From Dubai to London - 'PA Speak' by Seema Shah

By Seema Shah

Seema has been PA to the CEO at Sportech PLC for over 12 years. She is also the Office Manager in their London Head Office which consists of 12 employees and manages their Team Secretary.

She is  a Prestige member of The PA Club and various forums including the Institute of Professional Administrators (IPA), the Executive Personal Assistants Society and the Personal Assistant and Office Manager (PAOM). Seema was awarded 2011 PA of the Year by the Executive PA Magazine Awards

Marcus Evans is one of the world's leading providers and promoters of global summits strategic conferences, professional training, in-Company training, business-to-business congresses, sports hospitality and on-line information. So, when they asked me in April 2012 if I would join them in Dubai as a “distinguished International Speaker” at the Executive PA 2012 conference, I was shocked and over the moon to have been asked to speak at such a prestigious event and to have the opportunity to do this abroad! They had requested my attendance following my award for PA of the Year which I won in October 2011 through Executive PA Magazine. 

Reading the programme, I was asked to choose which topic I wanted to talk about. My chosen topic was “Adapting to Change as your Winning Strategy in Managing a Dynamic High Profile Executive in your Organisation”. This was a very significant topic for me working for a UK based organisation that acquired a US business 2 years ago. Change was obviously inevitable. 

I had 6 months to prepare for the conference which included producing a powerpoint presentation and a 45 minute speech! As the date drew closer, so did the nerves but I have been to Dubai a couple of times and loved it, so was very much looking forward to my trip. 

The two day conference was attended by up to 50 of the Middle East’s most influential, top level management, Executive PAs who had all paid $2300 each to attend. It was a fabulous couple of days being able to meet everyone, exchange business cards and talk about how we all worked within our industries. There were also a few other speakers from the UK and overseas who were equally a joy to listen to. Some of the other presentation topics were:

• · Being the Ideal PA to Build Strategic PA and Boss Partnership.
• · Applying Good Conflict Resolution Strategies in Dealing with Your Dilemmas and Challenges.
• · Mastering Stress Management to Cope with Stressful Situations at Work.
• · Time Management: Taming the Time Monster to Manage Your Tasks Successfully.
• · The Next Step in Your Career Path: Assessing Your Career Development Opportunities to Develop a Good Succession Plan.
• · Being More Than Just a PA: Cultivating Leadership for Managerial Responsibility.

We also had Interactive Roundtable Discussions over the two days, one of which I was asked to facilitate. This was a great session, being able to obtain feedback from the delegates on certain topics and issues. We also had a Half Day Workshop conducted by Lindsay Taylor, Director of Your Excellency, UK. Lindsay is always amazing. 

The feedback I received following my presentation was that it was very well received and informative. Having had a few delegates ask questions once I had finished was great. It showed they were listening and interested in what I had to say.

Although initially nerve-racking, it has been a fantastic opportunity for me and something quite special to add my CV. When I returned from Dubai, the following evening I did a speech for State Street Executive Assistants Network (SSEAN) for their first ever networking evening and I was their guest speaker. This was equally a great event and being told that my speech was inspirational and also being asked by JP Morgan to speak at one of their future networking evenings, was truly the cherry on the cake.

 

Seema is also one of the finalists for SecsintheCity Social Networking PA of the Year. Join us on Facebook and Twitter for Live updates on the night of SecsintheCity's very first PA of the Year Awards - 25th October, 2012

 

If you're looking for a new PA, EA or Secretarial opportunitity, sign up for job alerts and search and apply here

 

 

Comments

[Lindsay Taylor]

Great article Seema and thanks for the mention! It was a pleasure to work with so many high calibre PA's and EA's at this event.

I would personally like to congratulate Seema on a professional, well-paced presentation that combined humour and practical suggestions/learning which ensured our attendees stayed engaged throughout!

I very much hope to have the opportunity to work with Seema again and to meeting many more amazing PAs worldwide!

Lindsay Taylor, Director of Your Excellency Limited