No man is an island. We are all interdependent as human beings and learning how to work with others is a key attribute for every successful leader and person in the business industry. For business owners, time is always such a critical factor because they’re not just managing a business, they’re also leading people and still have other things to be on top of. Not to mention, a personal life that they should not forget.
This is where a VA (Virtual Assistant) comes in to make your life a little bit easier and generally add more value to the entrepreneur’s business.
Every business owner must be dreaming of working with the perfect VA to make tasks a little more manageable, generally speaking. It helps to be reminded that even VAs are humans like everyone else. Though their presence is online, putting things in perspective on how VAs could help you with your business and knowing your VA well enough will allow you to bring out the best in your VA.
In this video, Lizza Taton Bentinganan of Outsourcing Angel gets real with founder Linh Podetti and lets us in the world of working as a Virtual Assistant. Multi-talented and brimming with positivity in both life and work, Lizza’s set the bar high for VAs like herself and earned her “awesome VA” status within Outsourcing Angel for all her work and dedication to the company.
Being awesome does not just magically happen as Lizza attests. Like other things in this world, a status is often earned for the effort being put in. When asked by Linh personally on what are the qualities that naturally makes an awesome VA, Lizza breaks it down into the acronym: A-W-E-S-O-M-E which stands for Authentic, Wise, Extraordinary, Self-confident,Optimistic, Motivated, and Energetic.
Authentic is being original and true to yourself.
Wise is for making the right decisions and finishing tasks as requested. Extraordinary is to be uncomfortable with the status quo and constantly find ways to learn more about your work and expand your skills to help you do better at your job.
Self-confidence is very important and it means having a sense of trust in your unique abilities and judgment as a VA.
Optimistic is not giving in to trials and difficulties, but gaining strength and learning from unpleasant experiences you may encounter at work.
Motivated means remembering the reason why you’re doing what you’re doing and having a sense of purpose to propel you to always aim high and keep going.
And lastly, Energetic means not forgetting to have fun at work, loving what you do, and being the energy that you want to attract.
No matter how much you love what you do, challenges are always a part of the picture and a virtual assistant may typically encounter these roadblocks at work: Time management, miscommunication, and lack of knowledge.
When it comes to time management, being honest about where you are in the task is most important in setting the right expectation from your client/s.
Secondly, since the nature of a VA’s work is mostly online, miscommunication can be inevitable. When miscommunication happens, it is important to know that asking questions is a welcome practice and on the part of the clients, clear communication is key to a good working relationship.
Lastly, because VAs all come from different backgrounds and nobody starts as an expert, a lack of knowledge should never hinder a VA from pursuing work. The key to dealing with this challenge is often in the attitude. If you happen to get assigned a task you know nothing much about, let your client know. Ask questions. Research and learn more. Most of the time, one of the fulfillment that comes from being a VA is learning something new because of your assigned role or task.
For clients who want to build a good working relationship with their VA’s and help bring out the best qualities in them, you can start by consistently practicing clear and open communication with your VA. When assigning a task, always be clear on the details, be specific and elaborate, and open the floor for questions from your VA. Also, when your VA delivers great work, do not hesitate to give them compliments. Positive words are always great motivation and can encourage your VA to always deliver his/ her best work. Lastly and most importantly, it helps to be aware of your VAs schedule. When assigning tasks, also be mindful of any time difference/s and reasonable enough when it comes to giving deadlines.
The bottom line is, there is no perfect VAs and there are also no perfect clients. Achieving a harmonious, productive and great working relationship is doable. Having an awesome VA for your business can be done and the secret is to bring out the best in the person. Put in the work, believe in your people and see them deliver great results.
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