions. If you sincerely think the question has relevance, then by all means ask it. You’ll notice by asking great questions, the relationship with your Executive will strengthen and they will come to you more frequently with ideas for discussion. This is when the Executive Assistant position becomes incredibly exciting and educational!

"Never gossip.”

NOTE WHAT THE OTHER IS FEELING Building on our previous example, if you noticed the Team Member was incredibly distraught over not being able to get a meeting till the next morning: Make a note of it. Before the meeting in the morning, inform the Executive that the Team Member seemed very stressed out and distraught over this project. Now your Executive knows the mindset of the Team Member and can make an appropriate management decision how best to handle them. Other examples include if you see someone is feeling sad and you have an appropriate colleague relationship, maybe you extend just a pat on the back to let them know you’re there for them if they need anything. This simple gesture leads to a stronger relationship.

Build a shared agenda BUILD A SHARED AGENDA Make sure your Executive and you are always very clear on establishing an agenda, priorities and who is doing what. It’s very helpful every morning to meet with your Executive for 15-20 minutes to review the tasks for the day. This includes both what you’re doing for the Executive, what the Executive hopes to accomplish on his own, and what the Executive expects of other members on the team. Check in throughout the day to make sure your Executive is on schedule. A 5-minute wrap-up session, before you leave for that day, is a helpful way to release work life from your mind before you go to your personal life.

Take a point of view Any Executive worth of their position is not paying an Assistant to be a YES-Woman (or man)! TAKE A POINT OF VIEW Any Executive worth of their position is not paying an Executive Assistant to be a YES-man (or woman). Don’t be afraid to have an opinion and share it when questioned. Especially when it comes to interoffice political dynamics, you’ll normally be a lot more aware of the real workings than the Executive. This is because when the Executive is around, the team is more “at attention” whereas they are not likely as intimidated by the Executive Assistant, who, in this case, can hear what is never said to the Executive. A note -- if someone tells you something confidentially and you promise to hold it confidential, you must live up to your word. However if it is not specified that it is confidential, someone has to assume if they are telling something to you, it will get back to your Executive.

Take a personal risk TAKE A PERSONAL RISK Fair-mindedness is a great way to take a risk and earn mutual trust. A good sense of Humor can make a big difference in the way you are being perceived and not necessarily taken as immature or unprofessional. Ask a stupid question! The only truly stupid questions are the ones that aren’t asked.

Empathize (for real) EMPATHIZE Empathy means not only recognizing and understanding another, it is the next step of experiencing their perspective and emotions as if they were your own. For example, in your role as the Guardian of the Executive. – A Team Member comes to your desk and asks for a meeting with your Executive that they “need before they can complete a project” You are fully aware your Executive has a board meeting in 30 minutes they are busy preparing for. The Executive will not be free until tomorrow. Empathize with the Team Member’s need to have the meeting and show you are truly impacted by their plight. Then take ACTION Examples -- Perhaps try to help them with a solution, write down a few specific questions that you might be able to pass to the Executive during the lunch break of the Board Meeting. Or sometimes, it just means putting them on the calendar in the next available slot, perhaps the next morning. It’s one thing to say “I feel bad that you can’t complete your project” – it’s another to take the active stance of REAL empathy. LBM Consulting

How to Develop Leadership Skills Persuading & motivating: creating enthusiasm to make things happen Taking the initiative & responding flexibility to changing situations Planning, organizing & setting objectives Clarifying the problem & making logical decisions Accepting responsibility for mistakes & wrong decisions LEADERSHIP Listening, supporting & giving constructive criticism Persevering when things are not working out Presenting a positive personal image. Being assertive Delegating tasks to people with the right skill set Taking a positive attitude to & learning from failure

CAREFULNESS Exceptional Executive Assistants are controlled and very precise in their social interactions. Overall, they were very protective of their integrity and reputation and consequently tended to be socially aware and careful, abundant in foresight, and very careful when making decisions or determining specific actions.