SAN DIEGO, April 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The tradition
began in 1952 as "Secretary's Day" to recognize and
celebrate the contributions of secretaries in the
workplace. The word "secretary" is considered too
limiting for the role today's assistants play, so the terms
"office professional" and "administrative professional" took its
place.
There are 4 million administrative professionals in the
workplace, according to a 2014 Bureau of Labor Statistics report.
97% are women. In 2015, the Bureau identified office and
administrative support as the largest occupational group, making up
nearly 16 percent of total U.S. employment.
Recent years have seen a massive effort to change the limited
perception of the role of the assistant, particularly the role of
the executive assistant, to more accurately reflect the nature of
the projects they undertake as deputies and ambassadors for their
executive. According to Jan Jones, in her book "The CEO's
Secret Weapon: How Great Leaders and Their Assistants Maximize
Productivity and Effectiveness," exceptional executive
assistants are solution-oriented, applying their business
smarts through strategic thinking skills, anticipation,
resourcefulness and clear communication to operate as "a
seamless extension" of the executives they support. No mean feat
for the assistants of some of the executives she interviewed in her
book, including current U.S. President Donald J. Trump,
Steve Forbes, Richard Branson, Mitt
Romney, Cisco Systems' John
Chambers, who wrote the foreword to the book, and a host of
other successful business executives. Jan herself served as a top
executive assistant for almost 20 years, including as executive
assistant to personal development guru, Tony Robbins.
Statistics show that there are more job seekers for the role of
administrative professional than there are jobs, so one would
expect the marketplace would be flooded with top talent for
employers to have their pick. The exception to this is the job
of high-level executive assistant, that highly-specialized
individual who can make the executive more effective by expertly
managing all their day-to-day affairs, freeing them up to focus on
strategic activities essential to the success of the business. The
best of this breed understands the business and the executive's
role so thoroughly, they are that "seamless extension," acting
as a "gateway" to the executive, facilitating communication and
access for anyone who requires legitimate business access to their
boss. This is the particular individual Donald Trump was referencing in his book, "How
to Get Rich," when he commented: "Ask God for a great assistant. A
great one can make your life a whole lot easier – or, in my case,
almost manageable."
There is debate within the profession about whether
Administrative Professionals Day is still relevant, or
if reserving a special day for assistants is demeaning. But we
have a Boss' Day (October 16, 2017)
to thank bosses for being fair and good supervisors, so why not
thank assistants? Not unexpectedly, "Boss' Day" was introduced by a
secretary in 1958. Many assistants say that in preference to
flowers and candy, something longer lasting, such as attending a
professional development course ,would be welcomed, and would
benefit their executive long term as well. It's not too late
to offer your assistant attendance at a future professional course
of their choice, but many assistants say they appreciate the
thought that comes with the flowers and candy as a nice way to say
"thank you."
Contact: Jan Jones
Author: "The CEO's Secret Weapon"
(760) 431-8692
jan@janjonesworldwide.com
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SOURCE Author Jan Jones