The Invaluable Assistant

Are you indispensable... or invaluable?Many assistants (and those in a wide variety of other roles) have traditionally considered themselves indispensable. But learning the difference between these two mindsets is crucial to your success and job security in your role as an executive administrative partner.Your position is indispensable; if you don't prove your added value to your leader and your organization, you are not. That value is reflected in the mindsets, attributes and skill sets that executives prize in their assistants. Fully understanding and demonstrating your value moves you from being considered merely "indispensable" to being truly "invaluable."In "The Invaluable Assistant" Sandy Geroux shares, directly from executives, hard-hitting tips, skills and mindsets that executive assistants need in order to stay on top of their game and help executives stay on top of theirs. Through these tips and enlightening stories and examples, you will learn how to go from being in the average position where "anyone else will do" to the enviable position where "no one else will do!"

Petty Officer Edgar Evans was Captain's Scott's 'giant worker' and his 'invaluable assistant'. He went with Scott on both the British Antarctic Expeditions of the early 1900s – the 'Discovery' expedition of 1901 and the 'Terra Nova' expedition in 1910 – distinguishing himself on both. In 1903, with Scott, Edgar made the first long and arduous sortie onto the Plateau of Victoria Land. The journey highlighted Edgar's common sense, strength, courage, wit and unflappability. Thus it came as no surprise when, in 1911, Edgar was chosen by Scott to be one of the five men to go on the final attempt at the South Pole. Tragically the 'Welsh Giant' was the first to die on the ill-fated return, and posthumously Edgar was blamed in some quarters for causing the deaths of the whole party. It was suggested that his failure was due to his relative lack of education, which made him less able to endure the conditions than his well-educated companions. Isobel Williams repudiates this shameful suggestion and redresses the balance of attention paid to the upper and lower-deck members of Scott's famous expeditions.

"The Boot and Shoe Manufacturers' Assistant and Guide" by various was an essential manual for anyone who wished to embark on the journey of making shoes. Including a history of rubber and other materials, the book contains step-by-step instructions as well as the importance of the industry and why its continuing on through history is vital for society. It even gives readers helpful hints for those who would wish to design their own shoes.

In 1917, in Khartoum, Dr. J.B. Christopherson experimentally treated seventy bilharzia patients with injections of antimony tartrate, an early chemotherapy. His was the first successful treatment. Antimony had never been tried on bilharzia patients before, or so he believed. This biography examines the turbulent life of this medical pioneer, his fight for priority and his struggle for professional survival amid the politics of exclusion in General Wingate's Sudan. His was a career full of paradoxes: acclaimed for intercepting a smallpox outbreak, building a hospital and satellite clinics, he battled accusations and removal as director of the Medical Department. From the Boer War, two decades in Sudan, his capture and release in Serbia to his time in France in WW1, controversy seldom left him.

Many executives don't take full advantage of the assistant who sits right outside their door. This book educates executives about all the ways in which they can streamline and improve the way they work with the help of a great assistant, while teaching them to identify great candidates and maximize the benefits of this special relationship.

Assistant, you are a leader. As an assistant, you constantly face obstacles that hold you back from accomplishing your career goals. Whether it’s a job change, shifting deadlines, a micromanaging executive, a toxic co-worker, a high-pressure project, or an intense negotiation with a vendor, the administrative profession is not for the faint of heart. If you’re looking to maintain the status quo and be “just an assistant,” this book is not for you. But, if you want the confidence and ability to conquer the challenges that most try to avoid, then you’re in the right place. The Leader Assistant outlines four pillars—embody the characteristics, employ the tactics, engage in relationships, and exercise self-care—that will help you rediscover your passion for the profession and become a confident, future-proof, game-changing Leader Assistant. If you neglect even one pillar, you’ll head for burnout, stagnation, and anonymity. You are meant for so much more. Are you ready to be the Leader Assistant the world needs?

Includes regular and extra sessions.