Learn How to Become a “Save the Day” Employee

Why Valued Assistants Are Sometimes Under-Valued

Although top assistants may experience some feelings of under-appreciation at times, in most cases, they should banish this concern from their psyche. There is a simple, straightforward, and correctable reason for this apparent managerial behavior: You have spoiled your supervisor with your cohesive performance.

When your manager asks, “Can you contact, write a report, analyze, help me, or create a detailed spreadsheet for ‘X’,” you answer with a resounding “yes” and then do the job. This is wonderful. However, over time, you risk your supervisor becoming so dependent on your superior performance that he/she becomes totally comfortable with your ability.

Urban Planet Mobile founder, Brian Oliversmith, in his article, “How My Assistant Saved the Day” (New York Times, 1/22/2011), clearly stated just such a situation. Outstanding assistants and experienced managers can both learn something of value from this common condition. Reading this article should help both assistant and supervisor avoid entanglement in this situation.

Those employees who “suffer in silence” and those managers who remain unaware of their assistants’ feelings will each receive a clear wake-up call should company or economic circumstances change. As Mr. Oliversmith learned when the recession hit his fledgling company (founded in May 2008) with a devastating vengeance, losing his valuable assistant for financial reasons caused a multitude of diverse problems.

Along with having to do everything themselves, managers learn that other important tasks often must be neglected altogether. As many corporate executives-turned-entrepreneurs discover, even using a copy machine or backing up necessary files can be challenging. More important projects, like market research, new prospect lists, or long-term strategy development, must also take a back seat to short-term solutions.

All managers who have experienced this loss will not under-value a competent assistant in the future. But, how can you become a “save the day” employee? Here are some suggestions to strengthen and enhance your position as a valuable assistant.

How to Become a “Save the Day” Employee

• Develop strong multi-tasking skills. There are few supervisors who are able to handle all of their responsibilities efficiently and timely without juggling tasks. You must learn how to become a successful juggler to maximize your value as an assistant.
• Pay particular attention to details. You’ve probably heard the mantra: “The devil is in the details.” As with most clichés, there are good reasons for this oft repeated phrase and rule. The difference between being “good” and being recognized as “great” is often determined by how the details of the task, project, or goal are managed. Detail-orientation is a must have skill for save the day employees.
• Practice and display high-level organization ability. Working hard at becoming an organization guru is a critical tool in the arsenal of valuable assistants. Many of the best managers can focus on, analyze, and dissect company and global issues to the envy of everyone. However, many of these superstars are daily organization disasters. Save the day employees can often keep this common propensity to cause day-to-day disarray a secret from others, by using high-level dedication to organization.
• Display a consistent positive attitude—it is infectious. Superior assistants are able to keep their heads, while all those around them are losing theirs. They remain positive, under control, and handle any potentially awkward situation with style, grace, and fluidity. This attitude also transmits this positive outlook to everyone around them, enabling consistent crisis resolution.
• Always act like a professional. Assistants projecting professionalism also have valuable effects on others. Even those other employees that are a bit “rough around the edges” gain valuable tips from the save the day professional attitude you display, regardless of the scope or gravity of tasks to be done.
• Keep your emotions under control. Much like positive attitudes and professionalism, maintaining control of your emotions at the workplace calms the other emotion-driven employees with whom you deal. There will be occasions when your manager endures great pressure and makes a maximum effort to appear cool under fire. A save the day assistant must also mirror this control to keep other staff balanced and effective in the face of adversity.

Save the day employees generate extreme value to their managers, peers, and the workplace in general. While they may have to endure short periods of being taken for granted, most experienced managers thoroughly appreciate their efforts. Save the day assistants are often rewarded with save the day compensation along with sincere “Thank You” responses.

Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/jobs/23pre.html?_r=1&ref=management