Chrystle Padrta

I'm a control freak and an Aries - I'm very stern and poignant. The fact is, when there's a wall, that wall doesn't exist to me. I'm going to go through that wall if I have to. So I guess it's more of perseverance. It's like the old saying - succeeding your first time doesn't allow you to learn from your mistakes. So it's okay to mess up, it's okay to have a mistake. It helps you grow and learn. That's why I'm so good at my job - being a control freak is what makes me such a good assistant.

This may sound really corny, but I'm a huge control freak - I enjoy doing that, that's why I'm such a good assistant. But I think one of the best pieces of advice is that the person you're helping, that's their vision, and you need to allow them to have that vision. You can help form that vision, but it's your job to help facilitate. They may not get what they always want, but they always get what they need. It's outside of your control, but you can still be happy in what you do.

Play the game. Let the man in charge be in charge. Sit back and let them play the game. You allow them to be in control of their own schedule, but they're not - you are the wall that other people have to get around to get to your boss. You're protecting them a lot more than they think. You don't always need validation either. We're not children, we don't need constant validation. They will validate you when you've done a good job. You need to set your own boundaries too, inside your own mind. You can talk to coworkers about that, just make sure that you trust them. But if you don't stick to those boundaries and you bend on them - like when your workday ends, your workday ends. Go home. You no longer work past that. Don't take advantage of that good nature. You're not their mom. But when you're here, give everything you got, because this is what you chose to do. The biggest point is let them play their game, let them be masters of the universe. That's fine. They're not. You're the one that planted the seed for that idea. If you protect them, they'll protect you. Being an administrative assistant is weird - regardless whether you're working for a man or a woman, it does not matter. It is a marriage. You guys have to work together, so don't let your ego get in the way. It doesn't matter how you did things at another company. You have to work with them. You can offer suggestions, and they can take that or leave it, but you have to conform to what they're doing.

In information governance, there's a lot of opportunities. It's always growing, always morphing. I've learned a lot, so swinging with the punches - I've taken BA classes, project manager classes, project coordinator classes. There's always room to learn, and I enjoy that because I like learning. The challenge is that there isn't a clear-cut way of doing information governance. There's many different ways that you can do it, and each always works for different companies in different industries. It never fits perfectly, and that's kind of hard when there isn't a clear-cut path from A to Z. It's not like that. You have to work and find the best option.

Integrity is a huge one of mine. If somebody tells me something, it stays with me, period. I don't care if other people - no, I'm not going to talk to them about it, because it's none of their business. It stays with me, so integrity is a huge point. Trustworthiness is important. Punctuality matters. And people say that I'm hilarious, so I lighten the mood a lot. That's something that is a part of who I am.