Up & Down – Trending Morale

So at any given time in a company you can take a snapshot of morale. It can be ugly, meh, okay, good or great.

The trick is to realize that you need to be in an environment where the average is good to great.

There will always be the people who are cranky. Apparently, for them their fuel tanks are running on fumes. And to be fair, there will always be the super perky people who you just want to strangle for being to cheerful.

But sometimes, you can’t help an environment that has trended to a poor morale due to the company circumstances. Layoffs, off-shoring, closures.

So, what can you do?

Work to stay out of the drama. Keep your own morale at an even keel. Stay as positive as you can. I know that these are difficult times. As an individual, I can control my reaction to adverse conditions.

I choose to trend upwards in my morale. I choose to be positive in the face of adversity.

Paddling in the Corporate Pond

A good Administrative Assistant makes their job seem effortless. We are swans swimming gracefully through the shark infested waters of corporate America.

Our outward grace under pressure can sometimes give the impression we might lack for things to do, when in fact we have plenty to do. We just manage our time efficiently.

When our managers or team members are out of the office or in meetings, there is nothing more insulting than to be approached by other outside your team to be told ‘I’ll bet you’re glad you have some downtime with them being gone/busy/away’.

REALLY? While our bosses are away we find ourself the busiest. Just because they are physically gone does not mean our jobs stop. Our feet are paddling madly under the surface of the corporate pond.

We stay serene and unflappable to encourage a pleasant work environment. Please do not ASSume to think we are lacking in tasks when our bosses are otherwise occupied.

Pearls before …

In the world of an Adminstrative Professional, there are a multitude of levels that can be achieved. From the receptionist, whose demeanor sets the tone for employees and visitors as they enter the facility. To an actual executive level, where the Adminstrative Professional sets policy and procedures for the admins through out the organization. An entire spectrum lays between.

I only point out this breadth of range because of common comments I hear amongst my peers. “I have no way to advance.” or “Nobody takes me seriously because I’m an admin” or, my personal favorite, “I just can’t do what they are asking me to do because they haven’t trained me.”

Pardon me as I call bullshit on these whiners! I’m sorry to be blunt and rude, but enough! We who are admin are not brainless space holders who do nothing. If that is all you do? Get out now. You are doing your peers no service.

If you feel stifled, plenty of opportunities abound.  You just have to take them.

Today’s economic climate does not leave pearls strewn across the road for the lucky to find. Instead you have to be savvy. Take advantage of work assisted education. Look for grants and programs that might suit your circumstances.

Opportunities abound, no one will hand them to you on a silver platter.

What Defines You?

Everyone has a job to do.  That is a simple truth.  You can be a baker, butcher or a candle-stick maker. In the corporate world, a receptionist, a manager, or an executive.  Or anything in between.

What you do is not as important as how you do it.  Do you have a passion for your job or are you just watching the clock  to pick up he paycheck at the end of the pay period?

If you are the later, you are doing yourself and the people you work for and with a HUGE disservice.  My question to you is why do you bother?

I enjoy the challenge of being an Admin.  Without my particular skill set my current organization would suffer.  My job is to be the glue to hold my organization together.  I am a liason between management and the floor.  Keeping a pulse on the morale is an important part of what I do.  I am defined by my demeanor of professionalism that I maintain during stressful times.  By the genuine caring of the good people with whom I work with.

So, back to my original question. What defines you?

My actions in life define me.

Just Another Cog on the Gear

I’ve been pondering the replacebility of the average employee in the workplace. We’d all like to think that we are irreplaceable. The sad truth is that in the eyes of corporate America, we are all replaceable. Especially in today’s market.

One of the few truths in life is someone will always be better or worse than you. Your job will rarely reflect that particular fact.

Instead, today’s employment landscape tends to be a savannah of averages. Who can provide the most at the least cost and potential negative impact on the company.

Where are the standouts? The people who excel?

While my duties might seem simple on paper: answer phones, maintain calendars, arrange meetings, file. Those simple actions are not the sum of my work life. I do so much more.

I am an expeditor of schedules, a wrangler of people, a soother of egos. I diffuse difficult situations before they get to management attention. I manage information, then condense it into useful packets. I manage costs and budgets. All of this is difficult to quantify and are outside of my job description.

Yet, I am seldom rewarded for my reaching outside of my parameters. So, what motivates me?

I do. I’m motivated to make my environment better.  I take pride in making my job fulfilling.  It gets me a reputation for being exceptional at my job.

