Times have changed and roles have changed along the way. While the days of the personal secretary may no longer be around, each office usually has a person that serves in an administrative role to keep the office running whether it is a secretary, administrative assistant, or even executive assistant.
To kick off my new series of Top 10 lists, here is:
Top 10 Reasons To Be Nice to Your AA/Secretary/Etc
1 – You want to be paid right? S/he can always forget to turn in your time card.
2 – Caller ID. S/he can ignore you.
3 – S/he’s probably been around longer than you and knows the “unauthorized” history of the org that you need to know.
4 – S/he has more connections in the office than anyone. S/he can make or break you.
5 – It’s cheap – all it takes is a smile and maybe some candy (or Starbucks)
6 – S/he has your boss’s ear and hears all the good gossip. S/he can choose to share it with you (or not).
7 – Someday she could be your boss – Ther’es a fine line from Secretary to Exec Assistnat to Chief of Staff
8 – There’s probably a reason the head of the department is called a Secretary (i.e. Secretary of Homeland Security).
9 – S/he can always make sure you never get the meeting invite (or room change)
10 – S/he can magically forget to tell you that you have to brief the boss until 5 minutes before it starts.
While Secretary’s Day may be a little out of fasion, I give great kudos to all the great people that keep the offices running, getting meetings organized, and all of us paid. I’ve been blessed to have (and currently have) some great ones.