It goes without saying that for an Assistant to be successful in the role, they need to have strong business acumen. I’ve written about this skill a lot over the years, and I have presented on the topic at various events. It is a topic close to my heart because I genuinely think once Assistants […]
Before we dive into our list of productivity tools, I want to spend a few minutes talking to you about the importance of keeping up with the latest technology. Firstly it makes us more productive – can you imagine still using a typewriter for your minutes, carbon copy paper for anything that needs to be […]
We’ve all been there, picture the scene. You are sitting at your desk, working hard, you are focused and you have a deadline to meet when a colleague comes up to you, interrupts what you are doing to ask you to do something that isn’t your priority, it isn’t something you should be focusing on […]
At our recent Future Assistant Conference, we covered the topic of ‘managing difficult conversations’. Julie Leitz’s presentation is still one of our most popular online sessions because so many us shy away from having difficult conversations and managing conflict at work. It is inevitable that conflict will arise in the workplace; we all have different […]
Just recently I was chairing a panel session at the Conference and Hospitality Show in Leeds. Before going on the stage myself and the other panellists were talking about how we conquer our nerves so that we can get up on stage and speak to the audience. As I think we all know, speaking in […]
I write a lot on Practically Perfect PA about how Assistants should speak-up, have confidence and represent themselves and their Executives in meetings. This is often easier said than done, because, as we all know, speaking in public (whether that is in a session or a larger public setting) is hard. Most people don’t do […]
Creativity is such an essential competency for Assistants to have and here is why. We are faced with unusual requests and challenges every day. We often have to ‘think outside the box’, to come up with solutions to problems that most other people in the office wouldn’t even know where to start. We are asked […]
If time management is so obvious why don’t you have enough time? Time Management is so obvious, and it’s unlikely you will read anything new in this blog post. So why should you keep reading? Simple, if you already ‘know what do to’…WHY aren’t you doing it? WHY don’t you have more time than you know […]
I’ve just finished reading Think Better Analytically, and I want to share my learning with you! I decided to read the book because I don’t think of myself as someone who thinks logically or analytically. I’m much more of an emotional thinker, placing more value on my instincts than the evidence in front of me. […]
‘Must have good interpersonal skills’ is a phrase that you will often see on job descriptions for Assistants, but what does that mean? What are interpersonal skills and why are they so crucial for Assistants? Interpersonal skills, or soft skills or people skills are the same thing. They are the skills you need to interact […]