Personal Development
Issue: July / August 2013

Trust Cuts to the Quick

By - July 23, 2013

Do you feel the need to “watch your back” at work? How about your friends and family? What percentage of people do you think feel that they need to do so? Expand the experiences of your circle of contacts across the entire country and it would be interesting to discover how much time is wasted... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: July / August 2013

Feelgood Factor

By - July 23, 2013

Imagine your body being strong and flexible. You are hydrated. You feed and fuel your body well daily. You have energy all day, every day, and you sleep well each night. You don’t drag through the afternoons. You have energy available for those last-minute afternoon rush assignments. “Generally speaking, you feel great and can get... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: July / August 2013

Be the Calm Through the Storm!

By - July 23, 2013

Since 2008 the economic climate has been causing considerable stress for many whether in a small business or a global organisation. Our sense of security has been eroded due to the actions of a few people who made a large impact on the way the western world works. “Many people who wanted to improve their... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: July / August 2013

Lady Luck

By - July 23, 2013

Are you attracting luck or is it merely coincidence? Or maybe, just maybe, it’s written in the stars… “Do you ever notice that once you have an idea or decide that you want to do something, strange coincidences seem to happen? The idea may be to start a new venture, sell your house, buy a... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: July / August 2013

Your intuition is powerful ….. use it!

By - July 23, 2013

I’m a man, so for my first 30 years, intuition hardly ever featured in my life. I was aware that the fairer sex (perhaps I should play safe and say the other gender) employed their intuition more than I but, confusing intuition with emotion, I figured intuition was somehow less reliable than my male-biased rational... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: July / August 2013

I Get Knocked Down, But I Get Up Again …

By - July 23, 2013

Working with senior people requires patience, diplomacy, an ability to work with pretty much all types of people and not get defeated when obstacles to progress appear on the horizon. I like to think of this last quality as the “Chumbawumba effect”. Check out the song “Tubthumping” by punk folk group Chumbawumba on Youtube to... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: May / June 2013

Fully Utilize Your Talents – Optimization

By - May 25, 2013

Optimization is like administrative skills and attitudes on steroids (in a good way). Optimization means to enhance the effectiveness of something; to make something function at its best. When I read the definition of optimization, I immediately think of two things: 1 Part of my “job” is being brought into companies by senior leaders to... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: May / June 2013

Making the Step Up from Assistant to Business Partner

By - May 25, 2013

As a Business Partner, not only should you have all the requisite technical and IT skills, you and your Executive should support each other and trust and understand one another implicitly says Sue France You are their right hand person, their second brain and their positive coach. You are someone who not only acts as... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: May / June 2013

It’s a Great Time to “Lean In”

By - May 25, 2013

There has never been a better time to be an Assistant than right now. It is also a great time to lean in. Here’s why… Sheryl Sandberg is the 43-year-old COO of Facebook and her genius new book is called Lean In – Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. It is one of the... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: May / June 2013

Raising your Visibility Factor with Personal Branding

By - May 25, 2013

It's no good having a good personal brand if nobody knows what you really do and what you're great at explains Lesley Everett
Personal Development
Issue: May / June 2013

Silence and Isolation: Two Dastardly Behaviors That Hold People Back

By - May 25, 2013

Last weekend I attended a very pleasant dessert party that had a theme based on the Sheryl Sandberg book Lean In. (If you’ve not heard of it, please do look it up and become familiar with this cultural discussion regarding women in the workplace.) The party was attended by eight well-educated career women at varying... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: May / June 2013

See Me!

By - May 25, 2013

Whenever you find yourself in a tricky situation, whether interrupting a meeting, telling someone you can’t do what they want or getting a difficult person to do something, it will be easier if you are perceived as naturally competent and confident – that you have authority. The problem for some is that we unintentionally send... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: May / June 2013

Excellence Busters – The Four Beliefs That Will Hold You Back

By - May 25, 2013

Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected. – Steve Jobs While you may be familiar with the many inventions of Thomas Edison which include the incandescent light bulb and the microphone, but there is a back story to one invention that is of great significance. It... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: May / June 2013

Accountability is More Than a State of Mind

By - May 25, 2013

People may want to be leaders. However, not many want to accept the accountability that goes with it. But you cannot have one without the other as they are two sides of the same coin. “Last week, I was in a meeting with a client, the CEO of a London company who said to me:... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: May / June 2013

Your Mind Is Your Kingdom

By - May 23, 2013

Are you king or queen of your own mind? Lindsay Taylor thinks on The 16th Century English poet Francis Quarles famously stated “my mind is my kingdom”. If we take time to think about Quarles’ meaning, in essence we are creating a rich kingdom in our own minds and ironically substantiating his claim. Interpreting Quarles’... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: November / December 2012

Super Achievers – There’s nothing like a PA!

By - November 27, 2012

What makes a super PA? What does it take to really stand out? We look at five ways to prove to your employer you are worth a gold medal. With Olympic glory still very much in our minds, and our successes on this world stage bringing a strong glow of pride for us Brits, there’s... Read more »