News & Resources

  Staying cool, calm and collected under pressure at work is often in the top 3 spoken and unspoken desirable requirements for any position. This is particularly true if you are client facing and your role is really a defining part of the brand and professional services experience for clients.   Being poised means not going into survival mode when you feel you are u...

Don’t you hate the tight grip of stress around your whole entire being before you have to do a presentation in front of a group of peers? Or clear up conflict with a colleague? Or be incredible in that job interview that you so desperately want? We all do, and I’m about to explain how Wonder Woman can help you in any situation.Firstly, I am in a very fortunate position (fina...

How do we manage to have a work-life balance when we are expected to be always available?Work-life balance is a funny thing. The term was first used in the UK to describe the equilibrium between an employee’s work and their out of work (personal) life. The United States started using the term in the mid ‘80’s when many industries experienced prosperity, others never gaining ...

21 is too many to work for. That I know from experience. I’ve been a legal secretary for around 17 years – give or take a year as it’s all a bit of a blur now. When I started, the 2 lawyers to 1 secretary ratio was completely normal. After a few years it grew to 4:1, and then somewhere around 2010 it became “normal” to have a 7:1 ratio.If you have 1 Partner, 1 or 2 Senior As...

Last year, there was talk in the media about a new app released by Google called “Just Not Sorry”. The Gmail plugin warns you when you are using words that undermine your message. I am the first to put up my hand to say that I am definitely guilty of this and am keen to change a habit that was obviously formed many years ago. How does it work?Just Not Sorry works by providin...

I have a confession to make. Until three years ago I was essentially technologically “illiterate” - my years working in big firms with an IT department had made me lazy and rendered me useless with technology - I was in danger of being left behind.One of the positive impacts of starting my own business was the need to develop technological literacy and fast. I discovered my ...

I love being a team player. It’s how I socialise, how I learn and how I support people inside and outside of my team. I can’t help but feel so good after I’ve helped someone. However, the only thing that makes me feel uncomfortable, in this regard, is being around a secretary who isn’t a team player. I’ve met my fair share of them.   Have you overheard a secr...

  Thanks to the rise of technology, we live in a world where we are working more than ever before, not to mention that we are always connected and contactable too.   While this is great for productivity, and for some of us it means the freedom to be able to work from anywhere, it also can be wreaking havoc on our health or our personal lives. If...

I recently had the good fortune to attend an event with Australia’s pre-eminent demographer and futurist, Bernard Salt. I have long been a fan of Bernard’s, and was very interested to hear his speech on the topic “Extinction of the Secretary and opportunities for Executive Assistants”. I was unsure if I was insulted, amused, or both, but when the night arrived I trotted off ...

Junior secretaries are a fantastic resource to have in your firm and if you have the opportunity to mentor and coach a junior, their enthusiasm can rejuvenate your satisfaction for your own position. Mentoring can be a rewarding piece to add to your CV, but how do you successfully mentor your junior and ensure that they and you get the most of their role?Working with a junio...

  Taking minutes - you either love them or hate them. Prior to learning the skill, it can be a daunting task to undertake. I can recall earlier in my career avoiding any EA position that involved taking minutes. But in most cases, there is no way of avoiding it; if you’re looking to succeed as an EA a big part of your will be minute taking. So, when I could avoid them ...