Managing the Boss
Remember that feedback should travel up the ladder as well as down.
When your relationship with your boss is bad, you do have some power to make the situation better.
Maria Scala is a legal assistant at Scarinci Hollenbeck, which has locations in New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. She started there a year and a half ago on the recommendation of a friend with whom she worked at another law firm.
Your relationships in the workplace often dictate how well you work and how enjoyable work is.
A workaholic boss can make you feel the need to constantly work, but understanding your job, limits, and boundaries will help you cope.
Your boss has a lot of say over your job, but what happens when you’re pretty sure you know better?
Question: “Five months ago I was hired as an admin at a telecommunications company. Recently I’ve come to realize that while my boss and I do get along, he’s kind of a classic jerk—and everyone warned me about it. He’s rude, condescending, argumentative and sometimes just plain mean, but he seems to get away with a lot because he’s apparently terrific at bringing in profits. Does anyone but me feel there’s something not right about working so hard for someone you find personally offensive, even if you need the paycheck and your work relationship is perfectly functional?” – Valerie, Administrative Assistant
So you think your workplace performance speaks for itself and that everything you do is amazing. Guess who might not see it that way.
Personal assistants help ensure successful executives stay on top of their work, writes Suzanne Locke for The National. Helen Clarke, personal assistant to Richard Branson (the founder of Virgin Group), knows just how much is expected in the job.
While it’s usually CEOs getting interviewed about their achievements, the people that help make those achievements possible are just as important, says April Capochino Myers for Greater Baton Rouge Business Report. Executive assistants have to stay organized and ready for any task their high-profile boss might throw at them. Here are a few executive assistants making headlines of their own.
Sometimes, it’s difficult to be engaged if you and your boss don’t agree. Here are four tips that can help you see eye to eye.
One of the most pivotal periods in your relationship with your boss is those first few weeks while you’re getting routines established, learning each other’s temperaments and mapping out expectations. This is especially true when it’s the boss who’s new to the company and not you. You can make yourself indispensable and ease her transition into your organization if you do the following.
The biggest difference between the admin support pro of yesteryear and the one that excels today boils down to the ability to not just respond to the boss, but think like the boss.
