Creating an Open and Non-Threatening Atmosphere

Managing Upwards

A free resource from Apropos Productions Ltd. YOUR ROLE : WHAT IS EXPECTED OF YOU?

The role of the Senior PA is an important one. Your ability to take responsibility, prioritise effectively, make decisions and communicate well will have a direct impact on the effectiveness of your manager. This can be a very rewarding role though is likely to be more pressured than that of a junior secretary. You may well have managerial responsibility for others too.

Do you have a job specification and if so, is it accurate and up to date? If you don’t have a job specification are you absolutely clear on the purpose of your role, what exactly is expected of you and on what (and to what standards) your performance will ultimately be judged.

Write down your job purpose: This is the overall objective of your role. You should be able to write this down succinctly – it should be no longer than a small paragraph.

2 Now write down what you regard to be your main roles and responsibilities:

Are you clear on what these are? If not, do you need to ask your manager for clarification – on, for example, which decisions they are expecting you to make and which you need to discuss or refer to them?

3 YOUR KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ATTITUDE

Business Knowledge is crucial to your role. The greater your knowledge, the greater will be your credibility in the eyes of others. What do you not know that you should?!?

4 The role of your manager is to achieve your organisation’s goals through motivating others (including you) to achieve their goals. Your manager’s list of roles and responsibilities will be quite detailed. You may operate at a different level to your manager, but like him or her you need to develop your own set of management skills in order to add value to your organisation. Identify the management skills that you should possess in this role and highlight those that you feel you need to develop:

5 ARE YOU MANAGING YOUR OWN TIME EFFECTIVELY?

Tick only those questions for which the answer is yes to help you identify your strengths in managing your time and those areas which you need to develop:

1. Am I clear on my overall job purpose and what I am trying to achieve? 2. Do I have a clear idea on what I want to accomplish this week? 3. Do I know precisely what hours of the day I am most productive? 4. Do I do my most important tasks during these hours? 5. Do I evaluate my performance at work according to the results obtained rather than the sum of my activities? 6. Do I delegate to others where I can? 7. Do I plan and work to a clear “to do” list. 8. Am I flexible enough to alter my “to do” list and not do something just because it is next on my list but rather because it is the right thing to do at that time? 9. Do I concentrate on doing the important things first rather than the quickest / nicest easiest? 10.Do I set deadlines, both for myself and for the people I am responsible for? 11.Do I find I can hit most deadlines? 12.Do I allow time for planning my work? 13.Do I force myself to concentrate on the task in hand, rather than pondering over past success or failure or worry about the future? 14.If I have to wait for someone, do I always have something with me I can do to fill in the time usefully? 15.Am I assertive enough to negotiate workload, priorities and deadlines with other people? 16.Am I persuasive enough to get other people to do their work in time if it affects me or if I am delegating it to them? 17.Have I been able to cease to use certain working methods which I know to be inefficient? 18.Outside office hours, do I take measure to free my mind from my work? 19.Do I accept mistakes as learning opportunities, take the learning on board and make sure I don’t make the same mistake again?

6 20.Am I aware of the monetary value of my time? 21.Do I try to practise habits which will make me more efficient in the management of my time? 22.Do I look for priorities when I am faced with a number of different tasks which all have to be done. 23.Do I refuse to become stressed under pressure but instead accept that there is a limit to what I can achieve in a certain timespan and the key is achieve as much of the important things as I can? 24.Am I prepared to put in a little “extra” time to finish things rather than stick to my exact hours? 25.In short, am I the controller of my time? Am I someone who determines how my time will be spent wisely?

How many of the above have you not ticked? Choose three that you feel you need to address in order to be able to tick them and write down below what you are going to do so that is the case: if relevant, make any action plan SMART:

7 SMART OBJECTIVES

8 ANALYSIS, PROBLEM SOLVING, DECISION MAKING

Analysis: To examine an issue from a variety of angles; breaking it down into its constituent parts

Analysis enables

 Accurate decision making based on facts rather than assumptions  The chance to consider the opportunity cost of different decisions  The generation of different ideas, approaches and potential solutions  Clarity in terms of goals or objectives

Be careful of the danger of extremes.

The tendency is to either proscratinate due to uncertainty (but remember, to do nothing is very often a decision or action in its own right) or to jump in and make a decision based on ‘instinct’ or without proper consideration – very often a mistake.

What sort of questions should we be asking at the analysis stage?:

9 MODELS OF PROBLEM SOLVING / DECISION MAKING

MODEL ONE: GROW:

GOAL: What do we want? What are we trying to achieve? What is / are our objective/s?

REALITY: Where are we now? Why and what problems is this causing us? If we stay here, is that good enough? What will we lose if we achieve our goal?

OPTIONS: What are they? Why and where is the proof / evidence? What will they cost? How do they compare?

