Hooray for Teams
Entrepreneurs and small to medium-sized businesses are facing huge challenges in budgeting these days. At the same time, with the internet, new technologies are making possible entirely re-structured solutions. Attitudes and expectations are morphing, and often it seems as though we can’t rely on traditional systems in any corner. One emerging practice that is ecological, economic, and respectful of society’s progress is organizing work in teams rather than hierarchies.
In a team, no individual escapes responsibility, no one can be slack, all equally share the challenge. Thus, for the individual, teamwork may require a heightening of commitment and motivation. But teams also mean shared victory, and shared loss. As we transition to a global awareness and economy, teams may cushion the psychological weight of making a living. Teams are both protection and strength.
Team-oriented business structure means you don’t look for employees: you look for partners, people who will fulfill their roles independently of your oversight. People who will do the work, apply sound judgment to problems, and submit the deliverables with no need for your constant nurturing or management. People who contract with you because they believe in you and your work and want to support the business. People who are interested in being the best they can be.
Virtual assistants, of course, are obvious potential team members. VAs operate according to the premise that their skills are viable as independent services, which can be added by contract to a business owner’s team.
Let’s look at an example. My friend is skilled landscaper. He hires helpers to do the hands-on work of gardening and landscaping, and he considers these people employees. But instead of locating office space and increasing his payroll, my friend contracts with independent people to flesh out his team. He works with a graphic artist, a marketer, a bookkeeper, an HR professional, and a customer relations specialist; and all these people comprise his team. As his business takes off, he also forms a liaison with a VA to help him stay organized and on top of the details. His VA also introduces him to the wonders of the internet, and helps create his company’s presence in cyberspace.
All the while, this friend of mine is actually responsible only for the people who dig and plant under his direct supervision. Even these folk, once trained and confident, may become freelancers rather than employees. And thus we all work towards being self-employed.
Please note how this way of defining the trends makes virtual assistance something entirely different from the expectations one might have when ‘outsourcing’ to a third world so-called VA. The difference is so vast that the moniker, virtual assistant, becomes problematic, causing widespread confusion. A VA of the sort that can make a measurable difference to your business is a team member and not a day worker.
As a business owner, are you still struggling with all the trappings of traditional structures: office space and equipment, payroll, oversight, politics, policies, taxes, parking, health, attitudes, weather, and all the hairy details involved in bringing employees under your wing? Isn’t it time you matured, forming ties with professionals rather than shouldering the burdens of being the boss? Shouldn’t you be creating a brilliant team, rather than remaining saddled with dysfunctional and costly systems?
Interested in learning more about how a virtual assistant can make your work both stronger and smoother? Please contact me today!
Image by Amy McCartney, via Flickr.
