Joan Burge's Administrative Blog

| More

Lack of Ambition in Assistants

Posted By: Joan Burge on 3/11/2009

In an audio conference recently, I was asked about this topic. Here is exactly what I was asked and what I said.

Many of the women in your audience today from our company are in their early 30s, have been with the company for a number of years and are hard workers. How do we help them to get to the next level? They seem to be happy in their comfort zone and don’t show any interest in getting to the next level. This is shown in their appearance and lack of professionalism.

It’s a myth to think all you need to do is work hard to get ahead or keep your current job.
There is no such thing as job security. So to think you can just rest on your laurels – is not living in reality. Is your company laying off employees? Even if they are not – it doesn’t mean they won’t in two months or 6 months. I see it every day. Companies are going to keep their rising stars!
In answer to, how do we help?

Set a good example.
Provide training or job opportunities that will create that person to stretch.
Mentor, one-on-one.

Remember: Motivation is an inside job! “You can walk a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink it.”

Tags:

11 Comments

Blog Home

- Mar 18 2009, 10:51 PM CW
- Who says everyone wants to get to "the next level"? I'm a secretary, enjoy my job and don't desire to "move up". I like the fact that I can leave my job at the end of the day and not take it home with me.
- Mar 23 2009, 11:03 PM Marielle Avila
- I don't think that "lack of ambition" is demonstrated in a lack of desire to move up to the next level. I think we all need to focus on keeping our current jobs exciting and maintaining our competitive edge. There's nothing wrong with liking your current position, the people that you currently support and the flexibility of your job. But you gotta work at keeping your job exciting and ensuring that the work that you do is still beneficial to the company and not just you.
- Mar 23 2009, 11:03 PM Rhonda Hooks
- I am a senior administrative assistant for 2 Directors, 3 Managers and a backup for the Executive Admin of our department. I am very happy with the challenges I have every day. I love my job and the company I work for. In order to be promoted within the company, another assistant would have to retire, quit or pass away. I am not ambitious to the point of wishing any of those choices on my fellow Admins!! I also don't want to change companies and have to start over!
- Mar 23 2009, 11:04 PM Paige
- I do believe that it is okay for people to stay in a job that they enjoy and are good at if they choose to do so. What concerns me about the majority of admin I work with is the attitude that "I don't need to learn" or "I'm JUST an admin". No one should be "JUST" anything! I would love to see all admin support each other in personal as well as professional growth (you can always make yourself and your current job better!). There is an old but true statement that I love - "If you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.". Will Rogers is so right! We must continue to learn, to keep up with technology and the demands of our executives and the company as a whole. I am the type who is eager to advance even though these are tough times and opportunities are not available with my company in this location. Times will change and the right opportunity will open up. In the meantime, I would love to see us all take advantage of this time to learn, challenge ourselves and grow no matter where we choose to be!
- Mar 23 2009, 11:05 PM Rima
- Dear CW, In my view, getting to the "next level" does not necessarily mean a new position. As Joan said, companies are going to keep their "stars" so be a star in everything you do! That includes showing executives that you are passionate about what you do with not only your work but also your appearance and professionalism. If executives are asking these questions of Joan, you'd better believe they are judging "us" by those standards wether we realize it or not. (P.S. I am not implying that you do not already do these things, simply responding to your comment as it relates to Joan's message.)
- Mar 23 2009, 11:06 PM Tiffini S.
- There is always the "admin glass ceiling" as we've come to call it in our company. Some of us have tried and tried to get ahead, followed all the advice on web sites like this, etc., but don't go anywhere. Managers who trust admins with their schedules, their budgets, their travel, basically their lives, do not want to put that same admin in a position of even a small amount of responsibilty, until we get that all powerful 4 year degree. I've seen other people rise from the bottom with less education than me (associates degree). I've seen mechanics become managers, and even a technician (started at same salary grade as me) is now a GM on a two year degree. People always joke that admins 'run the office' but in reality we are simply not a trusted group of employees. The stigma of being a bunch of nail filing gossips will just not go away. I put in my dues to admin work for the first 5 years with this company, spent the next 5 trying to move up and out, and the last five I've become increasingly despondent. I'm almost to the top tier of the admin ranks for my company, but basically looking to leave altogether and pursue a real career elsewhere. They will be losing a very capable person because they have pigeonholed me.
- Mar 31 2009, 2:24 AM Jane Carlson CPS
- I believe that our perception about others' motives or our interpretation that others are not motivated to "move up" is selling ourselves short. I believe administrators at all levels could do a better job of "marketing" their positions and using these opportunities as mentoring opportunities. Create an informal free flow of communication throughout the admin ranks in your organization, creating the 2-minute elevator speech regarding our particular position, communicating the selling points, and making it easier for someone to consider changing positions within the job family. Sometimes we aren't aware of our personal "needs" until we see the "commercial." Think about creating an informal pool of qualified candidates, or staff that you think would be interested in your position at some time. Collaborating with others, learning about others' skills, talents, and abilities, also provides a unique opportunity to share specifics about a position that aren't always included in the posted job description. This is to our benefit whether we are looking to change jobs or are satisfied with our current position. These collaborations can provide an opportunity for succession planning. It is also to your benefit to have someone trained in the event a back-up is needed. When opportunity knocks, you will be ready to answer!
- Mar 31 2009, 2:24 AM Joan Burge
- Hello Jane! Great insight. Thanks so much for sharing good information. Joan Burge
- Mar 31 2009, 9:18 PM Jasmine Freeman
- Jane, That is great! All wonderful suggestions. I just came across this article today through another group about an effective elevator pitch and thought it may be an appropriate link to share here! office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA100747861033.aspx
- Apr 01 2009, 3:22 PM Mary
- There are a lot of people that get stuck in the way things are now and don't want to take the opportunity to learn new things. It's great to be happy in your current position / company, but you can always grow by learning new software, finding different projects to take on within your department, or assisting in another admin.
- Apr 01 2009, 5:01 PM Linda
- Well said, Joan! There are a couple of admins in our department who are working hard but not trying very hard to broaden their horizons. I sometimes get the impression they resent the fact that I am always reaching out to our managers for greater responsibility and project oriented assignments. Our company recently let 33 people go, including 2 admins, and it was pretty heart breaking. I'm trying to mentor these ladies and recommend seminars and training sessions I think they may be interested in--our company is always offering us the same training offered to other associates. They do seem to be receptive.

Leave A Comment Name:
Email:
URL:
Comment:

Verification:

Enter the code shown above in the box below

Blog Home