WAY FORWARD: So, after careful analysis, discussion, consultation and thought, what specifically is our plan (SMART) – ie what are we going to do?

MODEL TWO: THE 5 C’S OF DECISION MAKING:

Consider….Consult….Crunch….Communicate….Check

10 TO BE AN EFFECTIVE AND ASSSERTIVE COMMUNICATOR

There are 4 different ways in which we communicate –

11 Write down, from your own observations, what confident, assertive communicators do (or indeed do not do):

How long have you got to make a first impression?

The fastest way to move to confidence is to adopt the physiology of a confident person. Others will believe it and respond in a way that makes us feel more confident. So, if you are in a meeting and you are putting an idea forward, or trying to persuade others to go with something, and for whatever reason you don’t feel confident, then ACT it!

12 FACE TO FACE COMMUNICATION

The way we stand, look, even the way we dress can have an impact on our overall behaviour and the way that others see us.

When communicating outwards to a person or group of people, our message is picked up in three ways:

The words we use (verbal), our tone of voice (vocal) and our body language (visual).

But, how important is each of these 3 elements?

VERBAL ___%

VOCAL ___%

VISUAL ___%

(Research by Albert Mehrabian – Professor, Harvard University)

It’s not just what we say and do, but also how we say and do it.

13 PRESENTING IDEAS EFFECTIVELY

Before you attempt to persuade others to your point of view, consider the following:

 Why do you feel your idea is worth consideration? Have you given it due thought? What are the benefits?

 How confident are you that this is the right thing to do? (This may not necessarily stop you from putting your idea forward but might influence your choice of words).

 What is important to the parties present? What might they lose? What is the benefit specifically for them? (the WIFM factor!)

 What will the impact be? Who it will affect? How will they feel about it? What are the opportunity costs of taking this route? How much will it cost? How long will it take to implement? Whose authority is needed to go ahead?

 How can you appeal to both logic and emotion?

 Do you have any facts or evidence to back up your argument? Have you done your homework?

 What is the likely opposition going to be? Have you given it due consideration? Can you overcome it?

 If need be, can you negotiate? How flexible can you be? What is your bottom line?

 Should your original idea be rejected, do you have any other options or alternatives?

14 PRESENTING YOUR PROPOSAL – PROEP

….and finally be assertive and engage your audience by asking for their feedback!

15 WRITING PROPOSALS

Any back up documentation to a verbal proposal, or written proposals (including emails) must be professionally produced.

This means that you need to follow the ABC of business writing.

Accurate  Say what you mean.

 Give enough information to foster understanding.

Brief  Use short simple words.

 Keep sentences short (15 words average).

 Keep paragraphs short.

 Use punctuation to aid understanding.

Clear  Make sure the progression of writing is logical.

 Start by making the subject of the letter clear.

 Use a heading.

 Finish by making clear what happens next.

Average Sentence length % of readers who will understand it first time

30 words or more 5%

17-19 words 75%

7 words or less 95%

16 THE 4 R’S OF MOTIVATION

17 HOW EFFECTIVE ARE YOUR CONSULTING SKILLS?

The 2 main types of question are and

Here are a four other useful types of question:

Boomerang

Hypothetical

Probing

Methodology

18 THE ART OF BEING PERSUASIVE & ASSERTIVE

Persuasion: The ability to give compelling value to others based on their viewpoint, not theirs.

Assertiveness: The skill to be honest about what we believe, think and feel, whilst treating others with respect and allowing them to do the same.

When was the last time you changed your viewpoint on or attitude to something? Probably quite a long time ago. We all like to see the world from our own point of view and we also like to believe we are right!

Yet persuasion is all about trying to change someone else’s viewpoint on something. If it is so hard to change our own, it must be extremely difficult to change someone else’s point of view. Whenever we feel someone is trying to do that to us, our temptation is to resist.

Our best chance is to go to their position first and try and see things from their viewpoint and then appealing to whatever is most likely to motivate them (the WIFM factor). The best way to do that is to ask them questions and listen to their answers and try and put ourselves in their shoes – not easy when what we really want to do it to tell them to do act in a certain way or do something because we want them to!

Remember….seek to understand before being understood.

19 6 TYPES OF ASSERTIVE STATEMENTS

Type Definition Examples

Basic A straightforward statement that ‘I need to be away for 5 O’clock.’ stands up for your rights by making ‘I feel you could have completed this clear your needs, wants, beliefs, in a shorter timeframe’ opinions and feelings “If we go ahead, I think we will have problems later on.”

Responsive A behaviour that aims to find out ‘What problems does that create for where the other person stands, their you?’ needs, wants, beliefs, opinions and feelings ‘What would you prefer to do?’

Empathetic A behaviour that contains an element ‘I understand that you don’t like the of empathy as well as a statement of new procedure, Andy. However, I your needs and wants need you to work with it.”

