Joan Burge's Administrative Blog

Do you touch base with your assistant every morning (face-to-face or by telephone) to discuss the day’s priorities, appointments, meeting preparation, department issues, phone calls, and project updates.

I had such fun last week in California. In addition to meeting with CEOs Executive Assistants, I was observing an on-site Star Achievement Series® Certified Trainer* teach one of the modules from my Series. The topics covered that day were: workplace trends, predicting the future, thriving on change, quality performance, administrator skills for success, and what will be required of administrative professionals in the future. It was like looking through a crystal ball and anticipating the future.

Can lack of assertiveness be interpreted as weakness? I’m going to share with you points that have been discussed on this topic when I’m teaching administrative assistants and support staff personnel how to be assertive. The majority of attendees agree that, yes, it can be viewed as weakness. It could be saying to people:

Last week when I was in California speaking to administrative assistants at a large corporation, one of them told me how much a compliment from her executive means to her. She said, “When my executive tells me I’m doing a great job, I want to do even more for him.”

It’s often next to impossible to get youngsters to understand that applying themselves to the tasks before them (especially schoolwork) is important for their own good. So how to get your kids to try harder without resorting to short-lived bribes? A few tips:

The following blog is an excerpt from my weekly e-zine Monday Motivators^TM.  It is a timely topic that has been receiving a lot of attention.

I’ve been fortunate to work side-by-side with CEOs, Presidents, and Vice Presidents for more than 35 years. I highly respect and admire these individuals. I always learn a great deal from them. One aspect I love about them is that they have a way of sharing important insights in a unique way. Here is an example of what I mean.

As I’m preparing to teach one of the modules from my Star Achievement Series® curriculum, I just came across something I want to share with you. This is a good time of year to grasp this concept as you want to start off on the right foot with others.

(Excerpt from my new book, Underneath It All. . . Post Graduate Revelations Life Assistants to New Heights) Here are 6 critical attributes and competencies that will help you achieve working for a C-level executive!

Getting into the Executive Suite, 5 attributes that will help you achieve your career goal.