The Executive Assistant & Personal Assistant Master-Class

Introduction

Executive assistants nowadays hold a very important position of influence and need to build a powerful partnership with the senior management team. This course will enable you to have the right competencies in order to work in partnership with your manager. After all, your success will have a direct effect on your manager's success. This course seeks to supplement your current set of capabilities by adding other highly needed competencies that will lead to excellence in your position. During this course, you will discover ways to enhance your confidence and forward-thinking ability, allowing you to become a true business partner with the executive team. You will learn and practice powerful emotional intelligence strategies which you can immediately apply at the workplace. Moreover, you will participate in detailed discussions on the importance of building systems and having a systematic thinking approach, leading you to create several systems at the workplace. The next segment of this course discusses how to professionally deal with visitors, internal customers, and external customers and how to make your department and company more customer-friendly. Finally, you will learn how to develop action plans that will enhance your professional image and the image of your department and company.

Objectives

 

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Provide full support to stakeholders in order to enhance the success of the business
• Apply emotional intelligence to foster excellent business relationships both laterally and vertically
• Harness modern communication concepts and strategies to facilitate workflow
• Use the main functions of management to build and maintain different organizing systems that will lead to increased productivity
• Demonstrate professional skills in using creativity, serving internal customers, and managing stress
• Practice advanced administration techniques to effectively run the office of a senior manager.
• Build excellent relationships with the manager and maximize productivity.
• Acquire modern concepts and strategies related to the job in order to carry out responsibilities with a high degree of competence.
• Apply professional business-writing techniques in e-mails.
• List the main causes of stress and prepare an action plan to keep it under control.
• Prepare and organize a professional meeting, write its agenda and take minutes accurately.
• Demonstrate professional skills in communicating with the internal/external public in an effective manner.

Training Methodology

This is an interactive course. There will be open question and answer sessions, regular group exercises and activities, videos, case studies, and presentations on best practices. Participants will have the opportunity to share with the facilitator and other participants what works well and not so well for them, as well as work on issues from their own organizations. The online course is conducted online using MS-Teams/ClickMeeting.

Who Should Attend?

Executive and personal secretaries, personal assistants, senior clerks, senior administrators and others with the potential to become office managers.

Course Outline

Progressive Role of the Executive Assistant/PA

• Developing and Broadening your Role
• Expanding Yourself: Going Beyond Expectations
• Widening the Managerial Aspects of your Role
• Competencies of the Modern PA
• Better Management of your Work Flow

Optimizing the Relationship with the Boss

• Establishing Common Objectives/Priorities
• Knowing and Synchronizing Expectations
• Building and Managing the Relationship
• Maximizing your Value Relative to the Boss
• Partnering with the Boss

Effective Interpersonal Communication

• Building Excellent Relationships with Colleagues
• Dealing with Difficult Personalities
• Developing Self-Confidence and Assertiveness
• Presenting your Ideas and Influencing Others
• Negotiating Win-Win Outcomes
• Perceptions, Attitudes and Beliefs

Professional Business Writing

• Crucial Elements for Excellent Writing
• Writing Professional Emails
• Email Etiquette

Controlling Stress

• Understanding Stress
• What Happens When you are Under Stress: The Symptoms
• Identifying Actual Causes of Stress
• Action-Planning to Keep Stress Under Control
• Time-Management Preventive Measures

Organizing Professional Meetings

• Planning for the Meeting
• Preparing the Agenda
• Techniques for Writing the Minutes
• Improving the Effectiveness of your Meetings
• Actions to Take After your Meetings

Dealing with Visitors and Improving Customer Service

• Different Techniques for Screening Visitors
• Servicing Internal and External Customers
• Handling Complaints Professionally
• Making your Department Customer-Friendly