Discrepancy A statement that points out the ‘Mike, in my recent appraisal I difference between what was remember you saying that you would previously agreed, and what is delegate more of the HR work to me. actually happening or about to I’m still keen to do that.’ happen.

Negative A statement that draws the attention ‘When you say that, I feel…..’ Feelings of another person to the undesirable effect that their behaviour is having on you. It can contain the following elements:

When… The effects are… I feel… I’d like…

Consequence A statement that informs the other “You need to know that if you person of the consequences for them continue doing this, then the of not changing their behaviour. It consequence will be… also gives them an opportunity to

20 change that behaviour

GIVING FEEDBACK

Harry Levinson gives the following advice on the art of the critique:-

Be specific - Pick a significant incident, an event that illustrates a key problem that needs changing or a pattern of deficiency, such as the inability to do certain parts of a job well. It demoralises people just to hear that they are doing ‘something’ wrong without knowing what the specifics are so they can change. Focus on the specifics, saying what the person did well, what was done poorly, and how it could be changed. Don’t beat around the bush or be oblique or evasive, it will muddy the real message. “Specificity,” Levinson points out, “is just as important for praise as for criticism. I won’t say that vague praise has no effect at all, but it doesn’t have much, and you can’t learn from it.”

Focus on the solution, not the problem - The critique, like all useful feedback, should point to a way to fix the problem. Otherwise it leaves the recipient frustrated, demoralised, or de-motivated. The critique may open the door to possibilities and alternatives that the person did not realise were there, or simply sensitise him to deficiencies that need attention – but should include suggestions about how to take care of them.

Be present - Critiques, like praise, are most effective face to face and in private. People who are uncomfortable giving a criticism – or offering praise – are likely to ease the burden on themselves by doing it at a distance, such as in a memo. But this makes the communication too impersonal, and robs the person receiving it of an opportunity for a response or clarification.

Be sensitive - This is a call for empathy, for being attuned to the impact of what you say and how you say it on the person at the receiving end. Managers who have little empathy, Levinson points out, are most prone to giving feedback in a hurtful fashion, such as the withering put-down. The net effect of such criticism is destructive: instead of opening the way for a corrective, it creates an emotional backlash of resentment, bitterness, defensiveness, and distance.

21 6 POINT PLAN TO GIVING FEEDBACK

There are 2 main types of feedback, Motivational (ie praise) and Developmental, where you are trying to develop either that person’s performance / actions in some way, or your relationship with them.

Giving developmental feedback is not easy. For most of us, we are a little out of our comfort zone and can often try and find a way to avoid this sort of conversation. Don’t!

1. Do your prep:

2. Set the scene.

3. Get them involved.

4. Put your own viewpoint across (after you have shown you have listened to and are trying to understand theirs). Remember, do not use the word BUT!

5. Jointly consider options / a solution:

22 6. Agree an action plan, if need be making it SMART!

MANAGING YOUR MANAGER

We sometimes shy away from suggesting changes to our manager because they are above us in the hierarchy and the FEAR factor comes into play! However, if we do it positively we can come across as confident, assertive and a solution focussed person, not a problem focussed one – the sort of person your manager will value!

The feedback structure is as above, with a few small changes:

23 RECEIVING FEEDBACK & HANDLING OBJECTIONS

Levinson also offers some emotional counsel for those at the receiving end of criticism. One is to see the criticism as valuable information about how to do better, not as a personal attack. Another is to watch for the impulse towards defensiveness instead of taking responsibility. And, if it gets too upsetting, ask to resume the meeting later, after a period to absorb the difficult message and

24 cool down a bit. Finally, he advises people to see criticism as an opportunity to work together with the critic to solve the problem, not as an adversarial situation.

25 CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH PERFORMERS

1. HP’s are ……………thinkers – they see problems as ……….. (which require their optimism, creative thinking and determination to overcome) and failure as a ……….. …….experience (there is no such word as failure).

2. HP’s don’t win every time, they don’t get all the luck, they just win more than most, simply because they are prepared to try more often than most!

3. They take……………….….for what is happening to them and seek……………….……… rather than attempt to blame their performance on other people.

4. The focus their attention and act on those things they can………………and don’t waste time and energy on those things they can’t, hence dramatically increasing their ability to impact on their results.

5. E…………………..+ R………………….= O……………. They believe that they not others are in control of their …………. and response to any situation, including conflict, so they do not let others steal their personal power by choosing their response for them. Instead they choose the most resourceful response they can for the best outcome possible.

6. They take ………………..! (planned). They do not procrastinate!

7. They are excellent communicators – assertive and confident, but even more important, genuinely interested in other people, and able to see things from other people’s point of view, through active listening and showing empathy.

26 MANAGEMENT SKILLS FOR THE SENIOR PA

ACTION PLAN

Key Learning Areas / Action Points from the course:

Action Plan for my return to work: