There’s a line that I tell my students in all of my classes.
“If you want to get anything done at work, make sure you treat the unsung heroes at work with the respect they deserve.”
They often look at me quizzically. Unsung heroes? Yep.
Often when people enter the workforce – particularly young people who are just starting out and are unfamiliar with workplace politics – they assume that the person they have to please the most is their boss, their supervisor, their superior. Well, duh! However, too often they neglect the people that make their own job possible.
Who are these people?
They are the individuals who keep the wheels greased, the gears oiled, the inner workings lubricated. Without them businesses would grind to a standstill, nothing would get accomplished, work would never actually happen.
You might think these individuals are merely part of the bureaucracy, red tape enforcers, people put in the way to keep you from accomplishing what you want to accomplish, paper pushers, and persons in-between you and the “real” person you want to really talk to.
They are the executive secretaries, the administrative assistants, the clerks, the secretaries, et al in your workplace. They are indispensible.
It seems ridiculous that this needs to be pointed out, but it does. I’ve seen too many junior employees and too many students treat these individuals with disrespect, as if they are above them. Treat them with respect, and you’ll get a lot accomplished. Treat them badly, and eventually you will fail at work.
Never forget this.
“If you want to get anything done at work, make sure you treat the unsung heroes at work with the respect they deserve.”
They often look at me quizzically. Unsung heroes? Yep.
Often when people enter the workforce – particularly young people who are just starting out and are unfamiliar with workplace politics – they assume that the person they have to please the most is their boss, their supervisor, their superior. Well, duh! However, too often they neglect the people that make their own job possible.
Who are these people?
They are the individuals who keep the wheels greased, the gears oiled, the inner workings lubricated. Without them businesses would grind to a standstill, nothing would get accomplished, work would never actually happen.
You might think these individuals are merely part of the bureaucracy, red tape enforcers, people put in the way to keep you from accomplishing what you want to accomplish, paper pushers, and persons in-between you and the “real” person you want to really talk to.
They are the executive secretaries, the administrative assistants, the clerks, the secretaries, et al in your workplace. They are indispensible.
It seems ridiculous that this needs to be pointed out, but it does. I’ve seen too many junior employees and too many students treat these individuals with disrespect, as if they are above them. Treat them with respect, and you’ll get a lot accomplished. Treat them badly, and eventually you will fail at work.
Never forget this.
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