Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

Admins Face More Stress Than Ever: Are You Showing Your Appreciation?

Now that Administrative Professionals Week has come to a close, I wanted to reflect on my admin-related experiences over the years.

Fresh out of college, I was the admin. I answered the front desk phone at my PR agency, processed my boss’ expenses, and set up meeting logistics in addition to my account management responsibilities. I will never forget the day I hopped in a cab and drove from New York City to Raleigh, NC because a client needed a contract with a wet signature and the mail wouldn’t get it there on time.

As my career grew, I was fortunate to share an admin with my team. This woman worked long hours behind the scenes to ensure that we could all do our jobs effectively. I was always low on the totem pole in the admin’s eyes, so I went out of my way to express gratitude and engender her goodwill. She once told me she wished I was the boss, and the comment made my day.

Another admin with whom I worked had the most prestigious role in the whole organization besides her boss, the CEO. She was frustrated with her life of alternating mindless and firefighting tasks, so I said: “You do realize you have the ear of the CEO, and that makes your opinion more valuable than anyone else’s.” She hadn’t thought about it that way, but it was true.

Admins Continue to Juggle Mightily

 For the last four years, Staples has issued an online survey in honor of Administrative Professionals’ Day in April. This year’s results, which featured responses from both admins and non-admins, highlight the growing workload of administrative assistants across the United States and Canada. More than half of admins support more staff than the previous year, and many admins are taking on responsibilities above and beyond their job descriptions, including budget and payroll (46.7 percent), human resources (43.9 percent), and social media (23.1 percent).

Admins were rated as better creative problem solvers (57.4 vs. 42.5 percent) and more tech-savvy (43.4 vs. 29 percent) than their bosses. Respondents also said admins have a better sense of humor (58.7 vs. 46.1 percent), are better team players (61.5 vs. 44.4 percent), and are more likely to be described as a friend (44.3 vs. 29.4 percent) than the boss. And in an era when most change jobs every few years, admins are loyal. Close to half (45.6 percent) have been with their current company for six or more years.

Support for Admins Takes Over Social Media

I joined with Staples to co-host #CelebrateAdmins, a Twitter chat to voice support for admins who give so much and yet don’t always receive the appreciation they deserve. It was touching to see admins band together to empower one another, and also managers posting photos and raising virtual toasts to their right-hand men and women. Here are some highlights from the discussion:

Brian Moran ‏@brianmoran 

A successful small business is only as good as their support staff. It's that simple. #CelebrateAdmins

Kelly Olsakovsky ‏@KellyOlsakovsky 

Got a "thank you" from two of my bosses - who needs flowers when they take the time to express gratitude? #CelebrateAdmins

Alexandra Levit ‏@alevit 

Humor is essential for A) keeping the mood light, and B) diffusing tension. Admins are the masters at both! #CelebrateAdmins

Vanessa King ‏@manhattancanuck 

Occasionally you just have to shrug your shoulders... there are only so many mountains you can move in one day. #CelebrateAdmins

JC ‏@whirlsy 

Virtual assistants work for smaller tasks like reminders for meetings, quick access to phone #'s & emails. #CelebrateAdmins

Carrie Maslen ‏@carriemaslen 

Some tasks could be done virtually, but others need a personal touch, human intuition and decision making. #CelebrateAdmins

Rebecca H. G. ‏@rhoneygee 

It's hard to find a job where you can stay 35 years anymore. #CelebrateAdmins

Laura ‏@charmedpaper 

You (admins) have so many things going on at once that it is imperative to be organized. .#CelebrateAdmins

Mr techy ‏@PoppaTechy  

(You must show) empathy for employees, compassion, understanding and professionalism at all times! #CelebrateAdmins

D&k ‏@dad1111 

My boss wasn't a team player but I made him look like one ;) #CelebrateAdmins

 

 

 

 

 

Glassdoor Ranks 5 Star Companies

If you’ve looked for a job in the last five years, chances are you are familiar with Glassdoor. Known as the go-to website for employee reviews of their companies, Glassdoor only has 37 companies (out of nearly 150,000) with a perfect five-star rating. In order to determine what these highly-praised companies were doing right, consulting firm Software Advice analyzed their qualities and reported the following.

