Personal Development
Issue: September / October 2012

Put Intuition to Work for You

By - September 25, 2012

Robert Hosking shows how trusting your gut can be a valuable technique at work, not just in your personal life
Personal Development
Issue: September / October 2012

Bosses need boundaries

By - September 25, 2012

Adam Fidler discusses how PAs should set boundaries with their bosses in terms of their working hours, the expectation for them to be checking their e-mails out of hours and their availability when out of the office or on annual leave. One downside of the PA role, if I can use the word ‘downside’, is... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: July / August 2012

PA behaviours – the ‘what’ and the ‘how’

By - July 25, 2012

There’s more to examining your performance than you think says Adam Fidler It’s a funny word ‘behaviours’ and something that often conjures up an image of a parent telling their child, “To behave…”. However, it’s a term that I became very familiar with when it came to full-year and mid-year performance reviews. In fact, in... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: July / August 2012

The “R” Word

By - July 25, 2012

‘R-E-S-P-E-C-T- Find out what it means to me…’ Aretha Franklin’s 1967 smash hit anthem is considered to be one of the best songs of all time. Why? The word hits a nerve. Note: Since 95% of all admins are women, the pronoun ‘she’ will be used in this piece. To all the male admins, I... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: July / August 2012

Building Greater Trust in Your Relationships

By - July 25, 2012

Trust is central to being able to work effectively, and achieve greater success. As an Executive Secretary, trust is likely to be a cornerstone of your success. The degree of trust placed in you by your boss enables you to build an effective partnership. Often, this is a bond which lasts many years and through... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: July / August 2012

Motivation Made Easy

By - July 25, 2012

The three secrets to staying motivated: love the activity, love the result or love neither. But how do you put this into practice? Motivation is rarely a problem when you love the activity. Some people love cooking, running, or making customers happy. Others love eating the things they cook, the way they feel after running,... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: July / August 2012

Two heads are better than one!

By - July 25, 2012

Rona Cant explains why working together really is the best path to success – whether in an office, or on a yacht. It is an old adage but as true today as it was years ago. Whether you are working in an international organisation in a big city or a small business close to home... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: May / June 2012

How to ‘Hire’ the Right Mentor

By - May 25, 2012

Taking a recruitment perspective to finding the right mentor is often the best way to finding the right ‘match’.   For many people considering the essential ingredients to a successful career, having a mentor isn’t high on the list. Reasons range from being intimidated by the prospect of identifying and approaching someone of influence, to... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: May / June 2012

The Law Of (Office) Attraction

By - May 25, 2012

Attracting the working environment that you want is all about mind-set.   The phrase ‘what you think about you bring about’ has been proving itself over and over to me this month. Take this week for example: a couple of unhappy employees in the office who were sitting mumbling under their breaths and making negative... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: May / June 2012

Confidence at work: Are you aware of your own abilities?

By - May 25, 2012

Taking an audit of your own strengths and weaknesses is the key to building confidence.   In all aspects of life, confidence is acknowledged as a positive quality to possess. Confidence enables us to effectively communicate our personality and abilities to others through the way we act and handle tasks. It is therefore a valuable,... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: May / June 2012

Your Training Business Case

By - May 25, 2012

By building a request for personal development into a business case you may have more success in gaining your employer’s support explains Julie Perrine It’s a common complaint: my boss won’t approve my training or professional development requests. But it may not be your boss’s fault. It may be the way you’re asking or failing... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: May / June 2012

How to Build Your Self-Esteem

By - May 25, 2012

Graham Price shares some practical steps to build your self-esteem
Personal Development
Issue: May / June 2012

Redundancy…Coping with Change

By - May 25, 2012

Redundancy is often seen as the end, but it can really be the beginning of a great new phase in your career.   At the age of 14 my mother pushed me to do a typewriting course, and then a secretarial course so that I would find a career as a Secretary. ‘Being a Secretary... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: May / June 2012

I’m boooorrrrrrrrrrred!

By - May 25, 2012

When’s the last time you were bored? Maybe it’s been too long says Brenda Bernstein Early on a Saturday evening, I admitted to a friend that I had watched a Netflix movie the night before, and was likely going to watch another one that night. For many people, watching videos two nights in a row... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: March / April 2012

Self-belief: The Key to Success

By - March 25, 2012

“If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” Sam Walton Self-confidence is one of the most important qualities to have in every aspect of our lives. Whether this is in a personal context or a professional one, belief in oneself is often the difference between success and failure. Yet so many people... Read more »
Personal Development
Issue: March / April 2012

Roll with the punches or get punched: Dealing with workplace disappointment

By - March 25, 2012

We all suffer disappointment at work, but it’s how you cope that really matters. Didn’t get the promotion you wanted? Received an unfavorable performance review? These are examples of situations that would cause the ‘emotional Molotov cocktail’ to start brewing. You are filled with anger, resentment and disappointment, and that’s just to name a few.... Read more »