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Over the past 25 years of my career as an Executive Administrator, I have scheduled more 1:1 meetings that I care to count. During that time, I have learned a thing or two about what components help facilitate productive and effective meetings. As Administrative Professionals, we get to see the good, the bad, and the ugly - so trust me when I say that there is a right way to do this and there is a wrong way. Learn Their Communication Style Don't make the mistake of assuming that all executives like to have meetings the same way. They don't. It is rare for someone to ask them what their communication style is, how they like to give and receive information, if they prefer pre-reads, if they like to be presented to, or if they would prefer a more casual session like a walking 1:1. When an executive gets to a certain level, people suddenly stop asking what they like. Everyone starts to assume what they need, what they like, and what their preferences are and that always goes badly. Always. Execs will appreciate that you are interested in engaging with them in a way that brings value to them and they will reciprocate. Avoid Status Updates & To Do Lists Now is not the time to catch them up on every project, action item, or detailed to-do list. No one enjoys being talked at for 30 minutes - everyone's time is valuable so make sure that you use this time wisely and you don't waste it. If you have action items that need to be completed by the exec then engage their EA to help get those completed. Use collaborative tools like OneNote to manage project updates, open action items, and other status updates to keep a constant flow of communication going. This will provide them visibility to the topics, concerns, and discussion items prior to the meeting. Also, this gives you a collaborative space to track decisions, next steps, and open actions between your 1:1 meetings. Tap Into Their Expertise Each executive has unique experiences, expertise, and skill sets that can help you navigate the obstacles in your way... Don't waste that. Most execs are eager to share their expertise with their team, but they don't always get the opportunity to do so. If you need advice on your career road-map, how to work around personnel issues, or simply need direction on a project they are an invaluable resource. Share Your Priorities Don't assume they know what you need or how to help drive your priorities. Share your upcoming priorities and discuss how they can support you in achieving them. This is the perfect time to discuss areas of focus, strategy, and professional development. Be open about what you need and ask their advice on how you can drive your priorities to completion. Pro Tips Don't get caught off guard and unprepared. Schedule recurring time on your calendar to prepare for your 1:1 and to complete action items, decisions, and next steps. Don't skip out on using collaborative tools - trust me, this will revolutionize how you work. Sharing a collaborative tool (like OneNote) with your manager will drive transparency and visibility to a whole new level. There is not a one size fits all approach. Learn their preferences and share your own best practices so that the meetings are mutually beneficial. Engage their Executive Assistant! More than likely, they are not planning their own day or prioritizing their own workload. A critical step, but often overlooked step, is to engage their Executive Business Partner on activating action items and next steps. If you send out meeting minutes or actions, don't forget to CC their EA.

Join me for Part 1 of my virtual coffee chat series, where I sit down with the incredible Michelle Parise. Michelle is a former EA to the CEO of Pinterest and the founder of With Purpose Coaching. In this episode, we delve into the world of administrative professionals and explore various topics such as taking feedback from performance reviews to set achievable goals, quantifying goals, avoiding common mistakes in goal setting, setting goals while supporting multiple executives, and providing and receiving effective feedback. Don't miss out on parts 2 & 3 of this series... Subscribe to my YouTube channel! Watch the video below and join the conversation! In this series, we discussed some of these topics... 🎯 How to take feedback from a performance review to create goals 🎯 Tips on how to quantify goals as an Executive Assistant 🎯 Mistakes administrative professionals make when writing goals 🎯 How to set goals when supporting multiple executives 🎯 How to receive and provide feedback

