Month: May 2019

Change is a good thing

May 28, 2019

There have been, and continue to be, many changes happening at my work Lake Forest Academy. One major change happening July 1, 2019 is the changing of our Head of School. After 18 years, Dr. John Strudwick will be retiring and José De Jesús will be joining us as the 30th Head of School.

As we come to the end of our school year, there is an anxiousness that you can feel on our campus. Tamar Chansky, author of Freeing Yourself from Anxiety says “changes at work are among the top life stressors that one can experience”. There are many things we can do as Admins when changes occur around us that will give us a sense of control.

Continue to put your best foot forward. Now is not the time to sit back and rest on the good job you have done thus far. Keep striving to be your best and keep that positive attitude. Things get tough right before the change, during the change and even after the change. Make it your mission to be the Admin that works to bring negative attitudes and energy back to a positive state.

Ask questions and communicate.  If you don’t know or understand, ask questions.  Don’t be afraid, everyone is learning.  And once you understand, communicate what you have learned so others can understand and be on the same page.  Any time you find out information that would be valuable to others, share it.  Communication is the key to a smooth transition.

Stay with your winning routine.  You know what you are doing, that is why you are the amazing Admin that you are.  Continue to keep your goals in sight and work towards them.  Stay the course.  If you are working on improving a skill, continue to work on it.  Embrace the changes, but do not be changed by them.

We are constantly changing.  As Admins, our jobs change daily . . . hourly, even.  How many of you come in with a TO DO LIST and as soon as you sit down at your desk, the emails come barging in with “others” to do lists which take precedence over what you had on yours.  Or the phone rings with a request that needs to be handled immediately.  How about your executive comes in and just in the way they are walking, you know you need to grab a pen and pad of paper to take down the to do list from your executive.  You handle these changes like a PRO!!!!

I am looking forward to this change.  I am sad to see Dr. Strudwick retire, but I have been a part of conversations with José and am looking forward to what he will bring to our school.

Are you afraid of change?  Are you great at change?  Please share your comments with us below.

Jackie

Administrative Professional’s Day

May 1, 2019

Last week it was Administrative Professional’s Day and I have to be honest that I have mixed feelings about this special day in my profession. I truly believe it is important to recognize the hard work that Admins do on a daily basis, but wonder how it makes others in the office feel. I decided to do some research to see what other office worker/staff days there are to be celebrated.

There is an Employee Appreciation Day the first Friday in March but it is too encompassing. There is the National Receptionist Day that is celebrated on the 2nd Wednesday in April. This is a position that we do not currently have at our school. And of course there is Boss’s Day which is celebrated on or around October 16th. There are other days like Nurses Day or Dentist Day and even Educator’s Day. But working in the business office of Lake Forest Academy, an independent international board and day school, I was unable to find any “days” to celebrate my friends who are Purchasing agents, Accounts Payable clerks, Accounts Receivable clerks, or any other staff position.

For this reason, I feel uncomfortable being celebrated on our special day. It can separate us from the rest of the office and make us seem less of a profession. In fact it shines the spotlight on us intensifying our differences from other staff members further distancing us from our co-workers.

I truly believe that we should be celebrated for the amazing work that we do. Not everyone can be a professional admin. I tend to like the idea of the Admin Awards to celebrate us individually as we strive to be our best.

What are your thoughts on this day of celebration? Please let us know by commenting below.

Have a great day!

Jackie