A salute to ALL Administrative Professionals...on the eve of Admin Professionals Day on 24th April

Me: “Hey Tina, I am coming back on Tuesday and heading out to China on Thursday….and I need you to figure out a way to get me a Chinese Visa within a day so that I can leave right way. I know it’s impossible…so you need to figure out a way!”

Done!

Me: “Hey Rita, here is the hand written presentation I created on my plane trip…but I am not able to read my own handwriting…figure it out and get in on PowerPoint in the next couple of hours and make sure it’s pretty!”

Done!

Me: “Karin: My credit card has been cancelled but I need to use it right away. Can you figure out what happened, sort it out and get back to me in the next 5 min?”

Done!

I don’t know how…but no matter how challenging a task I threw at them, it got done!

Superwomen (and a few supermen)!

Executive Assistants, Personal Assistants, or Secretaries…whatever you call them, they are indispensable miracle workers for the modern executive.

 A call away, or a shout away, they are tuned to your voice, your email or your message. They know where you are and what you are always doing, they always know how to reach you, and they know your mood better than you do. They know your quirks, your meal preferences, your preferred seat in your preferred airline, know your favorite author, your favorite drink. They know which phone calls to pass on to you, and which phone calls you would want to avoid. They are vital in managing your calendar for not just your office and personal agendas, but for your taxes, your doctor’s appointments and your vacations. They know what office gossips to share with you and what they need to shield from you. They know how to protect you and the best of them know how to dress you down, while you quietly listen with your tail between your legs! They can be your best friend, your most ardent supporter and your harshest critic. They intuitively know when you or your family needs help, they know when to keep out. They know who to call for help, and who to put pressure on to get things done for you.

Secretaries are multi-talented, multi-faceted and multi-pretty-much-everything

They are unsung heroes of your success. They are the ones who receive you with the binder and visiting cards when you are arrive and they are the ones who, sometimes tearfully, pack your boxes when you leave.

And when you are done and are having the wonderful farewell party that they helped organize, you end up thanking everyone- your boss, your colleague and conveniently forget them…since they are always in the background. At times you may feel guilty, and apologize, and at times you may just take them for granted.

Now therefore, on April 24th, which is the Administrative Professionals day, I take this opportunity to salute all the wonderful, talented, conscious admin professionals who have been a part of my career journey. Tina, Rita, Donna, Karin, Pat, Can-Can, Chandini, Rose, Thomas….and others who have been a part of this group…my thanks to you.

Ever since I have retired and am trying to be my own ‘assistant’, I understand how difficult your job is! I never seem to get through the copying machine without jamming the paper, I always seem to be cutting my hand while using the shredder.  I hit send to a wrong email address a few days ago, my passport got lost, my visa did not arrive on time, my credit rating went down as I forgot to pay my dues, I have had to extend my tax filing as I just don’t seem to know where I visited for nearly 10 days…seems to be missing in my tax calendar. I missed an appointment as I had not figured out how to enter the outlook calendar for a different time zone. And my article, including this one, may contain typos that my assistant would have always caught before it went out.

Oh, how I miss the support, the skills, the wisdom and the friendship of my assistants!

I want all of you to know, you made a difference: to me, to my organization and to my career.

Thanks for all you have done and for who you are.

Happy Admin Professionals day!