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 World Class Assistant™
Part 3 Curriculum Overview
Success Stories:
Joan Burge continues to hear great success stories from Part 2 graduates. World Class Assistants, like you, are making a difference at work and increasing personal job satisfaction. As you experienced in Part 2, the sharing of successes is powerful. When we hear what others have accomplished and how they have overcome obstacles, it encourages us to push forward with our goals. As we kick off Part 3, you will be asked to share one or two areas of success you’ve experienced since our last gathering. This is a time to inspire your peers and be inspired.
How ‘Engaged’ Are You? A Self-Assessment
The fact is the more engaged you are in the office—the more genuinely you care about some aspect of your work—the greater value your career will add to your personal life. You’ll find the truth of that statement in the people you admire most. Almost without exception, highly successful people are “present” in a way many others are not. They choose to actively participate in their lives, rather than sitting on the sidelines hoping that someday, someway, they’ll stumble onto Success with a capital “S.”
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Create a work culture of engagement |
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Learn to actively participate in your life |
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Identify the payoffs for setting goals and being engaged at work |
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Tackle problems, processes and issues that are hampering your effectiveness
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Emotional Intelligence
Daniel Goleman, author of Working With Emotional Intelligence says, “Emotional intelligence is the ability to sense, understand and effectively apply the power and acumen of emotions as a source of human energy, information, connection and influence. It’s not that IQ and technical skills are irrelevant. They do matter, but mainly as threshold capabilities.” A World Class Assistant needs to know when and how to use emotional intelligence while managing day-to-day situations with others and his or her executive.
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Learn the Four Dimensions of EI: Self-awareness, Self-management, Social awareness, and Social skill |
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Apply this knowledge by working through Case Studies |
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Recognize how feelings affect performance |
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Step forward to lead as needed, regardless of your position |
Tactfully Voicing Opinions
Sometimes the way we express our opinions at work hinders others’ acceptance of them. In our first workshop, you learned and practiced how to express your opinions tactfully in the scenario involving Mary Louise. But how do you communicate your opinions when you are faced with controversial situations? How do you maintain your cool and effectively communicate your viewpoints? Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. In this session, we will dig deeper into tactfully voicing opinions and tie into persuasion skills.
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Learn to express your opinions in a way that others will be open to your viewpoints |
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Avoid words and phrases that should not be used when discussing controversial issues at work |
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Practice using “cushion phrases” when discussing issues that could be controversial |
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Find common ground with others through greater understanding |
Communicating In Style, With Style
Some people have specific preferences in how they like to be communicated to and how they like to communicate; others do not. A true World Class Assistant is interested in knowing the four communication styles, the characteristics of each, and whether she/he has their own personal preference. In this session, you will complete a communication style assessment; learn whether you have a preference and if so, to what degree. After studying the four styles, you will discover ways to establish common ground when communicating with others, tap into people’s preferred communication styles for instant rapport and team-building results, and explore ways to strengthen work relationships so everyone’s most effective.
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Discover techniques that establish “common ground” when communicating with others |
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Tap into people’s preferred communication styles for instant rapport |
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Learn proven persuasion and negotiating tactics to influence positive change |
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Identify whether you have a preferred communication style and its impact |
Crafting Constructive E-mail Correspondence
As you learned in WCA Part 1, there are positives and negatives to corresponding via e-mail versus face-to-face or by telephone. Because we cannot tell someone’s tone of voice in an e-mail or because enough information is not provided, it is easy to misinterpret the sender’s intent. When crafting e-mail messages, it is extremely important to use tact and present your information in a way that the receiver will perceive it as you intended. This is a skill practice session in which you will re-write tactless e-mails.
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Review when to use e-mail vs. other communication tools |
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Develop tact when writing e-mails |
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Practice editing e-mails that can be construed as tactless or hurtful |
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Arrange the flow of your writing for greater impact by receiver |
The DNA of Star AssistantsTM (NEW for 2008)
What are the qualities, attributes, attitudes, and behaviors of star assistants? Why do certain assistants stand out and shine brighter than others? Are star assistants created or is it their innate abilities that make them a star? After working with and studying administrative professionals for 36+ years, Joan Burge can shed light on this topic and help you explore your DNA. This new topic for WCA Part 3, 2008 sessions, will stimulate your thinking and energize your spirit.
Your Professional Trademark (NEW for 2008)
In World Class Assistant Part 1, Joan covered professionalism and focused on your professional image, packaging yourself, and creating a signature trademark in relation to appearance. But does a trademark only relate to dress? No. There are several other aspects about you that can be your trademark. In this segment, Joan will provide examples of expanding your trademark and have you explore how to implement these into your every day work life.
WCA Challenge
By attending all 3 Parts of WCA, you are entitled to receive a Master Certification for this intense course. However, attendance is not the only pre-requisite for receiving Master Certification. You must prove you have learned your lessons well over the 3 Parts by passing a test at the last class. This is a fun team activity!
360-Degree Awareness
Professionalism is a 360-degree awareness of the impact that your behavior, words and actions have on the people you support, not to mention your overall effectiveness. It’s accepting responsibility for your actions because it affects how others view your employer, your immediate supervisor and, ultimately, your performance. It’s also about ownership.
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Examine how you “fit” into the Big Picture |
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Look at the impact you have on your employers’ and colleagues’ success each and every day |
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Put your World Class Mastery into action by discussing the 360-degree ramifications in various business scenarios |
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Write action items for future change |
World Class Assistant – Part 3
(Open only to WCA Part 1 and Part 2 Graduates)
WCA Part 3 Agenda
| Thursday |
| 8:00 – 8:30 a.m. |
Networking |
| 8:30 – 9:15 a.m. |
Welcome and Program Overview
Success Stories
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| 9:15 – 10:15 a.m. |
Engagement and Self-Awareness |
| 10:15 – 10:30 a.m. |
Break |
| 10:30 – 12:00 p.m. |
Emotional Intelligence |
| 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. |
Lunch |
| 1:00 – 2:45 p.m. |
Communications: Tactfully Voicing Opinions, Communication Styles, Constructive E-mails |
| 2:45 – 3:00 p.m. |
Break |
| 3:00 – 3:40 p.m |
(Finish) Constructive E-mails |
| 2:45 – 3:00 p.m |
Debrief |
| 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. |
Reception with Joan Burge |
Friday |
| 8:00 – 8:30 a.m. |
Networking |
| 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. |
The DNA of Star AssistantsTM |
| 9:30 – 10:15 a.m. |
Your Professional Trademark |
| 10:15 – 10:30 a.m. |
Break |
| 10:30 – 12:00 p.m. |
Putting Your World Class Mastery into Action |
| 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. |
Lunch |
| 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. |
World Class Assistant Challenge – Create Review Activity |
| 2:00 – 2:45 p.m. |
World Class Assistant Challenge – Test |
| 2:45 – 3:15 p.m. |
360-Degree Awareness |
| 3:15 – 3:30 p.m. |
Debrief, Next Steps, Certificate Presentation |
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