As an administrative professional to a C-Level executive you encounter good days and bad days. You tend to be the one in the line of fire which can be hard to handle. What you must realize is that it is not personal. It has nothing to do with you.
Now this is not easy because as a female we do take things to heart and we take them personally. You must remember the old saying “we tend to take things out on those that we love or trust the most.”
There are right ways and there are wrong ways to deal with your executive when they are not in the best of form. You must still be very professional with them and still treat them with respect.
I recently heard one assistant use the term with her boss “temper tantrum” this is not very professional nor an accurate statement about any executive. A professional assistant would never use those words to talk about their executive.
You must evaluate the situation and then take the next step to see what you can do to rectify. You have worked with them and you know how to approach them. You must play detective to find out what may have happened so you can approach the situation correctly and possibly with a solution.
I tend to review what meetings my executive may have had or phone calls. You can also tell by the emails they receive, if something unexpected has happened or an incident has arisen. I give my executives time to themselves before even going into their office as anything that needs done can wait until they have had time to clear their head. You will not get a good response to things that you need answers to if you approach them when they are still frustrated or not in the best frame of mind.
The hardest part will be for you not to take it personally. I know I mentioned this before, but it truly is the key. They are entitled to have a bad day or a bad moment.
There is a line that they should not cross which is to belittle, downgrade or speak to you inappropriately. Those do call for a bit of a different approach with them.
Once you establish that relationship with your executive you will feel more comfortable having a more direct conversation with them if you feel that you have been belittled etc. In the beginning you will not feel as comfortable having those conversations and it will take time but always remember to be as professional and respectful as possible. You will get more out of a conversation with them this way than if you are not.
We wear a lot of hats in this position and one of them is dealing with these types of situations, whether they are pleasant or unpleasant they are part of the job and something that at one point in your career or another you will encounter.
You may not even encounter it with your direct executive, but another person and you would need to deal with it in the same manner. You never want to come across as unprofessional or disrespectful to anyone in the organization.
Personal feelings are hard to sometimes keep to ourselves, but find an outlet that will help you to get through it. If you need to listen to music, take a longer lunch, read an article, etc. You must find what works best for you.
I always tend to have relaxing music playing as that helps, I also tell myself to stop and take a breath before doing anything.
Stay as positive as possible and remember if you do not the only person you are really hurting is yourself.
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