The secretary was so named because among other duties, the role involved being a guardian of secrets. Today’s PA has come of age and faces rather different challenges and opportunities in the current technological and economic climate, explains Sue France.
I have worked in the secretarial world for over 32 years. In that time I have held three jobs and have been made redundant three times – once on my 18th birthday (after only starting work two months previously), once when Enron brought Arthur Andersen accountants to its knees and most recently because my boss had to change the way he worked in response to the economic climate. The skill necessary to cope with redundancy and life changes is to accept the change and look to the future viewing every situation as an opportunity to change your life for the better. I believe things always happen for a reason and it is up to the individual to make it the best possible reason for them. It is important to take time to realise exactly what it is you want to do and in what field you want to work and then focus on that ideal job and world you want to live and work in making your own luck and positive outcomes.
Versatility
It goes without saying that the older management assistant has immense experience, skills, knowledge and wisdom that comes with age and if they are ever made redundant they should never worry about being able to get another job because they feel they are too old – if bosses have any sense they would snap them up!
How times have changed! I learned to type on a manual typewriter to the William Tell Overture! I could not believe my luck when I got a golf ball typewriter some years later with a tiny screen on the front of it where you could see one sentence at a time and be able to change it before it being printed on to paper – this was a major advancement as I had to use carbon paper in between five pieces of paper for every document I typed! The technology we have today is a fantastic enabler for all management assistants.
Management assistants are often astute and do extra roles such as website design, give presentations, train staff, recruit staff, carry out budget controls and are often required to appraise staff whether it’s members of their team or in 360 degree environments where they appraise their boss. Management assistants also have the ability to help develop the businesses they work for by networking to promote their companies and share knowledge1.
Today’s assistants are expected to multi-task as well as be multi-skilled and often are able to speak a second language. A number have university degrees: either through studying straight from higher education; or studying part time at university whilst holding down a full time job as a mature student. They usually have the most important skills of problem solving and are the first to know exactly what is going on in the company whether it is because they work for the top people in the company and hold confidential information or because they ‘keep their ear to the ground’ and know what’s going on in the organisation as a whole – through the ‘grapevine’.
Development opportunities
Today’s management assistant may consider to take further studies and transfer their skills, knowledge and expertise into other areas of the business such as human resources, website design, book-keeper/accounts, event management, marketing, public relations, training and development etc. In many cases the management assistant incorporates some experience of these roles into their own day-to-day duties, which gives them an excellent stepping stone to a managerial role if they choose to take that path.
Many assistants have been enabled by technology such as the internet, mobile phones/iphones, PDAs and laptops with wireless connections to become virtual assistants and work for themselves but also working for businesses of all sizes and types. Not only has this changed the role of the management assistant, but it is this individual who is often tasked with specifying the technology and form of communication their boss should use and then teaching their manager to use the new technology effectively. This does make the former somewhat stereotypical secretarial role redundant. Laptops and PDAs make it possible to be permanently contactable (if this is actually desired) and basic communications can and are keyed directly by senior managers whether they are office based or on the move.
The management assistant should grasp these opportunities and make sure they are empowered to take on projects which could help free up some of their boss’s time and usefully utilise their own skills, knowledge and expertise in a productive and self actualising way. As the motivation theory of Maslow stated2, self actualisation is the highest level of motivation and by being free to be proactive and manage their own careers in a way that is highly satisfying is the ultimate anyone can hope for to be successful at work.
Management assistants are, in my opinion, all quite capable of running the companies they work for and many do just that in the absence of their boss at least for the short term. My own view is that if you have a company of fee earners, staff and management assistants – you can take all the fee earners and staff out of the office and leave the management assistants and administrative staff to successfully continue to run the company successfully for a week or more. However if you take all the management assistants and administrative staff out of the office all at once for a week then the fee earners and staff will fail to run the company efficiently. Proof of this is to just think of how many companies allow all their management assistants to be out of the office on a training course for just one day? It hardly ever happens because employers cannot cope without them…
The role of the management assistant is still and always will be a necessity in the workplace as senior managers and executives will always need someone they can trust to take care of the day to day procedural issues. For example, the organisation and minuting of strategic management meetings helps confirm that person’s role as part of the management team. In this way the assistant gains more decision-making power along with more responsibility and accountability.
A winning partnership
‘For our own success to be real, it must contribute towards the success of others.’ Thus spoke Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of former US president Franklin D Roosevelt. This is a particularly apt summary of the management assistant role, where the right partnership with mutual support to achieve a common vision can deliver great things.
The position of the management assistant is finally getting the recognition it deserves. This position was originally called a secretary because they were the holder of secrets; they still do that role (discretion remains a ‘must’ in any personal assistant role) but much more. The job titles might differ but it is the job that you do and the role that you play and how well you do it that really matters – something that goes for all job titles. Continuous self development, networking and the ability to positively adapt to change is the key to being a successful management assistant.
