The Crazy Days of Summer

Does this sound familiar?

I find as an AA that my day is not mine to control. My boss e-mails me or phones me to do this or that so I have to pay attention to the pings that let me know I have another message in my Inbox. I need to check my voicemail when I see the red light is flashing on my phone.

An AA does not have as much say about planning their day. We are "at your service" so to speak, which is the nature of the AA position. This is commonly referred to as multi-tasking or juggling your workload.

I think it is important however in the midst of all these urgent interruptions to prioritize your work and put it in some kind of order. In a typical day this is how I prioritize my workload.

• Composing letters and e-mails.
• Scheduling meeting dates and making business phone calls on behalf of my boss.
• Making travel arrangements.
• I try to fit in arranging for photocopying and binding documents throughout the day depending on the urgency.
• Lastly are the administrative tasks like filing, doing expense reports and cheque requisitions.

Of course, if something urgent comes up, then these are all put on the back burner. Such is the life of an AA. Is it Friday yet?

There is no typical day

A friend of mine went on a job interview and they asked her what she did in a typical day. She started to say some things and then stopped and said, "Wait a minute. There is no typical day." That was the answer they were looking for and she got the job.

Admins in the Spotlight: Assistant walking 60 miles to raise money for a cure for breast cancer

Marsha Johnson will be walking in a 3-day event in Tampa, Florida in October 2008 to raise money for a cure for breast cancer in memory of her friend, Cindy Craig, who died of breast cancer. She is going to walk 20 miles each day for a total of 60 miles.

If you are interested in reading about it or sponsoring her, click here. All the best Marsha!

Does anyone know what time it is? Calculating time internationally

Here is a tip that someone from my office gave me for calculating time internationally. I am not a proficient enough blogger to know how to put these images in my post without you having to click to enlarge it, but I am learning.

To set your clock to a different time zone in Word 2007, click on the time on your computer in the bottom right-hand of your screen. This pop up will appear:

Click on Change date and time settings and choose Change time zone.

Here are the instructions for setting the time zone that comes with the Help Feature in Microsoft 2007:

• To change the time zone, click Change time zone.
• In the Time Zone Settings dialog box, click your current time zone in the list, and then click OK.
• Note: If your time zone observes daylight saving time and you want your computer's clock to be adjusted automatically when daylight saving time changes, make sure the Automatically adjust clock for Daylight Saving Time check box is selected.
• Click OK.
• Set up additional clocks
  Windows can display up to three clocks: one for the local time, and two for the time in other time zones.
• Click to open Date and Time.
  Click the Additional Clocks tab.
  For each clock, select the check box next to Show this clock. Select a time zone from the list, type a name for the clock (you can type up to 15 characters), and then click OK.

Instructions for Word 2003

In Word 2003 the instructions are similar. Double click the time shown on your Task Bar. When the pop-up appears, choose the Time zone tab. Select the appropriate Time Zone and choose Apply. The time in your selected Time Zone will then be shown on your Task Bar. You will have to reverse the process to return to your own time zone.

Is it ever OK to tell someone how much you make?

Someone asked me the other day what my salary was. I was taken aback. Then she proceeded to tell me how much she earned. I was even more surprised at that. What bothered me the most however was learning she was making more than I was for the same job.

Years ago we were taught never to reveal our salary. We might be quite happy in our job until we learn someone else is making more money, then we suddenly are not so happy anymore. I thought the biblical story of the Parable of the Workers was a good demonstration of that very thing so I thought I would include a link to it.

I remember when I started my first job in the mid 70s. I was so excited about getting a steady salary that I wrote the amount in my calendar on each payday. I was making $137 every two weeks. That may seem like a little bit of money today, but when you consider my rent was only $50 a month, it really wasn't that bad for a young girl right out of high school. When my boss noticed what I had written, he took me aside and told me that I should never write my salary down for others to see. Have things changed in this new generation of transparency and having everything out in the open? Is it now OK to tell what you earn?

