Do You Have the “Power” Skills to Give You an Edge as an Administrative Assistant?

 

 

I had never heard of “power skills” until I read Power Skills for Administrative Assistants. This article by Joan Burge examines how “power" skills are the new, and more appropriate, term for soft skills.

 

We commonly think of soft skills to be things such as time management, socialization, and skills about teamwork. However, in the article “Power Skills for Administrative Assistants”, Joan Burge flips the script, by referring to these soft skills as “power” skills. These skills, when used effectively and with strong ability, make a difference that sets administrative assistants apart. In this article, Joan considers 9 skills that although more generally considered soft skills, ought to be considered “power” skills. They include: 

 

1. Emotional intelligence 

2. Leadership

3. Collaboration 

4. Communications 

5. Resiliency 

6. Strategic thinking 

7. Business Acumen 

8. Openness to change 

9. Self-management

 

When defining emotional intelligence, four dimensions can be identified, self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social skill or relationship management. All of these dimensions make up great emotional intelligence, however, social awareness especially aids an administrative assistant in that it aids in looking at the bigger picture.

 

Leadership, collaboration and communication can go hand in hand. Focus on taking ownership and forging ahead. Collaborate to put the best ideas into the bigger end goal, where the focus is the process, and the goal is the result of how well a team works together. Paying attention to others and their preferred style of communication. Adapting communication styles to assist another person allows them to be more successful. Thus leading to the bigger picture more efficiently. Furthermore, be resilient. Resilience becomes a power skill, especially when every day is a new challenge.

 

Strategic thinking and business acumen are both very similar, where strategic thinking is the idea that you should look at the big picture and the long term. Get your priorities in order and work towards the bigger plan in incremental steps. Business acumen tells us the same thing with a focus on “business situations”. As such we ought to aim for the big picture while considering the possible outcomes in a business sense. Administrative assistants with an openness to change are adaptable and focused on areas that they can control rather than what they cannot. This goes hand in hand with self-management and the idea that even when you cannot manage things around you, you have to remember that you have the power to manage yourself and how you react to unmanageable situations.

 

This article simplifies the traits and soft skills required of administrative assistants; however, it also demonstrates how these skills can only slowly be gained through experience and growth in the workplace and in life. It not only empowers administrative assistants but, also acts as a building block that guides administrative assistants on where they can look to improve themselves in the workplace and as an administrator. I enjoyed reading this article for the insight into the skills to improve as an administrative assistant and for the empowering nature of the article. The article demonstrated that an administrative assistant’s soft skills in the workplace, truly are “power” skills that give you an edge in the workplace.

 

Leave a comment down below with your thoughts on the article, or if you can think of any other soft skills that are actually “power” skills.