It’s that time of year again—the end of the year—and you know what that means: end-of-year coverage. If OfficeNinjas was a music publication or a politics blog we’d name the top 10 albums of the year or worst political blunders of the year. But we aren’t. Instead, we’re a community of hardworking, kickass Admins, Executive Assistants and Office Managers whose work is often unsung, but irrefutably impactful. And so our “year-end’ coverage will look a little different.

Instead, as we close the year out, we want to share some of the 2015 wins from our community and takeaways as we go into 2016.

Recognition

Like the Beatles crooned, all you need is love, and this year, Office Ninjas felt that at work. For a job that can sometimes feel so unacknowledged, plenty of Ninjas wrote in to tell us of their big “win” was being recognized for their superior work and commitment to the job.

2015 has been a very interesting year for me. After only 10 months at a company, I left for various reasons—but mostly because of the toxic environment and the chance to move up in my career. I moved from a reception role to an Office Manager at a Real Estate firm. This is my first managerial role! It’s a small office but I now work for a great boss and support three other wonderful agents. On top of being the Office Manager, I am also the photographer for our listings. Photography is a hobby for me and that it’s part of my job and I get a brand new Canon DSLR?! Can’t complain! As the manager, I still play the role of receptionist, errand runner and I even shovel snow! I’m SO much happier and time just flies by. Having a boss who sees my potential, trusts me to do my job and respects makes a world of difference.” – Michelle M.

I devoted time this year to scaling and defining culture, values, and purpose at my company and use that to inform our decisions around process and policy. A huge part of why I pursued this is because understanding how people work together is a passion of mine. Our CEO and COO both took notice of the extra projects I’ve pushed to make space for and thought it would be a great idea to create a position to focus on initiatives like this. They offered me a leadership position (with stock options to match) in October with new job responsibilities that, in their own words, I was “already doing and doing well.” – Carlo I.

[I was] downright touched by a client’s description of what she’s looking for when hiring more staff. [She said] “I need the ‘Barb’ of paraplanners and the ‘Barb’ of social media.” As virtual bookkeeper and office manager, I’m part of a very small team of independent contractors helping to build her financial planning practice. Completely humbled but wildly curious, I asked her to explain the comment. She said that I, “bring a combination of competent skill sets, forward-thinking initiative, industry experience, and professionalism and do it with style.” In other words, an Office Ninja!” – Barbara G.

One of my responsibilities is for a sister company who sells help desk software. Other than Office Manager, my job is to write and maintain the help guide for the software. You know that help button in every software that brings you to an unintelligible mass of confusion? That one. The software was eventually reviewed in PC Magazine online and said the help system was much more extensive than any other product he examined. On the “Pros” side of the software, they called it a “complete and thorough help system.” [That] made me very happy—especially since I’m about to do a rewrite for the new version coming out after the first of the year.” – Deborah Z.

Recently, I sat on an interview panel for [hiring] an admin position. I’ve sat on this same panel several times as it has a high turnover rate. This time, the director asked for my input on applicants before he selected the final candidates. I gave him my input based on my admin experience. He credited me for helping him find the best person for the job, “I never would have interviewed her without your input.” Sometimes they listen!” – LaVonne G.

My boss has been amazing. He is constantly telling people how much he relies on me and that he couldn’t do it without me. I have taken on many responsibilities including checking and approving all payments for our department. Just last week I was asked to also support the System CMO. I was so flattered when my boss told me that he didn’t want to share me with anyone. It is amazing to work hard and be recognized for that hard work on a consistent basis. This is the first job that I have ever had that with. I cannot wait to see what 2016 brings.” – Kim C.

Rewarding Volunteer Work

We’re always talking about how Office Ninjas should get involved with the community, either with professional organizations or local community organizations close to their heart. We’re proud that so many of you wrote in to tell us about how you spent this year volunteering your time.

In addition to my EA responsibilities, I’ve been volunteering my time and talents to Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) for many years. I completed their year-long mentoring program and elected to serve on the WICT Board. What an honor! They flew me to Chicago to be seated among many established Board Members and Executive Leadership in May. I almost felt out of place because their titles were far above mine, but then I had to remind myself that I totally deserved this recognition and to receive it completely. It’s so easy to get comfortable working behind-the-scenes, but it’s okay to celebrate ourselves too!” – Evelyn H.

This summer I was nominated for a Star Award from my supervisory, and was selected as an award recipient by the University. I was nominated for outstanding efforts with ongoing training throughout the year for the student staff that I supervise. They recognized that I dedicated myself to the development of each of my staff members who worked in our office during the school year. My motivation for implementing this level of training and development is intended to teach my student staff new skills, examine areas of opportunity that they want to develop, and improve upon their Office Ninja skills that they need to be successful in their jobs at our office and in their future endeavors.” – Jennifer M.

Outside of work, I became the president of a local winter ice festival! It’s a huge volunteer job and takes a lot of my time, but it’s helping me grow in ways my professional career hasn’t. In the grand scheme of things, it’s been a very fascinating year! Go Office Ninjas around the globe; we rock everyday!” – Michelle M.

Thanks to all of those Ninjas for writing in and sharing their wins for 2015. It’s just inspiring us that much more to make 2016 great.

What were your 2015 wins?