I think employees are torn about what is the best thing to do. While I was considering this question, it did cross my mind that by not being open about my salary an employer could then pay employees whatever they wanted and none of us would be the wiser. We don't know what the other person is making so we have no idea if we are getting what we are worth. I think it is to the employer's benefit that we don't discuss salary.

I wondered what others thought and posted the question on AdminSecret.com. I wanted to write about it, but wasn't sure if what I thought was just something that I was influenced to think or if I had a valid point to keep it secret.

Coincidentally, the next day I noticed on my blog roll that Penelope Trunk had just posted about that very topic and she was taking the view that salaries should be transparent.

I am not so sure I agree with her. On the one hand I can see her point, but on the other hand I really don't want others knowing what I make. That is my own business. What I would like to see being more transparent is the salary range for different positions and the benefits that a company has to offer. At least you would then be able to see if you were close to the mark or not.

Recently someone sent me a job posting which I forwarded on to someone I thought might be interested in the position. Before I passed it on I asked the salary range so I could give that information to my friend. I was told they do not give the salary range out, but that it was something potential employees negotiated with them when an offer was made. My friend didn't want to bother with sending her resume unless she knew it was going to be worth her while. She didn't want to go to the trouble of trying to get an interview only to find the salary and benefits were never in her range to begin with.

I am not sure what I will say if I am ever asked that question again, but more than likely I will reply, "I'd rather not say".

Career Blogging: A new way of marketing yourself

This August will be my one-year anniversary of starting my blog. It is hard to believe it has been a year already. Over 250 articles later and here I am still blogging.

What I have learned as a blogger

Blogging about your career is an excellent way to present yourself to a potential employer. I would recommend putting your blogspot on your resume under "Accomplishments" with a brief description of what your blog is about.

Make sure if you are using your blog as part of your "career package" that you keep your blog professional and on target. Having worked in a law firm in the Employment and Labour Department, I have been educated on the risks to employees who blog. Blogging is not the time to air frustrations about your co-workers or boss and in fact can get you fired if you are not careful. I always tell people that as a blogger I can truly say, "My lawyers are looking into it -- because they actually are!" I try to blog smart, but whether you work with lawyers in the know or not, your employer can and does check to see what their staff is doing online. Keep it professional and you won't go wrong.

I have found that the more I have blogged about my career, the more knowlegeable I have become in what I do. I have sometimes had to go back in my memory to things I learned in school, researched some subjects to bring myself up to speed, written about good advice I was given along the way, or things I learned from my mistakes and it has helped me to grow as a professional.

Blogging your way into a new career

I was recently on a job interview and when I was getting ready to prepare for the interview, other than checking the company's website for information on who I would be working for, I didn't really have to prepare because as I told them in the interview, I felt I had been preparing for the last year with all my blogging. I was surprised at how easy it was for me to talk about my goals and thoughts about what I was looking for in a career. I have gained confidence in what I do from reading and writing about it.

I try to encourage other admins to start thinking of themselves as professionals who have something to write and talk about. Sometimes I think we look to others to teach us, when we really are the experts ourselves. There are always areas each of us can improve upon, but I think we are the ones who can teach each other through mentoring new employees, writing articles on ideas we have or techniques for getting the job done and even speaking about it. We are the ones on the job and in the know. Those with experience can share what they know -- things you would never learn in school. I am sure business colleges would love to have an on-the-job admin come and speak to their students about what it is like to work in an office.

I have been encouraged to see sites starting up like http://www.officearrow.com/ and http://www.adminsecret.com/ for the administrative and executive assistant. There are other sites that have been around for awhile like http://www.deskdemon.com/, which have a professional online magazine called AdminAdvantage, and of course the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) who publish a professional magazine called OfficePro. All these sites and publications are looking for input from office professionals to share their experiences and tips by writing articles or participating by commenting thoughts and ideas online.