Little and Latest: Startups Rein Supreme

Nearly three-quarters of the top-rated companies were founded in the past 10 years, while 90 percent employed 149 employees or less. This makes sense if you understand that half of all visitors to the Glassdoor site are 18-34 year-old millennials, and millennials are known for preferring work at smaller companies. The top-rated companies also tend to be stereotypical startups. Forty-two percent are in the business services sector, while 39 percent are in the information technology sector. Sixteen out of 37 five-star companies are located in California – the global hub of tech-startup action.

If your company is old and large, there’s not much you can do about that. However, you can promote a startup-like culture – through the fostering of innovation, flexible schedules, and shifting challenges and responsibilities – in order to capture some of the Glassdoor magic.

Likeable: Collegial Support Makes the Employment Experience

Over-the-top perks are not what excite Glassdoor reviewers. Rather, it’s the camaraderie and support of co-workers that keep them enthused to show up at work. Thirty-eight percent of reviewers commented on the importance of their team, and managers that promote group cohesiveness and bonding were mentioned as well.

If you’re relying exclusively on benefits to retain your top talent, you might want to re-think that. Benefits are important, but your people and their relationships to one another are what will decrease your turnover. You can start small and simple, perhaps by planning one “official” team-building activity a month or bringing your people together for some low-key fun every once in a while.

A focus on employee careers and helping your people connect with work-related passions will keep them too. The Glassdoor research cites professional development (32 percent) and meaningful work (22 percent) as the second and third characteristics most critical to a top-notch employment experience.

For the rest of Glassdoor's results, head over to Intuit's Fast Track blog.

SOS: Your Colleague is Making You Look Like A Loser

It’s a universal experience. You and a same-aged colleague with a similar background and education start out at identical places in your careers. It’s probably on the bottom rung. You know the same people, do the same things. And then one day, that colleague has something fantastic happen, like a major promotion or a high-profile mentorship. Maybe he plays his cards right, maybe it’s just a lucky break. But either way, his career is suddenly skyrocketing while yours is…not.

You’ve been lapped.

Colleague: 1. You: 0

It’s tough to know how to feel when this happens. One the one hand, you are happy for your colleague, who may even be your friend. But human nature being what it is, you’re also pissed off, resentful, and insecure because you’re evidently a no-talent loser while your colleague has turned your mutual experiences into gold.

It would be easy to stop trying, to accept that once you’ve been lapped once, it’s bound to happen again and again as your colleague gains momentum. It would be easy to sink into a depression because no matter what you do, your career will never sparkle and amaze in quite the same way.

That time when you dusted the people who once lapped you

Well, I’m here to tell you why being lapped isn’t the worst thing in the world. Let’s start with high school. Remember the people who lapped you then? They were the pretty jocks and cheerleaders, the kids for whom being a teenager was graceful and effortless. I’m sure you’ve heard the notion that in all likelihood, these sort of kids peak in high school and that it’s all downhill after graduation. They will never again be as successful in the game of life. While the nerds get rich with their tech start-up and winning stocks, the cool kids are working dead-end jobs and frequenting the same sports bars they hung out 20 years ago.

Similarly, the fact that someone has lapped you in your career now doesn’t mean that person is guaranteed to be ahead forever. Careers are a journey. This year could be your colleague’s high point, while next year might be yours.

So try to stop thinking of the situation as all or nothing (i.e. now that she got that promotion I’ll never catch up) and realize that this could be a golden opportunity to challenge yourself and find a way to be on top. There’s nothing that fuels motivation more than a little competition, and your colleague’s sprint ahead could in fact be just the incentive you need. It may just give you the courage, for instance, to ask your boss what you need to do to perform at a higher level.

For the rest of my advice on surviving getting lapped, head over to Intuit's Fast Track blog.

Saying No to CEO

Even if you’re not intimately familiar with the bond market, you’ve probably heard of powerhouse bond house Pimco and its founder Bill Gross.

Gross, known internationally as the “Bond King,” made headlines in late 2014 when he quit the house he founded over 40 years ago for a far less lucrative position managing a new fund at Janus Capital. Allegedly, he tired of the constant clashes with other members of the Pimco management team.