In honor of International Women's Day - here is my encouragement for the day.  Stop. Being. Sorry. We have all read stories about how as women we have a tendency to excessively apologize, and I certainly agree that this is a bad habit that we all need to work to break. But today, my encouragement is to stop being sorry for being you, for having a voice, and for owning your space. Stop allowing someone else's insecurity, ignorance, or limiting mindset from hindering you from bringing your whole self to the table. In our profession, as Administrative Professionals, this problem is especially profound.  There is a stigma related to the administrative function, and we have all seen how fast and furious the world shakes when an EA has the audacity to speak up in a meeting, offer a different perspective, question a concept, or give direction without asking... but that is another post altogether!  For today, my point is this... Not only is it okay that you are assertive and have an opinion, but other people are actively looking for the answers and the unique perspective you provide. There is an excellent quote from Erica Azad on a blog she wrote last year. You were hired for a reason. You matter. You have important things to say. Don’t minimize your opinions by apologizing for having them. Kick your “sorry reflex” to the curb and own your significance. The truth is that not everyone will love you for it. Nor will everyone be happy that you decided to share a different perspective boldly and without apology. It is in these moments that you have to be brave and don't let the pressure to conform, to become small, or to stay in the shadows stop you from being your authentic self.  As much as I would love to say that women are bound together in unity in this - that is not always the case. Often times, we inflict the very thing we hate on one another. As women, we can to do better.  We can celebrate each other. We can encourage each other to speak up. We can empower each other. Let's practice saying this together. No, I am not sorry for being assertive. No, I am not sorry for being direct. No, I am not sorry for having an opinion. No, I am not sorry that I don't need to be asked to have a seat at the table. No, I am not sorry that I will tell you no and not bat an eyelash. No, I am not sorry that I am not afraid. No, I am not sorry that I have confidence. No, I am not sorry. Celebrate the women in your life today. Take time out of your day to encourage someone else. Reach across the aisle and be brave!

Timeboxing and batching days is one of the most powerful productivity hacks that you can implement for your executive business partner, for yourself, and for your team. Last week, I shared a fantastic article on timeboxing from Marc Zao-Saunders. This week, I wanted to share another great article on a similar topic by Jessica Stillman. If you haven't read her article yet, make sure to check it out here. Before we continue, let's establish what each term means. Batching Days or Themed Days: Designated days each week that are assigned to focus on specific projects or tasks. Timeboxing: A designated and fixed time period allocated to complete specific tasks or planned activities. Whenever I teach these two productivity and time management hacks for Executive Assistants and their executive business partners, the most consistent response is, "This is impossible!" Usually, when an EA makes that statement, they simply don't feel empowered to control the process and determine the most efficient use of their executive's time. Each time I hear an Executive Assistant make that statement, my response goes something like this. "I would like to challenge your thinking on that a bit. Why is it impossible?" Do you own the calendar? Yes. Do you decide what happens when and what meetings are a high and low priority? Yes. Do you manage the calendar and decide what goes where? Yes. "Okay, so help me understand why is it impossible?" I have said it before, but it bears repeating. As Executive Administrators, you own the calendar, but you have to be intentional in your calendar management. Only you have the power to effect real change in time and meeting management. The concept of timeboxing or batching is not a one size fits all fix, and it has to be flexible, but establishing the structure makes the difference. You can implement changes that will revolutionize how your executive partner works and that will ultimately impact the broader team! If you don't think it is possible or that you have the ownership or power to make the necessary changes, then it won't be. If you decide that you are willing to be an agent of change, you can and will revolutionize your team and increase productivity across your organization. Trust me when I say that everyone is thinking the same thing when comes to meeting culture, but the difference is that you are the key to actually making it happen. That puts you in a unique position as a strategic business partner and a vital asset to the business. "How many hours in a week should be focused solely on the business with no meetings?" Most people answer this question about the same. They all start at 20 hours a week, but that just seems crazy to them. They go down to 10 hours, but that too feels like a luxury. So, they settle at 1 or 2 hours a day - if they are lucky! What just happened? Well, they just crumbled under the hopeless weight of the meeting culture and gave up on having the power to change it. They might not have the power to impact the overall company meeting culture, but as EAs, we do. We have access they don't have. We have influence they don't have. And again, we literally own the tool that is making their work-life miserable. Recently, I started supporting a new executive and after analyzing his calendar; I suggested that we start batching his days. He looked at me with shock and said, "That would be amazing. Can you do that"? I couldn't help but laugh. Yes, of course, I can do that. Now, it was going to take effort, and it was going to be a change for the organization, but it was what was best for my executive business partner and the organization, so I set the wheels in motion. How did I do that? I am so glad you asked. Here are the three ways to begin implementing batching days and timeboxing for your executive business partner. Find out what how they would like to have their ideal week structured. This might take some time - your executive business partner probably never considered the possibility of intentional meeting management. Next, take time to sketch out what the week would look like and how you can re-organize the calendar. Then meet again and show them the new weekly structure. It is critical to get them on-board in the adoption phase, so make sure to get them invested. This might look different depending on where they are in the org chart. If they are in the C-Suite, then these changes might have a more significant impact (which is terrific), but if not you can still use this concept to make the necessary changes that will make a positive impact on the team. If you a C-Suite level Executive Assistant then you hold the ultimate key to this change. All organizations cascade information from the head down. Pull your EA team together and discuss how you are going to create an intentional meeting culture. Does the CEO's staff meeting need to move forward in the week, so the rest of the org can cascade the information down to their teams? How can you align and synchronize calendars from the top down so that things can flow well together? If not, then schedule the time to meet with your administrative team and discuss how you will work around the conflicts you cannot control. Afterward, explain the process with your executive business partner at your next 1:1 meeting and get their input. Finally, decide on a process to implement and communicate the new meeting process or cadence to your teams. In case you were wondering, I did just suggest that you get out of your silo and collaborate with the other Administrative Professionals on your team and strategically plan out your company meeting culture together. If that doesn't qualify you a strategic business partner, then I don't know what does! Most teams are thrilled at the idea of having more time to work and less time in meetings. Engage them and keep them in the loop as you are working through the process and then communicate to them during your staff meeting on how the executive's calendar will be managed. Encourage them to do the same with their own schedules and discuss how you are going to change the culture collectively. As many times as I have had these conversations, I have never had anyone who pushed back on this. Why? Because everyone wishes someone would finally make the meetings madness just stop. Throughout the process, I am engaging them and asking for input (read input, not demands) and they understand that effective calendar management at the top means effective calendar management where they are. Instead of getting pushed back, I generally just get flowers... either that or the world's longest hugs. I have been teaching this for years, so I have a lot to say on the subject! I could keep going, but I am going to leave it here for now. Curious about how I use timeboxing? Check out my YouTube video on how I organize my week.