Yes, blogging has helped me to see that I have a lot to share in my profession and it has given me confidence to go and try for more.

I got the job by the way. I am going to continue blogging about my career and about the things I will learn from my new co-workers, the new challenges I will have on the job and the things I will learn from my new boss. I haven't left my former co-workers behind however, but I will continue to expand my network of "assistants in the know", because I know that we are professionals in what we do and as an IAAP sticker says, "The glue that holds the office together".

See you on the blog.

Hitting the Mark on OfficeArrow

I recently found an excellent site for administrative professionals called OfficeArrow. It is written for office professionals, by office professionals and you can tell because the articles are very relevant to what we do every day. I have been browsing the site recently and discovering just how much there is on it. Today I found a section called Templates and Documents. What a helpful tool for admins. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Having a good outlook when it comes to Outlook

Organizing someone else’s calendar can be challenging. It involves communicating what you have scheduled, and in most cases without direct contact with the person you are scheduling appointments for. In other words, you will probably not be able to speak to the person, but you have to communicate to them in some way that you have updated their calendar.

It involves an understanding that you have to look ahead and see what is in the calendar. Sometimes a calendar can change, a meeting gets cancelled or postponed and needs to be rescheduled. It is important to keep in communication with your boss on some level. It is ideal to have daily meetings to plan for the days and weeks ahead, but sometimes that is not possible if your boss is on the move. Your boss will need a high level of confidence and trust that whoever is doing the scheduling will have their best interests at heart and will not overbook them.

Communicating without communicating?

How can you communicate to someone that you have updated or changed their calendar? If you are not in direct contact with your boss and must make a change to their schedule, I find a quick e-mail to let them know you have accomplished the task of either making the appointment or rescheduling it goes a long way. Your boss should never think that they have to put the date in their calendar, but they are just being made aware of it and it is something they can mentally tick off their list of things that needed to be done.

It is always good to give your boss a heads up on what kind of a schedule they have to look forward to. You do not want to bother them with every appointment you put in their calendar, but they need to be aware of them. How can you accomplish that? I use appropriate reminders so the appointment doesn’t creep up on them unawares. You would not want your boss to find out about an important meeting at the last minute that they should have been prepared for.

I create the calendar appointment in my boss’s calendar and I always invite myself as a resource person so it also appears in my calendar as well. This can also be accomplished by creating a rule for the dates to automatically go in both calendars. I find this is a good back up system so we are both aware of upcoming appointments and commitments. You should however look in your boss’s calendar throughout the day to keep a good tab on what is going on, especially if they put appointments in on their own.

We have an understanding

The person who is having their calendar managed will have to look ahead in their calendar in order to plan their days and they will need confidence that you have looked after all the details. If the meeting is by teleconference you should have call-in numbers typed in the meeting notice. If the participants are in different time zones it would be beneficial to put that information in the meeting comments. If you need to book hotel, air or a car rental as part of the meeting planning, I put the appointment in the calendar with confirmation numbers and toll free numbers to call if they need assistance.

Nobody likes to be over booked. Make sure that what you are putting in the calendar is doable. Some people don’t mind the busyness of back-to-back meetings, while others want some breathing room to think and prepare before they jump into the next round of talks and decision making. You need to communicate with your boss as to what their expectations and limitations are.

Making it easier on yourself

You can’t remember everything and sometimes a calendar date you created in the future, gets lost in your memory of when you booked it. I use the “categories” section of my meeting date so I can do an advanced search and find the date quickly. For instance, if I am planning a meeting with a client, I will type the client file number in the categories section. If my boss wants to quickly know when the meeting is, I do an advanced search and type in the file number and all meeting dates relating to that file number will pop up on screen. The categories section in Outlook is located in the bottom right-hand corner of the meeting date.