Good riddance!

One might expect that Gross would be devastated, his ego battered and bruised. But instead, the creator of a $200 billion fund told Barrons that he was thrilled to give up his management responsibilities.

“I was always an investment guy, and the other stuff – hiring, paying people, planning, and so on – became a problem for me,” he said.  “I am uniquely exuberant about clearing all that stuff off my dish. I’ll still be intense, but the intensity and decibel level drop a bit in a smaller place. Also, common sense suggests that it will be easier to implement ideas in a $100 million portfolio than in a fund with more than $200 billion.”

Leaders come in all shapes and sizes

This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite quotes this year. It illustrates that Bill Gross knows himself, and also recognizes that leadership and contribution don’t require a CEO title. Not everyone is cut out for – or enjoys – the tremendous challenges and pace associated with running a large organization. Not everyone wants to lose the day-to-day participation in the projects they love in favor of becoming a generalist removed to the boardroom.

Some, depending on their personalities and work styles, will be far happier and more effective operating on a smaller scale, or even as individual contributors with no direct reports.

We’ve been taught since birth that we should always be climbing – trying to get from A to B to C – when in fact that’s a very personal choice. Career paths in the 21st century are highly individualized, and what is right for your neighbor or your mentor might not be right for you.

For more, have a look at the full post at Intuit's Fast Track blog.

Reality: Some Projects Will Always Fail

Most people with project management experience are familiar with Cobb’s Paradox. The term was coined when Canadian Martin Cobb was serving as secretary of the treasury board in the mid-90s and famously asked the question:

“If we know why projects fail and we know how to prevent their failure, why do they still fail?”

In his recent article for ExecutiveBrief.com, director of Risk Doctor and Partners David Hillson commented:

“This sounds good, but is it really possible? And is it even desirable? Do we want to limit the scope and ambition of our projects to only those that we are certain can succeed? Or will this reduce innovation, creativity and appropriate risk-taking? A spectator at a recent Cirque de Soleil performance was heard to say: ‘I want to see them do things that they can only do half the time.’ Isn’t this what every project sponsor or portfolio manager should be saying?

In fact, this is exactly what I’ve always claimed about true innovators. They throw a bunch of ideas against the wall and watch to see if one sticks. They fully expect that most of their projects will never see the light of day – it’s just part of the process. But then when one does stick, it’s wildly successful, so it’s worth all the failures it took to get there.

Hillson said that understanding how to prevent failure cannot and should not prevent it from happening. In addition to the innovation argument, he mentions several rationales that I’ve paraphrased here:

All projects are risky

Uncertainty is built into every project because each one is unique and complex, based on assumptions and dependencies, and involves fallible human beings. Although the degree of risk might vary, the zero-risk project does not exist. This means that the probability of success for any project is less than 100 percent.

Most projects include unmanageable risk

We aim to manage risk in our projects, but risk management can never be 100 percent effective. As a result, some unmanageable risks will occur on every project, challenging our ability to meet schedules, budgets or performance requirements. While obviously not the ideal scenario, on some projects, the effect of unmanaged risk will be so significant that these projects will fail.

For more on why some projects will always fail, check out the full post on Intuit's Fast Track blog.

How Much Time Do You Actually Need with Your Boss?

According to a Leadership IQ study “Optimal Hours with the Boss,” most people spend only half the time they need with their boss. Employees who spend the optimal six hours interacting with their direct leader per week are 29 percent more inspired, 30 percent more engaged, 16 percent more innovative and 15 percent more intrinsically motivated than those who spend only one hour per week.

Believe it or not, though, more time is not necessarily better. When employees spend more than six hours per week interacting with their leaders, diminishing returns are seen in terms of building inspiration, engagement and motivation. The study showed that levels of inspiration or engagement remained the same or declined beyond six hours of interaction.

When I asked Leadership IQ CEO Mark Murphy about this curious finding, he said: “When you spend too much time with the boss, it starts to feel like micromanaging.  People want a certain amount of boss time to get aligned, share concerns, ask questions, etc., but then they want to actually go put all of that information into practice.”

