The definitive executive assistant and managerial handbook : leadership for PAs, executive assistants, senior administrators and office managers

WINNER: PA Voice Awards 2015 - Best Book for a PA (1st edition) With the world of work profoundly disrupted by artificial intelligence, machine learning and COVID-19, the role of the executive assistant is changed forever. Learn how to respond to these challenges and help create 'the better normal' while developing the leadership skills necessary to thrive in a senior administrative position. From bestselling author and expert Sue France, The Definitive Executive Assistant & Managerial Handbook is the ultimate guide to management in the context of an administrative role. Placing an emphasis on both personal leadership and practical skills, this new edition of the award-winning book teaches readers to manage a team, develop the emotional intelligence to understand their colleagues, negotiate effectively and confidently manage a project. Equipped with these tools, readers will be ready to steer their teams to organizational success in any situation. With new sections on best practice for managing remote workers and building a responsible relationship with new technologies, The Definitive Executive & Managerial Handbook is an indispensable guide for both ambitious PAs aiming for promotion and senior assistants who want to improve their skills Halftitle Page 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Foreword 12 About the author 14 Acknowledgements 16 Introduction 18 01 The leadership challenge 21 Who or what is a leader? 21 The Three O Model of Leadership 22 Servant leadership 23 Leadership skills 24 Leading in the VUCA world 27 Employee involvement 32 The neuroscience of decision making 38 Summary 47 02 How to motivate yourself and your teams 48 Motivational theories 50 Intrinsic motivational theory: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose by Daniel H Pink (2009) 59 The threat (demotivation) and reward (motivation) system in the brain 60 Minimizing threat and maximizing reward 61 Signs of demotivation 62 What are demotivators in the workplace? 63 How to motivate yourself and others 63 How to motivate remote workers 65 How to motivate your boss 66 Motivational listening 67 Assessing yourself and your own motivators 69 Summary 75 03 Developing emotional intelligence 77 Leadership and emotional intelligence 78 Developing emotional intelligence in leaders 79 NLP and emotional intelligence 85 Summary 99 04 Leading effective office based and virtual teams to success 100 Definition of a team 100 Team-leader role 101 Team dynamics 102 Characteristics of effective teams 104 Stages of team development 105 Creating a Team Charter using ‘Developing an internal assistant network’ as an example 109 Belbin® team roles 115 Summary 131 05 Employee experience from recruitment to performance 133 Performance management 134 Interviews 139 Onboarding programme and standard operating procedures 149 Performance management 153 Summary 166 06 Coaching 167 Mentoring 168 Counselling 169 Coaching 169 Wheel of Learning/timeline 183 Summary 187 07 How to communicate with different personality and behavioural styles 189 Filters and perception 190 The Flock Personality Model 192 Conflict management 208 Summary 220 08 Managing projects 222 The neuroscience of project management 222 Definition and terminology of project management 223 Content 228 Structure 228 Stage one: define 228 The five steps of project start-up: sequence of events 229 Project overview 232 Project approach 236 Project team members 237 Project approval 240 Stage two: plan 240 Stage three: execute 244 Stage four: deliver/review/close 246 Processes 246 Summary 248 09 The art and science of effective negotiation 250 Definition of negotiation 251 Negotiation styles 252 The key skills of a negotiator 257 The stages of a successful negotiation 258 Before the negotiation – preparation 258 During the negotiation – opening statements 266 Discussion (including tactics) 269 Bargaining 278 Agreement and action plan 280 Summary 281 10 Change, resilience and brain power 284 What exactly is ‘change management’ and how can you help it happen effectively? 285 Leading change 295 Theories of change management 297 Summary 309 Index 311 Develop the leadership, emotional intelligence and communication skills necessary to steer teams to success in a senior administrative role.