Virtual Assistance and You

I’ve been working administratively since 1973. Through nearly all of that time, the ideal of the multi-tasker was held up as the highest achievement. If administration is carrying out the dictates of the planners, multi-tasking is the best way to serve their lofty ideals, because it makes several employees out of one, and gets the job done no matter what.

And anyway, it’s a high. When you’re responding to demands from many quarters at once, you’re dancing. Flit here, pause there, do a pirouette and end up on top.

Multi-tasking is endlessly entertaining, while you accomplish the oft-labeled-impossible task of serving many masters all at the same time.

But it never lasts. Have you noticed? The one constant in multi-tasking is burn-out. The nerves fray, the attention eventually wanders.

So how can we benefit from multi-tasking without fizzling like firecrackers?

By applying it consciously, rather than compulsively.

The business person who is always tracking several threads at once and therefore never available for focused,  eyeball-to-eyeball experiences is useless 99% of the time.  You know who you are.

This is not to dispense with multi-tasking altogether. Using it to take care of mundane responsibilities can be tremendously helpful. But continuing to multi-task when your activities lead you into realms of personal contact, decision-making, or any higher-level thought can be detrimental to growth.

Note that multi-tasking can be addictive. It’s also admired, in a general sense, so the addict is encouraged in  his/ her affliction every day, in a vicious cycle that few people understand or even realize. I’m thinking of one friend who is actually successful in business.  But she won’t become any more successful than she is; she will stay at her current level, because she’s addicted to multi-tasking.

To multi-task in a conscious way means that you can turn it on and off at will. It means whenever you are with another person, you turn it off, because when you multi-task while communicating in person, you give the other less than their due respect. We owe one another more than that, no matter who the other is. In person (or in direct one-on-one conversation of any kind), focus is key and without it you risk being offensive.

As in my friend’s case, multi-tasking leads to negligence in other areas of life, often the personal needs that are ignored while you Accomplish with phenomenal speed and acumen.  It’s these suppressed urges that eventually demand your surrender. Just because you can juggle like a wiz doesn’t mean you’re entitled to sainthood.

Though you may think it hard to believe, life is even more multi than multi-tasking.

Virtual business has its own culture and customs.

This blog is written for virtual assistants and their clients. From the long view, a VA has much in common with her clients. She operates a business, which requires planning, executing, marketing, recording, reporting – just like any other operation.  As a colleague in small business, a VA often is more a partner with clients than a simple vendor.

The main characteristic that a VA has in common with clients, however, is enthusiasm for working virtually. It’s a choice a person can make to bypass the downtown office, the commute, the corporate wardrobe; it’s a choice to do business remotely, on our own schedule, in our most conducive surroundings. The virtual choice is made by both a VA and his client; both consciously and strategically elect to use the internet as the conduit for their businesses.

To date, only a small percent of business owners have made the conscious decision to work with a virtual team. Such a plan requires flexible thinking and a can-do attitude. But the savings (on all levels)  allowed by virtual structures will soon make them much more common.

Anticipating that many more business owners and managers will seek virtual solutions as we move into 2010, it may be helpful to offer the following considerations for anyone considering this vital new method for GTD. While partnering with a VA is in so many ways more efficient than traditional office situations, the virtual workplace structure requires re-visioning some basic ideas.

1. Your VA is incredibly skilled, but she’s not a mind-reader. Before you try to work with a VA, be sure you can articulate your needs with extra-sharp precision.

What you do, your daily chores, should be as closely aligned as possible with what you are really good at (and like). The same goes for each member of your team. As a virtual business, you compose a workforce in which everyone loves his job and feels supported in his life choices.

Now, the cool thing about the internet is that it opens up the range of your choices as an entrepreneur. If you need the most expert authority on residential roofing systems, for example, you can find that person. If you need a VA who speaks Italian, excels in legal research, has a background in medical records, or is trained in real estate, you can find that person.

So before you send out your RFP, take the time to organize your operations in precise compartments, and map out how the communications and work will flow between these virtual components. If you formerly parceled out the work in an in-person, around-the-office way, very likely it needs to be re-configured to work best in the virtual world. Write job descriptions for each member of the team, include requirements for communications with you and fellow team members, and be as specific as possible about your expectations.

2. By the same token, a VA must be utterly specific about her skills and capabilities. People won’t find you, or won’t be magnetically attracted to you, unless you closely match what they’re looking for. And as any VA can tell you, no one wants to find themselves in the awkward place of having accepted work that’s beyond her capability. Making a perfect match is the ultimate value of the internet. If you are vague, or if you over-promise, your gig will be up very quickly. Authenticity, remember, is the ticket online.

3. Both VA and client must commit to careful courtesy and listening, for at least the first few weeks of the relationship, to determine a flow of communications that suits their purposes. There’s no sense demanding a certain way of doing things; listen well and find common ground, or part ways. No matter how perfect the match may be in technical terms, if it doesn’t work on a friendly level, it won’t be productive.  And every match is unique, so no rules may be set down.

In this new world of virtual business, it is required that every relationship be evaluated on its own terms; every relationship is unique. We facilitate the process by reviewing websites and portfolios in advance, of course; but in the end, it’s a question of your heartful response.  In the end, all you can do is give it a try, and part cordially if it doesn’t work out.  But also notice that if you focus powerfully on listening, problems with communications often disappear!

The virtual path is the path of the future, and our routines will adapt as new methods are adopted. Be aware that working virtually takes a bit of getting used to, and soon enough you’ll find yourself accustomed to this more efficient and economic solution.

*Note: This post re-published from December 3, 2009