Administrative Assistant's Update

FEBRUARY 2017 4 Patti Emslie "Once there is a level playing field of respect for [each party's profession] then it is easier to open the feedback tool on both sides," says Patti Emslie, executive assistant to the executive director of the Catholic Children's Aid Society of Hamilton, Ontario. Over her 40- year career in the private, non-profit and government sectors, Emslie has counted "seven significant employ - ment relation- ships." Some ran smoothly from the start, others took time to evolve but in all cases, says Emslie, trust and re- spect were present to build a success- ful relationship over time. Learn who that executive is "Like a good relationship with a friend, you learn who that person is and you learn their likes and dislikes, as well as their strengths and weak- nesses," she says. In one job, she was always the first to arrive and, instinc- tively, made sure to take the daily newspaper from the reception desk to her boss's office. Some months later, he commented appreciatively on her gesture. "I did it because it was something I observed," she says. "It was about picking up on clues and getting to know the person. The relationship just grows naturally." But she also recalls times when she felt compelled to initiate a difficult conversation, either because of the boss's behaviour or about misinfor - mation (shared by employees during coffee breaks) that she knew had to be addressed by management. "I need to say this � � �" "I have gone and said 'At the risk of upsetting you or at the risk of putting myself in an awkward position, I need to say this,'" says Emslie. "I need to say this and if I am wrong I hope you will let me know if there was another way I could have done this." That candor reflects Emslie's com - mitment to be authentic with her boss and others in the organization. "Yes, they know I will protect him [her boss] and his time, but I also work to make sure that they get what they need from him too," she says. "I am their helper too." Skilled admins often tap their emotional intelligence – the ability to listen, observe and react empatheti- cally – to respond to situations in ways that support the boss. That's a strategy embraced by Barbara Henchey, who laughs that she developed her emotional intel- ligence early as the youngest of six in her family. From receptionist to director She joined Concordia University in 2002 as a receptionist and over a 14- year career has worked for the institu- tion's board of governors and several deans, most recently Brutus. Last year, she was named to a new position of director of his office, working closely with the dean and faculty on upcom- ing strategic projects. In her formal role as an EA, she attends the dean's meetings, organizes agendas and provides relevant docu- mentation to him and others (though someone else now does minute-taking). But she also fills an informal role in which she is comfortable saying "don't send the email now." Henchey says "everyone has been in that situation where someone has been abrasive or challenged you in a way that is rude or obnoxious. Our instinct is to react negatively; you have to reel yourself in and take a step back." The courage to be candid would not be possible without a trusting two- way relationship, she says. Two points of view "It is a healthy existence to have two points of view in the office," she says. Though he has studied organization - al feedback for years as a researcher, Brutus says he did not have direct expe- rience with an executive assistant until he took on his current role in 2015. "In 15-20 years of studying [the topic], I have never seen anything that looks at the AA as a source of feed- back," he says, with the focus usually on relationships between a leader and peers or subordinates. "The AA is not a subordinate; that kind of support is different," he says. Of his current feedback loop with Henchey, he says, "I am loving it and I can see it as a useful source of feedback." Feedback fuels admin-boss partnership Continued from page 1 Barbara Henchey Until recently, training in social media skills has been hard to come by. The right kind of train- ing, according to Holmes, "needs to be on-demand and mobile friendly." Some training options are free. Some of the best paid options, Holmes says, "are coming from companies immersed in the social and digital media space, offering real lessons from the front lines." Read Holmes's LinkedIn post, "The major skills gap no one talks about," for some training sources. Continued from page 3 Social media training

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