Administrative Assistant's Update

AUGUST 2018 P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T F O R C A N A D A ' S O F F I C E S U P P O R T S T A F F Administrative Assistant's UPDATE UPDATE PM #40065782 INSIDE Mentoring tips � � � � � � � � � � � � 3 It pays to look after details when setting up a plan Eying the C-suite � � � � � � � � � � 5 If that's your goal, it begins with candid self-reflection Excel add-ins � � � � � � � � � � � � � 6 They allow you to extend Excel application functionality Your collegial score � � � � � � � � 7 Are you the best colleague ever? Take this quiz to find out The Cosm chair: At your service An office chair that automati- cally fits itself to the current user, regardless of who most recently sat in it? Really? It's the Cosm, by U.S. office furniture giant Herman Miller, seemingly perfect for an office en- vironment with few or no assigned workspaces. Recline resistance is automati- cally calibrated, depending upon one's body and posture, and the armrests are more like elbow ham- mocks that can fit anyone. "Sit in Cosm," says the compa- ny's website, "and you just might forget you're sitting in a chair at all." Continued on page 4 By Jennifer Lewington AAU Associate Editor In 2000, when Doug Craig won his first of five terms as mayor of Cam- bridge, Ont., he im- mediately sought advice from the pro in his office: veteran mayoral executive assistant Lina Veglia. "She helped funnel me in terms of the appropriate events that were a top priority, what kinds of addresses I should make and whether or not [an event] was casual or formal dress," he says. "She had that experience and background." Now seeking a sixth term this fall, Craig says his long-time assistant – his office manager in a three-person may - oral staff – remains an essential ally to him as head of this southwestern Ontario city of 134,000. "I have a partner who in fact works with me, alongside of me, and [who] does a lot of the things that make me look good," he says. "That is what staff [members] do – they make me look good." Veglia's path to the C-suite – in this case the mayor's office – began when she joined the city in 1976 as a clerk typist in the recreation department. Over four-decade career, she credits hard and soft skills – technical and subject knowledge as well as an ability to communicate, work as a team member and lead – for her rise. "Hard skills alone were not enough to get the position," comments Veglia, who worked for two other mayors before Craig. "Although they [hard skills] were a great way to show my technical ability, many other skills were required to fit within the mayor's office. I needed to work well within the team and deal with other impor - tant elements of the job." Discretion is key soft skill Among those soft skills is discretion, given the confidential items handled by the mayor's office and his eight- member council. She developed that commitment to confidentiality early. Two years after Veglia joined the city, her then-boss in the recreation department was pro- moted to commissioner of administra- tion and he asked her to join him. "The one thing he wanted me to take on was confidentiality," she says, noting the commissioner's portfolio included sensitive information on pay, benefits and staff recruitment. She Rising to the C-suite The mayor's high-level adviser: his EA Doug Craig Lina Veglia

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