Depending on what kind of an office you work in and what kind of appointments you book, you might consider putting the meeting type in the categories section so you will have easy access to all meetings scheduled for that purpose. For instance, if you are arranging sales meetings for the year it might be useful to put ‘Sales Meeting 2008’ in the categories section and if you ever need to know what meetings are scheduled, a quick search will give you the results. I do the same for vacation days. In the categories section I will type Vacation 2008. Then if my boss wants to know what vacation they have used or have scheduled, I do a quick advanced search for Vacation 2008 and all the dates will pop up at a glance.

Maintaining a good calendar is an important part of an assistant's job. You should be familiar with the special features of whichever calendar system you use and keep the communication open with your boss. You will then become an important part of their business and in the know of what they are doing and when. Where is your boss right now?

The little company that couldn’t...

I once worked for a little start-up company. It was a great experience as I got to try a lot of things I had never done before. I was the President’s secretary and in that role he delegated me to create and type up a job posting, which I advertised in the local newspaper. I conducted interviews and hired my first employee – the receptionist. I had to supervise her as well as run the office. I took minutes at meetings and hosted out of town potential buyers as they came to look at our technology.

Unfortunately they went bankrupt, but I ended up staying on to the very dying days of the company. The only two employees that were kept on to finalize things were me and the accountant.

I learned a few things during that experience. First, I realized that they really had to trust me to keep me on. The accountant and I were the only employees allowed on site other than the bankruptcy people. Second, I got a look into what it was like to be in charge and the responsibilities and risks of owning your own company. The CEO and President who started the company took a chance on a good idea, but it didn’t work out for them.

When we finally finished everything we had to do, I got excellent reference letters from both of them and was able to secure a job within days. We had really gotten to know each other during this difficult time.

The rest of the story...

It was the mid 80s and the company was developing some leading edge technology for that time. We were all excited about it as the staff were encouraged to participate in the pilot project. My friends were sometimes stumped as I sent them recorded phone messages, set to be delivered at a future date, with a simple voice recording to “wake up” or “have a great day”. We called the technology “voice and data”.

I heard later that the technology was sold to an American company who developed it further to something that we know today as “voicemail”.

I was reminded of this experience while reading an article on Anita Bruzzese’s blog called, “Five Reasons it’s a good idea to Stay on a Sinking Ship”.

Cutting the apron strings: Gaining confidence to venture out on your own

If you are in a job and have come on as a junior, then you need to accept the role as student and learn as much as you can from the people around you who have been on the job for a long time. But when is it time to take control and venture out on your own?

It is sometimes easy to stay in the student role because it is safe and if you have a strong mentor to live in their shadow, but that is not good for your career development. There does come a time when you need to step out of your comfortable position and take on the challenge of what you have learned.

Here are some things that may be helpful to you:

1. Accept mentorship if it is offered to you. This is invaluable and will help you in your career. Your co-workers will also be a source of information and help. They want to see you contributing to the team as quickly as possible.
   
2. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, but you will find if you write the answer down in a Secretarial Manual, you will not have to ask as often. You can then refer back to it as often as you need to until you become comfortable with the task. It is always good however to get clarification if you do not understand a task that is given to you and then you might have to adjust what you have written about that particular task in your Manual.
   
3. Evaluate yourself from time to time. You will notice you will refer less and less to your Manual as you start to know the ropes. See this as personal progress and know you are getting to a place where you will be able to take on some tasks on your own.
   
4. If you are comfortable in an area and want to try to do it on your own, then do so, but initially I would recommend that you check with your mentor, or a co-worker, and go over it with them. You will reaffirm to yourself your knowledge of the task and give confidence to your mentor that you have been listening and learning. Many times the mentor has to also learn to let go and let you fly on your own.
   
5. Don’t be discouraged if you make a mistake. This is part of the learning process. Take ownership of the error, but don’t dwell on it. Learn from your mistakes and try not to repeat them.
   
6. Take the time to look things over. You are not in a race, although at times it might seem so with the pressures and stresses of today’s office environment. You want to get it done quickly, but it also needs to be accurate.
   
