Learning and growing through constant change

This post is written by Kim Donovan, Business Improvement Specialist, Community and Social Innovation, Auckland Council.

• The problem: Understanding your potential as an administrator is challenging.
• Why it matters: Administrators often don’t recognise the amazing skills they have.
• The solution: Be proactive with your career, keep learning and growing and be proud of the skills you have as an administrator - they can take you further, if you want to.

I began in local government as an administration assistant/PA over 20 years ago. As I’d never done administration before, from day one I joined a professional organisation for administrators (AAPNZ, now AdminNZ), took as many courses as possible and absorbed all I could from a boss who knew local government like the back of his hand. He taught me about the ‘politics’ of local government and through my role, I learnt about the complexity, size and interactions of the council I worked for.

Over the years, I worked my way up the administration ladder to an Executive Assistant. During that time, an absolute joy was working for two separate, but equally amazing, supportive women who showed me what it meant to have ambition and the strength to not only succeed but lead the way in a male-dominated world while maintaining their compassion, empathy, passion and living their values every day.

There has been constant change, including disestablishment, which brings stress and uncertainty but the key things for me have been my network, allowing me to reach out to those I know will support me and help me find a new path, and being proactive with my journey. I make time to learn new skills, meet new people and participate in things that may be out of my comfort zone.

The two main crossover skills I have learnt over the years of being an administrator (but trust me, there are many others!) are time management and prioritisation – the ability to say ‘no’ and prioritise tasks so that your time isn’t taken up by doing things that you shouldn’t be doing is so important!

However, my main lessons are to be constantly curious and to take ownership of your journey. Administrators are the backbone of any organisation – they see, hear, and know practically everything that goes on for the teams (and beyond) they support. For me, listening to how the leadership team talk and think, taking time to know the strategic plan and what the purpose of my team was, and understanding the expectations of me and what I did – these gave me an advantage. And all the time, asking questions, learning, and taking the time to grow into the best person you can be.

Administrators are the backbone of any organisation – they see, hear, and know practically everything that goes on for the teams (and beyond) they support.

I’m still growing, and have just recently realised that my strengths of seeing systems everywhere and having an ‘organised mind’ could take me in a different direction. So, after over 18 years in administration, I’ve moved to business improvement with a focus on systems thinking. I’m still at the early stages and am learning and absorbing everything I can on this journey, but I’m excited to see where this new path leads.

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(Image Credit: Unsplash)