Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point, notes that there are three types of people involved in the phenomenon of word of mouth, and one of them is Connectors. While Gladwell is looking at character traits to clarify personality types, it seems to me that the same can be said for different positions as a function of the job. Certain careers seem bring out the connector in all of us, and one of those careers is that of administrative support.

While the various roles of administrative support personnel are constantly changing over time, one of our roles never seems to change much: being a connector.

We are constantly learning about building relationships and making connections with people – co-workers, clients, managers – but one aspect of admin positions we rarely think about is that we actually are the connectors in our companies.

Who do you connect with?

Let’s start by looking at the different departments or people you regularly deal with on a daily basis as a function of your job. Perhaps they include clients or customers, other administrative support personnel, company management, your boss, travel agents, IT staff, accountants and others in the finance department, human resource representatives. The list goes on and on.

Now let’s think about all these different people – what do they have in common? They have in common the fact that they all connect to each other through you! You might take the information provided by human resources and sort it for your boss so that she can hire a new employee. You’ve just connected your boss to human resources as well as some external hopefuls.

Maybe you need the input of a travel agent to provide the finance department with dollar figures so they can arrange the expense account for payroll to cut a cheque for your boss’s trip to a convention. Whew – long sentence, but it was also a long, complicated thought! Here you’ve connected four people or groups: the travel agent, your boss, the finance accountant, and the payroll admin.

Why do you connect?

You might say that you connect with all these different people and departments because it is almost like a side effect of your daily duties. After all, how can you arrange that trip without talking to the finance department and the travel agent?

The reason you are a connector, though, lies much deeper in the modern business model. The business model of corporations – which has filtered down and pervades many medium to small business too – is that of separation of functions. People tend to work in groups, or pods, that are constructed based on function: finance, payroll, design, engineering, quality, technical writing, information technology, benefits, and so on.

These pods are useful for many reasons, including: They make distribution of information easier. They provide support from co-workers who are familiar with the field. They even create a sense of teamwork based on that familiarity.

Our current business model, however, requires that all of those pods have a connector of some sort. That’s where administrative support comes into the picture. Admins are the connectors that tie all these pods together. We create the hubs around which all the other staff are able to work with each another. We unite the disparate groups and, as a result, create a company-wide team spirit.

How do you connect?

The ways you connect with groups and individuals are probably as varied as the number of groups you deal with. You probably have a lot of face-to-face time with your own boss, while other department heads might be reached mostly by phone. Contact with individuals in other departments probably includes a lot of emails or even texts, while folks outside the company are likely accessed via a blend of phone and email.

This is why it’s so important for admins to be great communicators. To make the company work like ‘a well-oiled machine,’ admin staff must be able to communicate well, which in turn will build relationships that will allow us to not only make, but also to maintain, those connections.

Don’t get unplugged

Keep this idea in mind when you are dealing with others, both within your organisation and outside it. If something caused all the admins in your company to be unplugged at the same time, the pods might still function, but the company as a whole would definitely not work as well. You are the connectors that create the hubs around which the modern business model functions.

The Future

As we move further into the 21st century, secretaries should continue to do what they have been doing in the past… Take every opportunity to develop, to grow, to learn, to adapt and to move with the times. There will always be a need for well-qualified and experienced secretaries who make a continuing commitment towards increasing skills and competencies. So, go on secretaries, show that you are truly ‘Ambassadors of Excellence’. You have certainly come a long way, and with your role evolving all the time, the future looks very exciting – and the only way is UP!

How Can You Be A Super Secretary?

Here are my tips for how you can be an Ambassador of Excellence:

A

dvance yourself constantly. Learn new software programs, develop new skills, and attend workshops, seminars and refresher courses.

M

aximise your people skills. In today’s team-orientated work environment, learn how to build and maintain positive relationships at work.

B

e open minded. What you thought was so yesterday may not be so today … and vice versa. Be willing to look at new information in a new light so that you can make new decisions to keep yourself fresh and uptodate.

A

djust your goals and set new ones. Work towards making them happen.

S

witch on to technology. New jobs are evolving constantly because of computer knowledge. Make sure you’re ready.

S

pend time with people you admire the most. Learn whatever they can teach you.

A

void negative people. What they have is contagious, and very difficult to cure.

D

evelop your skills and abilities. Seek new challenges constantly, and take on new responsibilities that will expand your skill base.

O

utshine yourself. Give 100% every time, not just when you think there may be something in it for you. Give your best every time and it will build consistently into a superior performance.

R

evise your working routines and practices constantly. Look for new ways to do things better, quicker, more efficiently and more effectively.

