Share thisJoe asks Sue, his support staff person, to go through sales records and give him a list of clients who placed orders worth more than $1,000 in the last quarter. The next day, not having received the data he requested, he asks Sue, “Where’s that information I asked for?”
Sue replies, “I’m working on it. But I’ve been awfully busy with the calls the boss asked me to make. I hope to have it for you by the end of the day tomorrow.”
Harry asks Sue if she can give him an annotated list of the last quarter’s largest buyers of their most high-end of microsurgical sterilization units. Twenty minutes later it’s on his desk.
What gives?
In very plain terms, Sue doesn’t much like Joe. And she has a good feeling towards Harry. It’s that simple . . . and that complicated.
The person who used to be known as a secretary, and may now be labeled “administrative assistant” or simply “support staff,” can be the person who, as much as anyone, can seriously impact your career. Without his/her enthusiastic support, you may have to struggle with mounds of paper work that takes little creativity, and gets you little notice, but takes lots of your time.
With a positive, well-trained, well-disposed aide you can be freed up to do the things that really matter and that show your creativity and your ability to get things done—and earn yourself some kudos. The care and feeding of your clerical/ administrative staff people can, quite literally, make or break you. So it behooves you to cultivate their good will.
Aside from significantly affecting your career, how well and how wisely you treat the people who assist you, signifies your basic decency and humanity. To treat those who help you well is, simply, the right thing to do. Here are some suggestions to help you get the most from, and give the most to, your support staff.
Be friendly. Stop to chat from time to time. Ask about their families; show some interest in their lives. They are unique human beings and should be regarded as such.
Request, don’t command. It may sound like a small thing but giving an order in the form of, “would you please…” is going to go over a whole lot better than simply, “Sue, please…” Sure, you’re the boss, and it’s their job to do what you ask, right? Right! But most of us don’t like to be ordered around. By framing your order as a request—even though it clearly is an order—you’ll definitely win friends and influence people.
Make your instructions clear. When you ask your assistant to do something for you make sure that you are clear so that there is no doubt in the helper’s mind as to exactly what is wanted. For simple, routine tasks, it’s obvious. But if you are assigning a more complicated, multi-step task, then you must ask for feedback to make sure that you are understood. Tell your helper that you want to make sure that you said it right; that’s better than asking them if they understood you.
Ask how you can help them. Because you probably are higher up on the organizational food chain, your support people may hesitate to come to you with their problems. You’ll go a long way towards winning their esteem and their desire to go out of the way for you if you show concern for their work-related problems.