7. As you gain confidence and take baby steps out on your own, you will see that others will start looking to you for help. Be available when the next new person comes on board. Learning through teaching is an excellent way to grow professionally.

Where is everybody? Setting up an office vacation calendar

It is important for management to know who is going to be away from the office, especially during the summer when everyone is planning vacation time. But it is also important for assistants to know who is in or you may find yourself being the only assistant in the office with six managers all scrambling and needing something done urgently.

Keeping an up-to-date vacation calendar is important so these overlaps are anticipated and in some cases vacations have to be re-scheduled. This should be done a few months before the summer rush begins. Replacements will have to be sorted out and work priorities assigned. A team environment comes in handy at this time so the assistants can plan to cover each other. This way there is little disruption to the normal office workflow.

Setting up a calendar in Word is probably the easiest way to do it and everyone can see at a glance who is going to be away.

To open a calendar in Word 2003 do the following:

1. On the File menu, click New.
2. On the New Document task pane, under General Templates, click the Other Documents tab.
3. Double-click Calendar Wizard.
4. Follow the steps in the Wizard.

In Word 2007 the instructions are:

1. Click on the Office Button in the top left-hand corner, click New.
2. Click on Calendars on the left hand side and then you will see you have a choice of calendar years and styles to choose from. It is that simple.

I would suggest that someone in your office be assigned the task of canvassing everyone for their vacation dates and then type the names in the appropriate blocks. If one person is not responsible, you may find many people are duplicating the same task and each doesn’t know the other is already doing it.

Hello Washington...

I am guest posting on IAAP's Capital Chapter blog site so I wanted to say hello in case any visitors head over my way.

I have been keeping in contact with the newly elected President in Washington (of IAAP that is) over the last year and she asked me to write a post on being a legal assistant. She tells me it will be posted tonight, so you can read it on their blog tomorrow. I will be out of blogging range as I continue my vacation, but wanted to touch base and give you the link.

For those who are interested in a career as a legal assistant, it is an interesting field to get into and can be rewarding and challenging as you get a taste of what being behind the scenes in law is all about.

I have just accepted a position as an Executive Assistant so will be leaving the legal field at the end of the month, but I have enjoyed my time in law and have learned so many things. Like any job I will especially miss my co-workers.

I am, however, looking forward to the challenges of being an EA. Once I have settled in I will write an article about making the jump from AA to EA as I am sure I will be on a big learning curve in the coming months, but I am looking forward to this new challenge.

Again, welcome to my Washington IAAP friends and Happy 4th of July,

Patricia

Out of Blog Assistant

I am on vacation this coming week. Why does it always feel like I couldn't work another day when I know my vacation days are just around the corner. I plan to go boating and will stay at my daughter's for a few days.

Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians and Happy Fourth of July to my American friends!

I will be back on the blog on July 7th.

Can knowing which fork to use help you in your career?

Do people pay attention to our table etiquette when we are entertaining a client, having a lunch interview or when we are at a work function? I think they do and having good form can be a help to your career. I once went to lunch with a co-worker who kept talking while he was eating and the food was literally falling out of his mouth. It was embarassing for me, but he didn't seem to notice. Imagine if I had been a client?

There are etiquette schools that teach business executives, and others who want to invest in their career, how to act in public. Here are some etiquette articles I found on how to pass the salt and pepper, is it OK to ask for a doggy bag at a business lunch, how to entertain guests at a restaurant and even something on dining posture while eating.

I’m sure we have all been at work functions and are waiting for the first person to take a sip of their water or take some bread from their bread plate so we know which one is ours. At some functions the dinnerware is so crammed together it is hard to tell which belongs to you. You will never have to guess again because here is an article to help you know "which is mine?"

The Art of Table Conversation?

I was at a work function recently and sat beside a co-worker and noticed throughout the dinner how she kept the conversation going and kept it interesting. She wasn’t loud or obnoxious, but quietly went about engaging us in conversation. I assumed she had either been trained in this art or because of her job of meeting so many people she had become good at small talk. She was a pleasure to have at the table and it helped to get everyone talking. Work functions can sometimes be stressful to know what to say.