Email Doesn’t Take the Place of Face-to-Face

Among people who only spend an hour per week interacting with their leader, 33 percent of that time is face-to-face interaction and 42 percent is via email.  By contrast, those who spend six hours per week interacting with their leader spend much more of their time (48 percent) in face-to-face interactions, and much less of their time (27 percent) interacting via email.  So, not only is the amount of time spent interacting with one’s leader important, but increasing the percentage of face-to-face interaction matters as well.

For the rest of the post, check out the SilkRoad blog.

Do You Know What You Do Really Well?

At the SilkRoad annual Connections conference, I heard a great session on driving a purpose-driven culture by Stacie Mallen.

Stacie is a VP of HR for Ulthera, Inc., a manufacturer of a device that is used for non-invasive, non-surgical lifting and tightening of the skin.

Stacie started the session by handing out hedgehogs (stuffed, not real).  She wanted us audience members to think about our purpose in work and life, illustrating what is known as the Hedgehog Concept in Jim Collins’ Good to Great.

Collins told the story of the clever, devious fox and the simple hedgehog.  The wily fox keeps coming up with new ideas to eat the hedgehog, but the hedgehog beats the fox every time by doing his one trick: curling up into a thorny ball. The hedgehog knows what it does really, really well.  It keeps doing it and keeps winning.

I earned a toy hedgehog in the session when I expressed my true purpose as providing concrete guidance to others based on my own work experiences.  I do this well, and I’m most successful when I don’t stray too far from it.

Finding Your True Purpose

Your true purpose is found at the intersection of three things:

• What you are deeply passionate about
• What you can be the best in the world at
• What drives your economic engine

In instructing us how to find purpose – both for ourselves and our organizations – Stacie cited the work of Roy Spence, author of the bestselling book, It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What Your Stand For.  Spence has helped organizations such as Southwest Airlines, BMW, the University of Texas, Wal-Mart, and the Clinton Global Initiative achieve greatness by obsessing about purpose. Southwest Airlines, for example, worked hard not just to lure customers away from older airlines but to also offer affordable air travel, democratizing the skies. Likewise, Wal-Mart brought goods that were once distant luxuries to rural families.

Spence wrote:  “Purpose is a reason for being that goes beyond making money, and it almost always results in making more money than you ever thought possible.  Especially during times of great economic uncertainty, purpose is the key to creating and maintaining a high- performing organization, deserving just as much attention as strategy, execution, and innovation.”

For advice from Stacey on taking action on the organization side, check out the rest of the post at the SilkRoad blog.

Should I Request a Different Boss?

As I shared the other day, I recently contributed to terrific site DailyWorth.com.  This week and next I'm featuring questions asked by readers over there.

We're undergoing some organizational changes at my company and a new manager is joining my department. The one coming in is known for being a micromanager, while the existing team leader is excellent. Both teams do similar work — but I want to be moved to have the “better” team leader. How can I bring this up? — Nancy, Massachusetts  

Here was my response:

The short answer? Delicately. First, approach your current manager at a time when she is not overly busy or stressed and there aren’t other people around. A private lunch or coffee would be the best scenario. Tell her you know there are changes coming and you want to reiterate how much you enjoy working with her and being part of her team. Say that it’s your preference to stay with her because you feel that you still have things left to learn and accomplish. 

 
During the conversation, make sure your tone is earnest and sincere and doesn’t slide into patronizing or syrupy brown-nosing. Also, avoid saying anything negative about the new manager. Should the conversation take this turn, you’ll be pegged as a complainer. 

This is the best strategy for getting the excellent manager in your corner in the likely event she can influence who stays on her team and who is transferred to the new manager. I would not, however, express a clear preference to the higher ups: It’s too risky the new manager could find out, and then if you end up with him, you’re toast. 
 
Finally, realize that during any organizational change, your goal should be to maintain your reputation as a can-do, roll-with-the-punches employee. In these situations, there are a lot of factors at work — many of which have nothing to do with you or your performance. So don’t take the events as a personal affront. 
 
Some anxiety and disappointment is natural, but recognize that people will be watching to see how you react to the changes. This means you have to be careful who you talk to about this situation (work friends included), and put on a good face even if you don’t get the outcome you desire.
 
