Personal Development
Issue: July / August 2013

Are You Being Seen in the Right Light? Tips for Boosting Your Visibility

By - July 23, 2013

If you were driven by acclaim or attention, chances are you would have chosen a different line of work. Administrative professionals are expected to efficiently handle a wide range of challenges behind the scenes, not to trumpet their own successes. (And who has the time for that, anyway?) On the list of indispensable administrative attributes,... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: July / August 2013

Are You Ready to Reach Your Highest Human Potential?

By - July 23, 2013

Throughout human history, reaching one’s potential has been the grand objective of life. It’s an honour to share the following principles, an extract from my book Leadership Lessons from the Summit which will be published in 2013. May these inspire you to live life not only to the fullest, but to push forward in making... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: July / August 2013

Establishing Your Core Values

By - July 23, 2013

As we meander along our path in life we come across people who we get on well with and others who we don’t. We encounter organisations and groups that we resonate with – and others that we do not. “If we stop for a moment and consider what it is about the people, groups and... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: July / August 2013

Four Things you Will Never Learn in Your Comfort Zone

By - July 23, 2013

The year was 1947 and to date no one had broken the sound barrier. Most believed that it could not be done. Some argued that the sound barrier was a literal wall that once hit at 760 mph would destroy a plane. But despite the sceptics and critics there remained a committed group of people... Read more »
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 »