I learned small talk when I was a hairdresser. A hairdresser has to talk to many people in a day. I remember when I first started hairdressing school, I didn’t want to touch the customers, let alone talk to them, but I got over it and actually started to enjoy the interaction with the different people who came to see me each day. It is a different kind of small talk than in business, but it gave me the ability to know how to ask questions and to keep a conversation going.

What do you say at a farewell lunch?

It seems to be expected that you will give some kind of a speech at a farewell lunch. What are you supposed to say? Is there an etiquette on how to say goodbye?

Check out these etiquette articles on when to start eating, how to reply to a toast and dining conversation.

But I still don't know what to say at a farewell lunch...

All etiquette articles linked from the Etiquette School of Ohio's blogsite.

Accepting Authority at Work

Do you accept authority at work or do you balk when someone tries to tell you what to do? Does it depend on who is asking or the way that you are asked? We all have to accept some kind of authority at work – how are you handling it?

Because I told you so

We didn’t like it as children when our parents told us to do something and the only explanation was “because I told you so”. We want to know why, but sometimes at work we don’t have time to explain the whys. Here are some ways you might try to get better results when delegating work:

• If you have a big project to pass on or need something done right away, ask the person what is on their plate. Don’t just walk up and tell someone what to do without finding out what other projects they might be handling.
  
• Give a deadline when you need the task completed by so they can prioritize their workload.
  
• Always take the time to say please and thank you. There is never an excuse not to be polite, even if you have to go back after a stressful work situation and say it later.
  
• Encourage questions. Don’t just drop off the work and not stick around for questions. You want to make sure the instructions are clear.
  
• Asking in person or by telephone for a big project is ideal, followed up by an e-mail to have something in writing.

You are not the boss of me

If you are passing on work to others, have you been given the authority to do so? It is important that staff know what your role is and it will be better received. I was recently discussing what being a supervisor meant and someone told me it was being a team leader and a mentor, which I thought described the role well. A good boss will lead by example and then it won't seem so hard to accept the authority that has been given to them.

Someone was having a Bad Day...

Sometimes you think you are having a bad day and then something happens that makes you see it could always be worse.

An assistant sent me and other recipients an e-mail proposing a date for a meeting. The first e-mail she sent she put the wrong year.

In the next e-mail she sent, she again sent it to all the recipients and corrected the year, but forgot the attachment she said was in the e-mail.

She tried a third time and proposed a new date for the meeting, but when I checked to see if my boss was available that day, I noticed it was a Saturday.

Unfortunately, each time she corrected her e-mail, she pressed Reply to All and everyone on her distribution list saw her attempts to correct her mistakes. We all make mistakes, but we don't need to let everyone know about them. I would have carefully checked my information before pressing Reply to All or if she was trying to do this in a rush she might have been better to wait and send it the next day when she could look at it more carefully.

Untangling the string of e-mail

Sometimes our e-mails get very long with the conversation that is going back and forth. I realize that you do need to keep some of the conversation in there to get the whole story, however, I find in both business and personal e-mails that a little clean up would help. Here are a few good tips from the E-mail Etiquette Matters blog when using Reply to All.

You don't say?...Watch what you say at work!

What you say about yourself can give other people an impression that you might not intend. What you mean as a joke, may be taken seriously. I made the mistake of telling someone I had a bad memory. I find now when I forget something or have a momentary lapse it is almost like I get a nodding and a knowing look like, "Hmmm...we know she has a bad memory so therefore...". My innocent comment about memory has turned into something I never intended.

I used to work with someone who would constantly put herself down. “I am so dumb”, she would say. “How could I have done something so stupid?” It was hard not to get that impression about her, because she was always telling us how she felt about herself. As I got to know her I found she was none of those things, but was very intelligent and a good worker. She was not doing herself any favours by announcing her imagined shortcomings.