I have worked in the secretarial world for over 32 years. In that time I have held three jobs and have been made redundant three times – once on my 18th birthday (after only starting work two months previously), once when Enron brought Arthur Andersen accountants to its knees and most recently because my boss had to change the way he worked in response to the economic climate. The skill necessary to cope with redundancy and life changes is to accept the change and look to the future viewing every situation as an opportunity to change your life for the better. I believe things always happen for a reason and it is up to the individual to make it the best possible reason for them. It is important to take time to realise exactly what it is you want to do and in what field you want to work and then focus on that ideal job and world you want to live and work in making your own luck and positive outcomes.
Versatility
It goes without saying that the older management assistant has immense experience, skills, knowledge and wisdom that comes with age and if they are ever made redundant they should never worry about being able to get another job because they feel they are too old – if bosses have any sense they would snap them up!
How times have changed! I learned to type on a manual typewriter to the William Tell Overture! I could not believe my luck when I got a golf ball typewriter some years later with a tiny screen on the front of it where you could see one sentence at a time and be able to change it before it being printed on to paper – this was a major advancement as I had to use carbon paper in between five pieces of paper for every document I typed! The technology we have today is a fantastic enabler for all management assistants.
Management assistants are often astute and do extra roles such as website design, give presentations, train staff, recruit staff, carry out budget controls and are often required to appraise staff whether it’s members of their team or in 360 degree environments where they appraise their boss. Management assistants also have the ability to help develop the businesses they work for by networking to promote their companies and share knowledge1.
Today’s assistants are expected to multi-task as well as be multi-skilled and often are able to speak a second language. A number have university degrees: either through studying straight from higher education; or studying part time at university whilst holding down a full time job as a mature student. They usually have the most important skills of problem solving and are the first to know exactly what is going on in the company whether it is because they work for the top people in the company and hold confidential information or because they ‘keep their ear to the ground’ and know what’s going on in the organisation as a whole – through the ‘grapevine’.
Development opportunities
Today’s management assistant may consider to take further studies and transfer their skills, knowledge and expertise into other areas of the business such as human resources, website design, book-keeper/accounts, event management, marketing, public relations, training and development etc. In many cases the management assistant incorporates some experience of these roles into their own day-to-day duties, which gives them an excellent stepping stone to a managerial role if they choose to take that path.
Many assistants have been enabled by technology such as the internet, mobile phones/iphones, PDAs and laptops with wireless connections to become virtual assistants and work for themselves but also working for businesses of all sizes and types. Not only has this changed the role of the management assistant, but it is this individual who is often tasked with specifying the technology and form of communication their boss should use and then teaching their manager to use the new technology effectively. This does make the former somewhat stereotypical secretarial role redundant. Laptops and PDAs make it possible to be permanently contactable (if this is actually desired) and basic communications can and are keyed directly by senior managers whether they are office based or on the move.
The management assistant should grasp these opportunities and make sure they are empowered to take on projects which could help free up some of their boss’s time and usefully utilise their own skills, knowledge and expertise in a productive and self actualising way. As the motivation theory of Maslow stated2, self actualisation is the highest level of motivation and by being free to be proactive and manage their own careers in a way that is highly satisfying is the ultimate anyone can hope for to be successful at work.
Management assistants are, in my opinion, all quite capable of running the companies they work for and many do just that in the absence of their boss at least for the short term. My own view is that if you have a company of fee earners, staff and management assistants – you can take all the fee earners and staff out of the office and leave the management assistants and administrative staff to successfully continue to run the company successfully for a week or more. However if you take all the management assistants and administrative staff out of the office all at once for a week then the fee earners and staff will fail to run the company efficiently. Proof of this is to just think of how many companies allow all their management assistants to be out of the office on a training course for just one day? It hardly ever happens because employers cannot cope without them…
The role of the management assistant is still and always will be a necessity in the workplace as senior managers and executives will always need someone they can trust to take care of the day to day procedural issues. For example, the organisation and minuting of strategic management meetings helps confirm that person’s role as part of the management team. In this way the assistant gains more decision-making power along with more responsibility and accountability.
A winning partnership
‘For our own success to be real, it must contribute towards the success of others.’ Thus spoke Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of former US president Franklin D Roosevelt. This is a particularly apt summary of the management assistant role, where the right partnership with mutual support to achieve a common vision can deliver great things.
The position of the management assistant is finally getting the recognition it deserves. This position was originally called a secretary because they were the holder of secrets; they still do that role (discretion remains a ‘must’ in any personal assistant role) but much more. The job titles might differ but it is the job that you do and the role that you play and how well you do it that really matters – something that goes for all job titles. Continuous self development, networking and the ability to positively adapt to change is the key to being a successful management assistant.
[1] For example, European Management Assistants
[2] A useful summary of this can be found here