Allies

There are a few things that an ally in the work place does for you:

1. They help you realize that you are not alone.
2. They offer constructive feedback.  They can point out things you might be doing or not doing.
3. They help you strategize everything from your next project to your next position. 
4. They provide access to information. 

Women should not shy away from making connections with each other.  Men do it all the time on the golf course or even over Scotch.  Building alliances with other women is most helpful.  It takes courage to take the time to connect with another woman and get to know her.  Keep in mind that these alliance are about career building, not about snaggin another girlfirend.  Keep it professional.

Leader without having authority

Another Tennessee Summit has come and gone, whew!  This year it was suppose to be a "mini" summit and it blossomed into a full blown summit.  It is amazing when your audience wants more of what you are offering.  We used the blocks in the functional areas for the necessary training needed that has not been available to the campus.

When you think about it this is one of the only opportunities the functional/technical areas have been able to get together for collective coordinated training throughout the year and it was well recieved.

This was an "aha" moment for me, because this would be an opportunity as we bring all the campus together annually that we could capitalize upon by doing our best to make the program offers exceptionally robust.  I'm thrilled to think that going forward the task is to build one of the best training opportunities available for the universities/community colleges. 

This was a grand opportunity for me to build positive relations with my colleagues as well as my customers.  My client and/or customer is my office staff members as well as any individual from a campus.   Sometime as an administrative assistant we may not have authority, however, we certainly have influence.  As I worked to help others look good it helped me to win influence with those individuals. 

The way that I've made the most of my influence is to focus on providing superior service when dealing with my clients and customers.  As I have supported their efforts to build their track offerings, they have in turn been supportive of me and acknowledged my work in turn.  

I have also found that when others have been frustrated that they are not being heard, I can amplify their essage by mentioning them, reinforcing them and by reflecting positvely upon what they are sharing. 

Tennesee Summit was a grand success.  Kudos to all the presenters and attendees.  I look forward to next year's program.