Joking at the office as well can be fun, but beware that you don’t start giving the impression that people can’t take you serious. You are fun to have around, but you would never be considered for something more expert or challenging. I mean you are the jokester right? I love laughing and I find it really helps relieve the stress of a busy day, but sometimes I have had to step back and evaluate what it was doing to my career. Am I giving people the right impression of me? I am a professional and at work that is the number one image I want to portray. My sense of humour is an asset to be sure, but it is not the thing I want people to remember when they are thinking of who to hire.

Sometimes we share with our co-workers things they really don't need to know. I would suggest that you keep your conversations with your co-workers on a different level. We don't have to be all business, but keep in mind that what we say about ourselves can make a lasting impression and when the time for promotions and evaluations come along, it might come back to haunt you.

Reading your way into a great career

Read, read, read! There is so much available out there. I have found that I have gained so much knowledge from reading about work. I read professional magazines, books about topics that I want to be educated on, website articles related to my career and the list can go on.

Educating yourself doesn't have to cost big bucks or take time away from your family to attend courses. You can read during your commute to work, read before bed or during your lunch break. What better way to spend the time while waiting for a dentist or doctor's appointment than reading a book? That's the beauty of a book or magazine, you can take it with you.

Here is a list of magazines, books and websites that have caught my eye lately:

Professional Magazines:

OfficePro
This is a well-written professional magazine put out by the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP).

Admin Advantage
This is also a very good professional magazine by Desk Demon based in the UK and the United States.

Websites:

45 Things by Workplace Columnist Anita Bruzzese
I love visiting Anita's blog. She is insightful and has witty and relevant articles about your career and workplace.

Admin Secret - "In the Know, Running the Show"
This is a new site for administrative professionals and is part of the Monster.com family. It is a fun site to visit, with interesting and relevant articles for the office worker.

Office Arrow - "For Office Professionals, By Office Professionals"
As the title states, this is a site created for and by office professionals and you can tell. The articles are very well written and are relevant to what we do every day. A must-visit site.

The Brazen Careerist - by Penelope Trunk
This can be an interesting site to visit. Sometimes it is more personal than work, but then work can be personal. It is a mixed bag of good information that can really hit the mark.

Books:

How Full is Your Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life - by Tom Rath and Donald Clifton

Working Relationships: The Simple Truth About Getting Along with Friends and Foes at Work - by Bob Wall
I have commented on this book and recommended it often. It is a very good read with great tips and stategies for getting along with our co-workers.

Nuts, Bolts and Jolts - by Richard Moran
I get so many quotes from this book. It is filled with fun and serious quotes about work and business.

These are just a few of many. Check out the sidebar of the blog "My Blog List" for more interesting links.

If there are any good magazines, books and sites that you want to share, I'd love to hear about them.

Difficult Working Relationships

I have often joked with my co-workers that this world would be an easier place to live in if it weren’t for the people. People can be difficult at times. I can be difficult at times.

I heard a speaker say that the way you handle conflict depends on your experiences and I believe that is true. Managing conflict with limited knowledge and skill in that area will most likely not result in success. I am the type of person who believes in the do unto others as you would have them do unto you rule, so when someone breaks that and does something that I wouldn’t even think of doing, I find it hard to know how to deal with it.

When I hear someone speak or I read a book and the author is skilled in the area of conflict management, I get good ideas and tools for dealing with conflicts and it is very helpful. I think we need to be equipped to handle situations that come up at work and at home.

I heard someone speak recently on managing conflict and it prompted some good discussions and insight into this topic by the participants.

We were given five types of conflict style and asked to determine which type we were.