Stop Wasting Time In Outlook! Are you still using the default blank meeting invite in Outlook? If so, this video is for you! How often do you find yourself clicking inside the body of the invite and adding a meeting purpose, agenda, and meeting objective in your Outlook meeting invites? If you know how to manage meetings effectively, then every invite you send out has all three of those items inside the body of your invitation. Yet, we typically just default to the blank meeting and never update the template to match our needs or to help us clearly identify the purpose and objective of the meeting. This is one easy way to save time by updating the default and making it work for you. In this tutorial, I show you how to change the blank default and create a custom invite that reflects the way you manage meetings. Not only is this a massive time-saver in Outlook - using this tip will make sure you start leading highly productive meetings. QUESTIONS — Do you have questions on how to automate Outlook? Post in comments section of this video! Subscribe to my channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdminGurus About This Video: In this excerpt from her Tech Tip Tuesday series, Melissa Peoples, teaches how to use change the default meeting invitation template in Outlook to automate your workflow.

Aligning Executive Priorities - Just released part 2 of our Strategic Planning Conversations podcast series. In this podcast, we discuss how to align executive priorities for the upcoming year, how to make a plan to deliver on those priorities throughout the year, and how to find the confidence to take a seat at the table. Recently, I was having a conversation with a C-Suite level executive that I greatly respect. We were discussing this topic, and he said something that impacted me. Okay, he said several things that impacted me, but I will share just this one. "Bringing accountability to the executive's goals/vision is critical. An executive administrative business partner (Yes, he actually used that phrase!) can help change our outcome by making sure the vision has objectives and goals that are actively being pursued to achieve the vision". I love it! He gets it. If you want to see real change in your business and you are delivering on your workload, priorities, and goals, then engage your Executive Administrator! #Podcast

Excited to share part one of our recent podcast on how to have a strategic planning conversation with your executive business partner. In this session, we focus on how to set the ground rules and how to prepare for the conversation. If you are interested in this series, please subscribe to our YouTube channel to get updates when we post new content. #Podcast

Are you getting the most out of the expertise and resources available on LinkedIn? Start following hashtags that will drive your professional development and increase the value of your LinkedIn feed. Search for and then follow hashtags that are relevant to your industry and your areas of career development. Don't make the mistake of only following people - you will miss out on some fantastic content. Start following hashtags! I love learning. I make it a conscious choice never to stop learning. I am always evolving my skill set and learning from others. Finding the time to do that can be challenging, but it is a commitment that I have made to myself and my career. LinkedIn is my go-to for professional resources and information. I appreciate that LinkedIn can be used as a powerful tool to increase my skillset, stay current on industry best practices, and connect with experts in my field of interest. Because my time is an investment that I can't get back, I choose to intentionally invest it in tools that will drive my professional development. One way that I do that is to use hashtags that will increase the value of my LinkedIn feed. Instead of just following my connections, I follow hashtags that will help me in my professional development roadmap! Connect with me on LinkedIn.

Confession 1 I am a techie. I can't help myself. I love learning, and I am forever asking how and why. I enjoy using tools and technology to make my work life easier. My children, however, are not. Weird, I know. Both of my children, ages 23 and 18, are surprisingly unplugged, and I have started taking notes. It is an odd thing when your children grow up and start teaching YOU lessons, but I am coming to understand the value of pulling the information overload plug. Both of my children are dream chasers. My daughter is the only adult I know living out their 5-year-old dream. For years she has relentlessly chased her dream of living that Equestrian #farmlife, and now at 23, she is running her own horseback riding and training business and crushing it. To get there, she sacrificed a lot, but she is doing what she loves and living out her dream. My son, well, he is a different story. At 18, he is probably the most self-disciplined person I have ever met. Trust me when I say that I am not just saying that because I am his mom. No. No. He puts us all to shame, and it is pretty annoying. He