One of the key skills asked for in a PA is communication skills and usually the focus is on how clear we are in our messages to the outside world. The flip-side of this - and it's just as much part of communication skills - is knowing when not to share information.

Senior administrators are frequently privy to information about the internal workings of their employers and often have insider knowledge of contracts and deals. If your job remit includes staff supervision, then personal information about other members of staff will become part of the "knowledge package" to which you are exposed. This can all be heady stuff and makes our working lives far more interesting but it's also potent knowledge and should be treated with some care and discretion.

• Remember that information belongs to the originating party and it's their decision about when or whether it is to be shared. It's pretty obvious if you attend a meeting where sensitive commercial information is discussed that you shouldn't be repeating what happened in the meeting. The information belongs to the company and to the people involved in the negotiations. Company plans that will improve yours and your colleagues' work life are similarly covered by confidentiality, regardless of how much you may want to spread the good news!



• Similarly, personal details about other staff members may be shared with you by them but unless they give specific permission for you to share that information, then they too remain the owner of it. If this includes a problem that isn't work related and is something about which you can do nothing, then by all means encourage the staff member to seek help, either from your own HR department or from an outside source. But don't feel tempted to spill the beans with good intentions at heart.



• It's easy to let leak small pieces of information to different colleagues with the assumption that such a small amount of detail cannot possibly let the cat out of the bag. Don't be too sure. If you let enough small amounts of information out into general circulation, colleagues will compare notes and be able to put together the bigger picture. Even worse in some circumstances is where notes are compared and colleagues draw the wrong conclusions about what is going on. Far better to keep Mum about sensitive topics.



• If you are finding it particularly difficult to maintain secrecy, ask yourself why? Do you feel isolated because of your role? Is the temptation to share information a way of connecting with your colleagues and to show them that you are one of the team and just like them? Or are you trying to prove your superiority by showing people how much in the know you are compared to them? Either way, you need to work out how you are going to manage yourself so that you don't talk out of turn.



• You may feel you want to talk to someone about what is going on in your company because you are uncomfortable about it. It is always possible that your employers may be engaging in behaviour of which you disapprove and that can leave you feeling uncomfortable and unsettled. However, if you discover something illegal is taking place, you may want to consider your options. "Whistleblowing" is not something to be undertaken lightly. It is a life-changing experience and your life may become infinitely more complicated and difficult because of it. However, only you can make the decision about whether or not you must take action. In the first instance, contact Public Concern at Work (http://www.pcaw.co.uk/) to talk through what is happening and to get advice about what should be your next course of action. And, of course, talk to your union.



• If someone else is being indiscreet with information, you may want to speak with them in private about what they are doing. Colleagues who share more than they should aren't necessarily doing it consciously. They may not realise the impact of certain news or the sensitivity of it. If they are making the sometimes uneasy transition from being a team member to a one-to-one working relationship as a Senior PA, they may feel the loss of working closely with a group and be trying to maintain links with colleagues. And, of course, they may have realised themselves that they have just blurted out something that they should have retained - we all make mistakes from time to time. If they really don't understand why they shouldn't talk publicly about certain issues but you feel some action is needed, talk to either your colleagues' boss or your HR department, to let them handle the situation.