If you want to be a Super Secretary, here are my tips:

S

witch on to technology. New jobs are evolving constantly because of computer knowledge. Make sure you’re ready.

U

tilise your skills and abilities fully. Seek new challenges and take on new responsibilities that will expand your skill base.

P

rocess your people skills. In today’s team-orientated work environment, learn how to build and maintain positive relationships at work.

E

xceed your own best. Learn something new every day – from co-workers, newspapers, TV, wherever. Stretch your mind and it will stretch your limits.

R

emove minutes, dollars or hassles from the tasks you do regularly. Play “beat the clock” with yourself. Use good time management.

S

pend time with people you admire the most. Learn whatever they can teach you.

E

ducate yourself constantly. Learn new software programs, develop new skills, and attend workshops and seminars.

C

onstantly set new goals for yourself. Work towards making them happen.

R

evise your working routines and practices constantly. Look for new ways to do things better, quicker, more efficiently and more effectively.

E

xcel yourself. Give 100% every time, not just when you think there may be something in it for you. Give your best every time and it will build consistently into a superior performance.

T

ry to be true to yourself. Know your values and where you draw the line.

A

void negative people. What they have is contagious, and very difficult to cure.

R

etain an open mind. What you thought was so yesterday may not be so today … and vice versa. Be willing to look at new information in a new light so that you can make new decisions to keep yourself fresh and uptodate.

Y

es! Say yes! Don’t let your first thoughts be “it’s too much work” or “I don’t know”. Approach everything with a positive attitude – say “I can” not “I can’t”!

I was a secretary for nine years in the seventies in my hometown of Sheffield, England.

During that time, I would have listed my main duties as shorthand, typing, filing, answering the phone, greeting visitors and making tea and coffee – oh, and don’t forget buying the boss’s wife a birthday present!

I started my working life as a secretary on a manual typewriter; then progressed to electric (does anyone remember the excitement of the IBM golfball typewriter with lift-off tape?) and then to electronic with a one-line display. As a secretary back then, I was also responsible for keying laboriously into the telex machine; as I sent messages across the world, I used to marvel at the wonders of technology that brought us such a wonderful machine like telex!

The life of today’s secretary is very different. Technology has advanced so much, bringing us word processing, computers, fax, mobile phones, teleconferencing, video conferencing, the Internet, email and so much more. All this means that not only is the world becoming smaller and communications becoming quicker and easier but the role of the secretary has become so much broader and much more exciting and challenging than it was in my secretarial days.

Today’s Secretary

Times have certainly changed, and the role of the secretary has evolved enormously. Secretaries have shown their flexibility, their dedication and their commitment to their evolving role by expanding their skills and competencies to meet the needs of a changing workplace.

Through all the changes in technology and business structures, secretaries have emerged in a stronger, more important position than ever before. Current trends are showing that today’s ‘secretary’ (or ‘administrative professional’, as she is becoming more commonly known) is using even broader skills in management functions and technology. Some typical duties of today’s secretaries include:

• project management
• integrated computer software applications
• organisation and scheduling
• internet, intranet communications, and research
• document preparation, storage and retrieval, with emphasis on electronic record-keeping
• customer service and public relations
• planning meetings and other events
• staff supervision
• office management

Names Are Changing, Too

The traditional image of a ‘secretary’ no longer fits many of the duties that are actually being performed within the workplace. Many ‘secretaries’ today are handling more advanced responsibilities beyond just typing or performing strictly clerical functions. As a result, the name is changing. Popular titles now are Administrative Assistant, Executive Assistant, Office Manager, Co-ordinator and Specialist.

Ambassadors Of Excellence

The official theme for Secretaries’ Week (or Administrative Professionals’ Week, as it is more accurately known) is ‘Ambassadors of Excellence’. This theme signifies that ‘admins’ play a key role as front-line public relations representatives and communications hubs in today’s global business environment. This theme also signifies that admins have a responsibility to serve as positive role models for their chosen profession.

Will These Trends Continue?

It seems certain that the current trends will continue. Organisations will no longer want the old-fashioned traditional secretaries. That is not to say that very senior people will not still need someone to organise their lives for them – they will. Many successful executives could not do their job without a PA who says, “You need to do this today, you can deal with this tomorrow, remember to call this person” and so on.

What we now see happening more and more is the secretarial role developing into being the glue that holds the team together. ‘Secretaries’ will be doing even more organising, scheduling, coordinating, communicating, planning: all the juggling that they have done so well as their role has evolved.

Look out for Part 2 of this article, where we look to the future and provide you with some great tips on how you can be a super secretary and an Ambassador of Excellence!