Administrative Assistant's Update

JULY 2016 2 E D I TO R ' S N OT E George Pearson Wanted: EA to be trusted business partner In this issue of AAU we explore, through interviews with executive assistants and their bosses, what makes for a successful and productive relationship between them. Among effective alliances, a recurring theme is that the assistant is, in essence, a business partner of the manager. Partnership is not a word usually used by managers about their execu- tive assistant; often the relationship is seen as a hierarchy, with the boss al- ways a few rungs higher up the ladder. But a mutually productive partner- ship, built on a high level of trust and accountability in both directions, draws on the hard and soft skills of a professional assistant. A well-known international staffing and recruitment service recently ad- vertised an opening for an "Executive Assistant, Communications Assistant, Administrative Business Partner," a contract position for a Toronto client. The job description: "You will offer administrative sup- port to the Country Manager and one other remote director of the Canada Sales team. You're at the heart of your team's business operations and activi- ties and the soul that keeps your team and office moving forward. You antici- pate the needs of your managers and team members and help them stay focused on their projects by resolving operational and administrative issues before they arise. You move quickly with the changing environment. In ad- dition to being organized and analyti- cal, you possess the strong business judgment and communication skills needed to interact with a variety of people and job functions." Among the responsibilities: • "Work closely with the Country Manager to be a true business partner who can act as a trusted con- fidante; anticipate needs, manage upwards, and keep the Director and operations on track and moving. • "Handle employee/customer re- quests and concern with tact and di- plomacy and escalate when needed. • "Participate in strategy meetings and work with Sales Operations team to drive execution." This level of performance expecta- tion cannot be achieved without a high level of trust. That rapport has to be earned by both parties, especially when it comes to respecting confidential information and sensitive personnel data. Infor- mation shared privately stays behind closed doors, for example, because the manager and the assistant are on the same page. Even when a manager-assistant relationship is not chummy, executive assistants and managers and organi- zational experts offer similar advice: serve the position, not the person. Digital AAU is versatile, easy to share Are you sharing highlights of your Administrative Assistant's Update with colleagues and friends? It's especially easy to do with the digital version, which is now available to all subscribers. The digital edition is a complete rep- lica of the print issue — you can zoom in on stories and illustra- tions and flip through pages. And best of all, it works on any device: Desktop, laptop, tablets, smart- phones. All the links in any given issue of AAU are collected and present- ed in a list in the user interface, making it simple to connect with resources noted in our coverage. You can easily share AAU content on Facebook and Twitter as well. A simple-to-use archive offers three years' worth of back issues with a wealth of information and features, all of it easily shared with friends as well as collectible in your personal archive. If you are an AAU subscriber and are not receiving an emailed link to each digital issue as it is released, send a note to aaron.green@tr.com and ask to be added to the list. Administrative Assistant's Update is published once a month by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Director, Carswell Media: Karen Lorimer Publisher: Todd Humber Editor: George Pearson george@adminupdate.ca Associate Editor: Jennifer Lewington jennifer@adminupdate.ca EDITORIAL OFFICE (519) 271-6000 Administrative Assistant's Update Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 1 Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Road Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 CUSTOMER SERVICE (416) 609-3800 (800) 387-5164 FAX (416) 298-5082 (877) 750-9041 carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com Contents copyright. All rights reserved. © 2016 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Contents may not be reproduced without written permission. Brief extracts may be made with due acknowledgement. Annual subscription: $189. Publications Mail Registration No. 40065782 GST# 897176350 UPDATE Administrative Assistant's

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