Introduction

To excel as an Office Manager, Administrator, or Secretary you need to perfect your interpersonal and behavioral skills, to ensure you stay in control and on top of every one of your responsibilities.

• Prioritize your daily responsibilities to achieve maximum output

• Streamline your work practices and office environment

• Communicate effectively and assertively at all levels

• Understand yourself and others thereby improving interactions and relationships

• Use techniques to help you think creatively, solve problems, plan, and make decisions

Objectives

• Learn how to prioritize and cope with multiple tasks

• Learn how to think as a manager – planning, making decisions and solving problems

• Learn how to improve their communication skills to enhance their relationships

• Learn to manage your thoughts and feelings and improve self-confidence

• Learn how to be assertive and therefore more effective in the workplace

• Understand and develop intrapersonal and interpersonal skills

Methodology

The course will be interactive and practical; with learning, methods to suit every kind of learning preference. There will be activities in groups and pairs as well as individual exercises and everyone will get an opportunity to discuss their work challenges in a supportive environment. There will also be an opportunity to practice assertive communication skills through role-play and to present a presentation towards the end of the week.

Organizational Impact

• More proactive confident team players

• Increased creativity and productivity

• More motivated customer-focused staff

• Reduced absentism and illness through reduced stress levels

• Greater harmony through increased self-awareness and interpersonal skills

• More productive meetings and better time management

Personal Impact

• In-depth understanding of the principles and practices of successful office managers

• More calm and satisfying work-life through stress management and self-awareness

• Greater self-respect and communication impact through learning to speak assertively

• Overcoming fear of public speaking and creating an effective presentation

• Knowing how to get organized and stay on top of your tasks and time

Outlines

Day 1: Taking Control of Your Work Life

• Introductions – Getting to know each other

• Understanding and clarifying purpose, vision, and mission

• External and internal customer service

• The secret to working smarter rather than harder

• Using high leverage activities to achieve more in less time

• Controlling, prioritizing and organizing your work

• Making a long term plan to create the best office in the company!

• Streamlining your office systems

• Getting your paperwork under control

• Making your office user friendly and efficient

Day 2: Essential Administrative Skills

• Harnessing the power of the mind – through Mind Mapping Techniques

• Right brain/left brain theory

• Managing larger projects to meet deadlines

• Planning skills – using a Gannt chart to chart work progress

• Problem-solving techniques

• Becoming more proactive

• Decision-Making tools

• Managing meetings effectively

• Keeping minutes of meetings

• Working with more than one manager

Day 3: Vital Communication Skills

• Common communication mistakes

• Different styles of communication

• Communicating with Confidence

• Learning to be more assertive

• Win-win conflict resolution

• The most effective way to say no

• Understanding and using body language

• Understanding gender differences in communication

• Overcome biases and discomfort associated with exercising power

• Understanding different personality types and how to deal with them

• How to create an effective working relationship with any kind of boss

Day 4: Developing a set of professional skills

• Listening skills – seeking to understand before being understood

• The number one reason we don’t listen well

• Creating a professional image

• Leadership skills

• Knowing and accepting yourself as a leader

• Making things happen from anywhere in the organization

• How to make presentations with confidence and power

• Overcoming the fear of public speaking

• Learn the essentials of planning a presentation

• How to hold the attention of a group

• Painless methods for giving corrective feedback

• Best practices for delivering positive feedback

Day 5: Self-Empowerment and Self-Management

• Understanding the main causes of stress

• How to build self-confidence and strength the ability to respond to difficult situations

• How to relax and refresh the mind and body

• The signs, symptoms, causes, and triggers to stress

• Why stress is a powerful messenger

• How to break the vicious cycle of stressful thinking

• The essential skills of emotional intelligence

• Using emotional intelligence at work

• Transforming fear and negativity and reactive-ness

• Becoming a more proactive, responsible and self-aware person

• Continuing Professional Development - where to go from here