And by the way, ending up with the micromanager isn’t the end of the world. Should this happen, go out of your way to cement a positive relationship with him immediately. Schedule a sit down, go over your goals and ask him how he prefers to work on assignments. While you don’t want to mention his micromanaging directly, it can’t hurt to say you value working independently and you will work hard to establish his trust.  Hopefully this will pre-empt too much interference as the two of you start working together.

How to Troubleshoot a Lateral Move

I recently contributed to the wonderful site, DailyWorth.com.  A reader there asked me this question:

I’ve been working at my current job for a year, am actively taking on extra projects and have put myself forward for consideration for two separate research positions, only to not be considered for either. I have a Master’s degree relevant to the research and am at least as qualified as the men they’re hiring for these roles. 

My supervisor knows I would like to go into a research role but keeps holding me back, and I have to constantly remind her (and our HR department) that I am almost 30 (I look very young), have an advanced degree and several years of experience. How can I get taken seriously? Are going back to school and/or finding a new job my only options? 
— Amelia, Idaho 
 
Here was my answer:

It sounds as if you are doing all of the right things to jostle your way into a new role that interests you. Unfortunately, for some reason there is a perception that you’re not a good fit for these jobs. You received a clue with the comment about your well-put-together appearance and terrific interpersonal skills. If you’re the best at your job, maybe your supervisor is concerned you’ll be hard, if not impossible, to replace. Bottom line: Your company has put you in a certain box and is now reluctant to let you out. 

 
I would combat all this by proactively incorporating research tasks into your current responsibilities so you can showcase concrete experience and results. Interview people who have the jobs you want and learn how their success is measured and the qualities that are necessary to hone. Build strong personal relationships within the research department so the next time a position opens up, you will naturally be considered. The idea, after all, is to be tapped before the HR department even gets involved. 
 
If you’ve done all of these things and you still feel blocked from the research position you desire, expand your horizons outside your current organization. Network prolifically in third-party research organizations and conferences and via individuals on LinkedIn. You may need to look elsewhere in order to fulfill your career dreams. 
 
Don’t worry about going back to school unless you can definitively determine that an advanced degree beyond a Master’s is essential for entry into this type of research job. Note the level of education held by individuals working in the roles you want. Focus on increasing your research-oriented skills and your knowledge of specific tasks rather than the degree itself.

 

Universal Human Truths That Are Hard to Swallow

As human beings, we tend to hold on to irrational ideas and fight against the inevitable.  Based on Eran Dror’s new book, here are the difficult truths we all must recognize and then take steps to get over. Warning: some of this might be hard to hear and even harder to digest.

You are going to die

Acknowledging life’s limited duration is good for us. It helps us focus on what matters and forget petty things. It can motivate us to make decisions and take calculated risks. It can make us better people: more self-aware and less self-involved. Cope better by asking yourself: what would I do differently if I only had a year to live? A month? A day?

Nothing is permanent

We are constantly looking for “happily ever after,” a contentment so stable that nothing could ever shake it. And then a friend moves away or our company closes its gates. What if we could accept that everything is subject to change and that both pleasant and unpleasant experiences will pass in time. Ask: do I tend to suffer in moments of great change? How can I find peace instead of desperation?

The future is uncertain

We agonize over a hoped-for promotion or the success of a business venture. But the future cannot be directly observed and is therefore impossible to predict.  Focus on what you do know and what you can do, and leave yourself open to adventure and discovery. Ask: have I ever experienced uncertainty as exciting or even beautiful?

The present is all you have

We obsess about the past and worry about the future and often forget to appreciate what’s right in front of us. But our whole lives are nothing but a string of present moments, so you must stop and pay attention. Ask: do I miss out on wonderful experiences in my life because I am too preoccupied with what’s already happened or what hasn’t yet happened?

You can’t do it all

We are beings of finite time, limited attention, and constrained resources. Accepting that you must be highly selective will teach you a lot about yourself and liberate you to focus on what you care about most. You simply can’t sample everything in the buffet of life, so take pride in saying no. Ask: do I feel overwhelmed by all of the commitments in my life?

For more hard truths that are hard to accept, check out the full post at Intuit's Fast Track blog.