Narrelle Matthey

Executive Assistant to the President & CEO

GE Money

Bridging The Gap Between Technical Business Knowledge & Soft Skills

Definition – Business Skills

• Business skills are “hard” skills, acquired through on-the-job training, university, or some other type of formalised program

• Examples: business process improvement, business relationship management, business intelligence, business analysis, business development, finance, project management, negotiation, contract management and risk assessment

Definition – Soft Skills

• Important, but much less definable

• Difficult to assess because they are subjective – who is to say whether someone is an effective communicator or leader?

• Examples: personal, social, communication, and self-management behaviours, being self-aware, trustworthy, conscientious, adaptable, empathetic, confident, integrity, organisation awareness, likeable, influential, risk-taker, problem solver, time management, leader, attitude, initiative

How do we get these skills

Agenda

• Never underestimating “the way things are done around here”

• Getting to grips with Culture, History and Tradition

• Keeping with the times, reading shifts in culture & preparing yourself for change

Operating rhythm

• Experienced

• Been doing this for years

• Know how it works

• Been there done that

• All companies are the same

Words of wisdom

• Do not trust in the gossips, they will seek you out

• Someone will want to be your new “best friend”

• Ultimately every boss and company are very different

• Never assume

• So where do you get the right information from?

Research

• Read the company’s annual report

• Internet Google search by company and names

• Ask questions and listen to the responses

• Tune in to your “6th” sense and intuition to know who to trust

• Speak to the Head of Human Resources

• Take your time

Agenda

• Never underestimating “the way things are done around here”

• Getting to grips with Culture, History and Tradition

• Keeping with the times, reading shifts in culture & preparing yourself for change

Definition - Culture

• People are determined as a “cultural fit” - they “feel” right

• Values, beliefs, underlying assumptions, attitudes, and behaviours shared by a group of people - it surrounds you at work all the time

• Behaviour that results when a group arrives at a set of rules, unspoken and unwritten for working together

Culture

• Examples of inflexible behaviour:

History

• Research the company’s “story”

• What principles do they have?

• What causes do they support?

• What is their value proposition?

• Be flexible and receptive to different ideas

However - don’t rely on history

“There will never be a black

President of the United States of

America”

Tradition

• Gives purpose and ownership and shows how to behave

• Value proposition is the “bible” - it tells what a company stands for and wants to achieve

• Know what the company is known for and how you can align to that

6th sense

• Note: There will always be power plays

• Intuition takes you behind the scenes

• Experience shelters you from getting caught up in it

Wisdom

• Once you understand how an operation / company works, then you become an invaluable employee and can see unfolding events before they occur – but this takes time and experience

• Today all the rules have changed, the laws of business are being re-written

Agenda

• Never underestimating “the way things are done around here”

• Getting to grips with Culture, History and Tradition

• Keeping with the times, reading shifts in culture & preparing yourself for change

SKILLS1. Attention to detail2. Communication skills3. Anticipation4. Good written & verbal

communication5. Sense of urgency6. Time management7. Organisation8. Diary management9. Prioritisation10.Advanced technical

skills ie. Outlook, PowerPoint

ATTRIBUTES1. Trustworthy

2. Positive “can do” attitude

3. Proactive

4. Professional

5. Approachability

6. Confident

7. Diplomacy

8. Discretion

9. Energetic

10.Willingness to learn

What we can do - feel good about yourself

Have we got these skills

And finally…

We’ve come a long way and have places to go

Narrelle Matthey

Executive Assistant to the President & CEO

GE Money

Bridging The Gap Between Technical Business Knowledge & Soft Skills