When the boss arrives late at the airport and misses a plane — because the secretary gave the wrong information about the flight time — that secretary is likely to face disciplinary action or even termination. Secretaries deal with many different people and must be adept communicators, according to AI Accountant.
A secretary should have the ability to make visitors feel at ease by being gracious and welcoming or able to smooth the ruffled composure of someone who must wait because of a temporary emergency. You need to be able to communicate important facts quickly and logically, while creating a positive working environment. You also need the judgment to share only what is appropriate in a given situation. Executive secretaries, for example, may have complex responsibilities across several departments in an organization and be privy to information that should not be shared with a junior secretary.
You must be a team player to be effective as a secretary. Your job is to support your boss in any way you can, and this calls for flexibility. Particularly if you are a secretary supporting several people, having reminders will keep you on top of priorities and prompt you to do certain things. You cannot put a value on having face time with the person or people you support.
Perhaps you can diarise a daily or weekly slot where you can get answers to questions and catch up with one another.
If this is not possible then perhaps a phone call would suffice. Ultimately the more information you have, the easier it is to provide the administrative support required. This is especially important when booking projects, events or travel in the future where you may need to action certain things in advance.
Having your own calendar clearly marked with upcoming commitments will help to ensure there are no clashes and the work is spread out equally. For more information on this, read our perfect travel planning guide here. Not all requirements will be urgent, but there may be times when you have to drop what you are working on to focus on something else. By learning how to prioritize will allow you to concentrate on the most important things first and only when they are done, to complete the other, less critical tasks.
Time is valuable and you want to use it wisely. As well as focusing on the skills you need to be a great secretary, there are also personal qualities of a good secretary which can make a difference.
In addition to this, flexibility is key, particularly in a fast-paced global world where priorities may change last minute. Personal development is something we should all continue to focus on, no matter how senior we are in our career.
Specifically for secretaries, there are a number of training courses both in-person and online which can help to enhance your skills. Read our ultimate list of PA and VA courses here. Important meetings, last minute flights, off-site team-building activities are just a few of the challenging tasks a secretary will need to organise on a regular basis. Missing even the smallest detail can often ruin the most well-planned schedule or event. As a result, being highly meticulous with a consistent attention to detail are highly rated by many employers and senior executives as some of the most critical traits for a top secretary.
Commitment can often be overlooked but the best secretaries typically remain fiercely loyal to their bosses, some even to the extent of following their bosses when they have been posted overseas.
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