Patience and sense of urgency | Online Executive and Admin Assistant Training

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What We Can’t Teach Your - Blog Series Part 3

Submitted by Stephanie on September 08, 2009 at 12:31 PM

Patience & Sense of Urgency

Patience and “sense of urgency” might seem like opposite ends of the spectrum but both are very critical and intrinsically linked when working effectively as any kind of assistant.

Many job postings for assistant positions will mention a “sense of urgency” as a trait they’re looking for in candidates for the position. From our experience, this means they’re looking for someone who is “on the ball”, someone who gets their “to-do” list done as quickly as possible and presents any “situation” to their boss in a timely fashion.

However, in the real world—not in the interview situation—, you’ll find that you’re constantly waiting for people to return your phone call/email or get you specific information you need to get your job done. Whether it’s waiting on an answer from your boss or your travel agent to get back to you, waiting on answers is part of the game. This is where the patience comes in.

An effective assistant will have all of their projects and tasks as far along as possible so when that information or reply does come in, you can move on it.

If you can project patience, when it is called for, you will have a calming influence over your boss as they know you’re on top of it. On the flip side, if you can project a “sense of urgency” either to your boss or someone else you’re needing information or action from, and if you use proper manners to convey that urgency, they’ll respond to that urgency and get you the answer you need to do your job and move forward.

Having patience combined with a “sense of urgency” isn’t easy—and it’s not something we can teach you—but if you can view each situation as unique and apply the proper attribute to each, you’ll impress your boss, superiors and peers since they’ll know that you either mean business or have everything under control.

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