is extremely goal-oriented and lives his life with an ongoing bucket list. If you want to see someone genuinely unplugged then spend a day with him! On average, he spends 19 minutes a day on his phone. (Thanks @iPhone, for the new screen time tool). He is very purposeful and intentional in WHAT, WHO, and WHERE he invests his time so that he can focus on doing what he enjoys and achieving his goals. Confession 2 I picked up my phone 133 times a day. 928 times in one week. While hanging out with my son one day, I asked to use his iPhone, and his screen time notice came up. I had been using it for about 20 minutes (which seemed like 5 minutes), and already I had spent more time on his phone than his daily average. So, I picked up my phone and checked to see what my average was, and HELLO was I shook. So, I will be vulnerable here, and I hope you won't judge. I mean, I know you will, that is, until you look at your own phone, and then you might get shaken too. In the last seven days, I have spent 29 hours and 28 minutes on my phone. On average, 4 hours and 12 minutes per day. I picked up my phone 928 times in one week and around 133 times a day. WHAT! Recently, I had a personal situation that caused me to re-evaluate my life. Where was I investing my time? What am I putting a high value on? Who was I truly engaging with? Was I striving to achieve my dreams, or was I just being busy? Was I being present? Truth be told, I didn't like my answers. So, I have decided that I want to be like them when I grow up. I doubt I will ever be as unplugged as my not-so-little "littles," but I have taken some practical steps to start changing those answers. I am okay being a techie, but only because I enjoy it. I'm not okay when it starts owning me, and being honest, it was. So, if you are like me, and you find yourself distracted and not living your life the way you want, then start taking back control. Here are five ways that I am starting to take back control. I started using my iPhone as a productivity enhancer and NOT a distraction. I Make Widgets Work for ME - I don't know why I have never done this before! This one changed and dramatically improved my daily focus and efficiency. Today's view on my iPhone was never helpful because I never customized it to how I use my phone or the apps that I used most often. Honestly, I never even considered how I set it up or that it could change my daily efficiency. I would randomly scroll through the defaults, annoyed that I could not see the items that mattered to me. For example, I use the Outlook app for email and calendar instead of the iPhone apps, but I could never see my calendar in today's view because iPhone defaults the widget to its own mail app. Duh, Melissa, easy fix! Now, I have all of my favorite apps all in one spot, which helps me drive my daily productivity. I Set Social Media Limits - Set a limit on the amount of time you are willing to invest in social media apps. For those of you that experience FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), there is always the urge to open that notification to see what you missed, but that is also a huge time waster. When you have reached that limit, you get a notification that you can easily bypass, but if you are intentional about spending your time, you can decide if you want to invest. I Schedule Downtime - Intentionally schedule downtime to temporarily disable social media notifications. You can easily choose the apps you always want available to you and which apps you want a break from. During your scheduled downtime, you will not receive notifications from your phone, and the apps will be greyed out. Personally, I schedule downtime every morning from 6:30 am to 10:00 am. I know I am the most productive during the morning, and I want to limit distractions during the most valuable part of my day. I Decluttered & Organized Apps - This one sounds simple, but I found myself constantly scrolling through 5 different pages of apps that I rarely used. Did I really use them? If not, then I deleted the app. If I did, then I created folders and organized them by how I used them. Now, I have easy access to the apps that are valuable and important to me without all the clutter. Just this one simplification makes me happy. I Use Reminders - I've got lots of moving parts in my world. I am juggling many tasks between my career, personal business, family, and professional network, so I started using the iPhone to help me keep it straight. Now, don't get me wrong. OneNote is still my go-to productivity tool, but sometimes I need a simple visual reminder to keep it in front of me and help drive it through to completion. I am happy to say that since I started taking back control of how I use my phone, my usage has been down 30%! I didn't say that I was perfect... just getting better! I have noticed that I am much more intentional about what I am doing and that I am being present in my life. I would love to hear how you are taking back control of your time, energy, and focus. What tools do you use to help you drive your goals to completion? #5minuteread #TechTip