I’m more than a cog on a gear.

Am I Risk Adverse?

I’m currently blessed to be employed.  Due to the circumstances of my employment I am surrounded by people who are in the process of losing their jobs due to a decision to off-shore their jobs.  Needless to say the environment is a little hostile.

This is proving to be a fascinating study in human nature.  Some people sit and moan about the tragedy about to befall them.  They wander the halls weeping and wailing, mourning their loss.

Some are confused with the situation.  They know that opportunities are out there, but have no idea how to take advantage of them.

Then there are those who are taking the opportunity to reinvent themselves.  Stepping outside of their comfort zone.  Looking at jobs that the little voice in their head would normally be saying no to.  Taking that risk.

I’ve learned that without risk, there is no reward.

So, to answer my own question am I risk adverse? No.

Unique Patterns

The work environment is an ever changing kaleidoscope with shards of glittering glass mixed in with ordinary objects to create one-of-a-kind experiences.  Each twist of the prism brings a different vision, a different perspective.

Sometimes, this creates a rich, robust atmosphere where people can truly offer the best of themselves. Sometimes, it creates growth opportunities.  Sometimes, this creates a clear vision of the changes that must happen to make the organization stronger.

Then there is the daily routine which grinds all that amazing sparkling fabulous stuff into dust. Where your best can be looked as threatening to the over all good, because you are standing out from the over all mediocrity.

I’m tired of being forced to live to the standards of mediocrity that are posing as perfection.  I stand against the forces that force people to conform.

I propose a revolutionary idea.  The idea is simple.  Take a journey of discovery.  Own your talents and utilize them to the utmost.  Don’t be afraid of what makes you a spectacular person.

Own the shards and pieces that create the amazing kaleidescope of your personal and professional life.  If you can’t create the pattern that makes you unique where you are, then perhaps you aren’t in the right place.

Rules at Work

Rules are a guideline by which behavior is governed in any given situation.  In a work environment it can be a boon and a curse all rolled into one.

You see, rules form a framework by which we can set our expectations of how we can conduct our selves in the workplace, do our jobs, expect compensation, etc.  Rules can also stymie the work environment.  Keep people from growing into their potential.

People who step beyond the boundaries set by the rules will be either lauded or vilified.

I frequently step outside the boundaries of my rules.  You could say, I run with scissors.

If something isn’t working, I find a way to make it work.  I go over, under or around that which impedes me to get the job done. That often means rules get broken.

I don’t advocate landing in jail.  Those rules shouldn’t be broken.  But when an organization has become so hide bound by its own rules, sometimes a rule-breaker is just what the organization needs to find its path again.  Organizations that have no flexibility in them are the ones that fail.  Especially in today’s climate.

Not all rule breakers survive in a rigid organization.  Organizations exist that appreciate the unique talents of these individuals.

Won’t You Be My Frienemy?

The old adage ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer’ seems to have become an unfortunate by product of today’s work environment.

The workplace is always wild mix of personalities.  The quiet to the quixotic, the domineering to the domestic, no two people are the same.   Yet management models do their darnedest to smush us all into identifiable geneses for easy judgment.

So we cozy up with people that we frankly don’t care about to further our careers, sometimes leaving the important people behind.  How can that be healthy?

A healthy work environment would allow people to get the job done; judgment would be based on performance and merit.  I really don’t enjoy working with people that I don’t trust, I can’t feel free to collaborate with, or want to spend time with.

So, no, I’m going to be honest.  Maybe start a quiet revolution.

I won’t be your frienemy.

Melting the Myth

Admin Gal is irritated.  Why do you ask, oh fabulous reader? I’ll tell you!

Admin Gal is irritated with the double standard of perfection.  Yes, that nasty, unobtainable expectation that is set forth before us in our performance evaluations. Yet frankly, never achievable.

Perfection on the job is a highly subjective thing.  One person’s perception of perfection will be completely counter another person.

The dilemma Admin Gal faces is she can’t read minds. This automatically sets her up for failure in the eyes of the person expecting perfection.

Maybe Admin Gal is becoming Zen or numb.  But she has come to the realization that perfection is as elusive as the frost on a window.  Pretty to look at, but under scrutiny it melts into nothing.

So, Admin Gal ignores the unobtainable expectations of others dreams of perfections.  She simply lives a life that is guided by integrity, diligence and the desire to always do ones best.

At the end of the day, those same people can seldom live up to their own expectations of perfection.

Why should Admin Gal?