• The avoider does not want to have confrontation and will do anything they can to avoid it
  
• The competitor wants to win. It is a competition with them and sometimes they will try to win at all costs. The relationship is not as important as the goal
  
• The accommodator plays the role of the mediator. They try to smooth any ruffled feathers. The relationship is very important to them
  
• The compromiser wants negotiation and compromise. They want things to be resolved such that everyone wins
  
• The collaborator seeks a solution that is good for everyone. They look at the issues, not the personalities involved in the conflict.

It was an interesting workshop as we went through different scenarios and tried to determine which type of conflict style would be best in each particular situation. We also had to give our reasons why we would choose that particular style. We could see that in different situations, different styles needed to be used.

People who are skilled in conflict management can break it down for us and then we can see clearer what needs to be done. Bob Wall has written an excellent book on the subject.[1] It is very interesting and details conflicts and how they can be resolved. Of course it makes perfect sense when it happens to someone else, but it is more difficult when it is a situation you are dealing with at your own workplace or home.

We will all have difficult situations to deal with at one time or another and having knowledge and know-how to approach them is a good first step.

[1] Wall, Bob, Working Relationships: The Simple Truth About Getting Along with Friends and Foes at Work

Keeping one step ahead of your Boss

It is always good to try and keep one step ahead of your boss. Here are some ways I have found to do that:

Read the mail

Read all correspondence and look for action items and due dates and diarize them or bring them to your boss’s attention. If you have access to your boss’s Inbox you should be checking e-mails as well.

Check their calendar

Familiarize yourself with what your boss has scheduled for the week and beyond. Is there anything you need to do to help them? Make travel arrangements? Arrange a conference call? Your boss’s calendar is always changing, but it is a good idea to look ahead and be familiar with what is coming up.

Bring things to their attention when they need it

Keep a good bring-forward system to bring items to your boss’s attention. Use your Tasks in Outlook to remind you or diarize it on your calendar, but have some way of having things ready for your boss, when needed.

Second guess them

When they tell you they want to meet with someone have some questions ready. Things they may not have thought of. If you are organizing a meeting, is it a lunch meeting or do they need a boardroom? If it is a lunch meeting do they want you to make a restaurant reservation or have lunch catered in? Have a list of questions and think ahead. If you are arranging travel, have your list ready. What airport do they want to fly to? How many nights? Any preference on hotel?

If your boss is giving a presentation, find out the details and requirements from the conference organizers. Find out what kind of audiovisual equipment they have. Do they want you to e-mail a PPT presentation or bring it on a memory stick? Have the answers for your boss.

You will make your boss feel more secure when he or she knows you are in control of the situation.

Welcome to your first day on the job...

There is a lot to remember when welcoming new employees. You want to make sure they get a tour of the office and proper introductions are made. You want to show them where the kitchen is and where the washroom is located (restroom to my American friends).

If you are lucky, your new employer will have a time of orientation and training before you actually go to your assigned desk. But what about the little things? I find some things get forgotten as we welcome new employees.

Have you ever arrived at a new job to a clean and sanitized work station? Some of the things we use really should be replaced or sanitized before expecting a new worker to use them.

Keyboards

Our hands are all over our keyboards. Some people also eat at their desk and food can get in between the keys. Previously used keyboards should be cleaned out and sanitized for the new person and in some cases replaced.

Telephones

We speak into our telephone receivers and punch in phone numbers on the keypad. A telephone is definitely a place where germs can hide. Take the time to wipe it down before subjecting a new employee to another person's telephone.

Earphones

I can't believe I even have to mention this one, but when I have started a new job it is usually someone else's earphones I am expected to use. A new employee should definitely be given new earphones.

The Mouse and Mousepad

A mouse is another thing we have our hands all over and should be wiped down or replaced for the new worker. And there is no excuse for using an old mousepad, they are cheap and easy to replace.

The next time you are welcoming a new employee and going through your checklist of things you need to do for them, consider cleaning and sanitizing their desk and work area. Wipe down the computer screen and for goodness sake don't give them used mousepads and earphones. We would never give a guest in our home a used toothbrush to use. Think along those lines with the new employee and welcome them to a clean environment.