It is not easy being the admin or office manager, and it is even more difficult to keep the office running smoothly and efficiently. Now, add the diversity of a workforce, each with their own temperament and issues, and give them what they need to get the job done. After assigning everyone a space to work with, in addition to their designated equipment, the distractions and inter-office politics typically get underway.
But it is this exact challenge that makes you come to work every morning. If you want to be a successful admin manager, then you need to thrive on challenges and showing leadership at the right moments. In light of helping you on your road to success, here are some tips and suggestions to make things a little easier.
Clear Communication Skills
A communicator isn’t just somebody who talks all the time. Instead, it is somebody who can clearly convey a message, briefing, or meeting. They are also people who are able to mediate a situation between two co-workers who can’t reach the same understanding. As an office manager or assistant, you need to hone these skills as much as possible, because they can be the difference between climbing the ladder, or getting demoted. Your role requires you to show confidence in front of small audiences, otherwise, they are going to doubt your leadership skills. So, communication is a big part of keeping an office organized.
Do yourself a favor and practice in front of the mirror each day. Listen to your voice and the way you present yourself. Are you exuding self-confidence? Do you believe in your ability? Let it show in your communication skills.
Develop People Skills
Managing people is not going to be like going through your regular routine at work. Numbers and words don’t have attitudes, personal problems, hidden agendas, and a personality to make things more complicated. Thus, managing people requires understanding and a lot of patience. But what if you are not the social type?
Firstly, if you don’t know your employees, how are you going to utilize their strengths? Secondly, you don’t have to get to know them in a day. Instead, make the most out of the five-minute interaction you get now and then. Try to learn one thing new about them every day too, and it will naturally grow into a good relationship. This is also how you develop good people managing skills.
Show Innovation
As the person in charge, problem-solving falls to you when nobody else has an answer. And if you didn’t realize it by now, not everything is going to happen by the book. Problems, situations, and people are going to challenge your ability to think outside the box. In other words, you need to be innovative to steer these scenarios towards a better outcome.
The best way to do this is to become more aware of your surroundings. Open yourself up to different opinions, and try to read about things you wouldn’t normally read. In fact, you can even surround yourself with people you regard as innovative.
Learn Every Aspect Of The Business
Even though your job is to handle the big worries, you will do it so much better if you understand all the areas of the company. Unless you worked in every position before landing in the manager chair, there are things you don’t know, even with your office manager ranking. By increasing your knowledge of the business, and how it functions on every level, you will become one of the most effective office managers around. Quality office management training can make this a lot easier.
Never Stop Learning
As a leader, you need to be an example to your team. This means you need to continue learning and developing as much as possible. Don’t allow yourself to stagnate just because you are in the position you want to be. There are always more opportunities you might want to try, and they will only happen if you expand your knowledge.