"If you are truly passionate about your work, everything around you becomes your inspiring coach and a source of discoveries" -Vadim Kotelnikov The end of the year is rapidly coming to a close, and hopefully, you are thinking about your professional development plan for the upcoming year. I know you are busy scheduling end-of-year conversations, planning strategy sessions, and closing out the year... but this is the time for you to start thinking about what mountains you are going to conquer in your career. Consider your career path. What would you like to do next in your career? What actionable steps can you take to get there? Choose to embrace both your successes and failures. Starting today, make a decision to learn from them and commit to turning your development opportunities into areas of expertise. What can you take away from these experiences so that you can avoid the pitfalls and repeat the successes? Get out of your silo! Meet with other Administrative Professionals and take the time to understand what is happening within our industry, learn about the current trends, how others manage their work, and what new technologies are available to increase your productivity.​ Schedule a professional development 1:1. Schedule time (ideally away from the office, but definitely away from your computer) with your executive business partner. Take this opportunity to have a candid conversation about your career and partnership. Is there a project that you would like to lead? Would you like to propose a new way of managing tasks or workflow? Is there an area where you believe you can make more efficient but have yet to speak up about it? Take the leap and discuss your career goals and professional development ideas.​ Make time for continued education and training. It is time well spent when you learn new technology, tools, and processes that will revolutionize your career. Trust me; you do not have time NOT to learn. Staying relevant and current through continued education, training, and benchmarking can be critical to your success. We spend so much of our time managing every last detail for other people that it is vital that we stay on top of the latest tools to help us be highly productive. Make the time and allow yourself to be at the top of your to-do list... You deserve it! Melissa