Virtual Assistant Blog

My Experience with the Global Good Fund Veteran Program

11/18/2019

By Laura Renner

Throughout 2019, I have been going through a leadership development program for veteran entrepreneurs. The program is offered by The Global Good Fund and the Veteran Program is sponsored by the Smithfield Foundation.

Smithfield hosted us for a retreat at their corporate headquarters. They were extremely generous with their time and access to senior leadership. I was blown away by how much time they spent with us and how open they were about their approaches to business.

To be safe, I will not share intimate details of the meetings here for confidentiality purposes. But I will share some lessons I took away.

A Veteran's Takeaway on Leadership

11/12/2019

By Laura Renner

Articles about leadership lessons from the military are limitless. As you might know, I an Air Force veteran. These are three of the lessons I learned.

Take care of your people, truly.

People will follow people who are real. They know if their leader is a leader or is simply good at managing up. A leader listens and does what is needed so that their people can do their jobs.

I am the daughter of an enlisted man. When I received my commission, he was the first to salute me and I could feel the pride oozing out of him. But he also advised me, “the enlisted will always know more than you, make sure you listen to them.”

Testing the Waters: Dealing with Differences in the Workplace

11/4/2019

By Laura Renner

I have never bought into personality or behavior testing for recruiting. Those tests, to me, are not predictors and thus should not be included in hiring decisions.

HOWEVER, having taken a few of them, I do like them for figuring out how to manage workplace differences. Even if they are not entirely accurate, they provide a common language and foundation for working together.

Lead From Wherever You Sit & No Matter Your Title

10/28/2019

By Laura Renner

People often think that to be a leader, you need to have the title. But leadership has nothing to do with a title.

When you are a problem solver, people will turn to you.
When you get things done, people will rely on you.
When people trust you, they will let you take the lead.

Avoiding Conflict in Your Business: Define Roles & Responsibilities

10/21/2019

By Laura Renner

In general, the best way to handle conflict is to share your expectations about how people should be working together. Then as roles reach gray areas, there is at least an understanding of how people should treat each other.

Who's the Boss: 5 Tips for Becoming the Boss Your Business Needs

10/14/2019

By Laura Renner & Jenny Boyles

Being a good boss is about combining leadership and management. Are you guiding your team toward your vision (leadership)? Are you giving them the tools to reach that vision (management)?

If not, what are you doing to fill the gaps?

Closing the Loop

10/7/2019

By Jenny Boyles

One of my favorite lines for my 16 year old son in life is “close the loop.” In his lawn mowing business, he likes to assume a lot. He assumes that his clients know when he will be coming to mow their yard and when he will not. He assumes they see the same weather forecast that he does. I encourage him to text them to let them know he will or will not be coming today. That way, they will know he has not forgotten about them. Essentially, he needs to COMMUNICATE with them, so everyone is on the same page. Like any teen, I have a ways to go before he will consistently “close the loop.” I do hope though that someday he will look back and this advice will surface to make sense when he enters the working world.

Throughout my years of working, volunteering and coordinating, I have learned how important is to bring a conversation full circle. By this I mean, the person you are communicating with is not left waiting and wondering. You confirm with them that yes the requested task will be accomplished or yes you did receive their email. It is simple, yet for many it is a foreign concept. As a virtual assistant, I look at this as part of my responsibility and I would not be fulfilling my job if I left people hanging all of the time. But “closing the loop” is also important for supervisors. It is important for everyone. If no one is communicating, you can bet that it will affect the business one way or another eventually.

Strong Leadership When Working with a Virtual Team

9/30/2019

By Laura Renner

At first glance, you may think leadership is not necessary for working with outside contractors. After all, a virtual assistant may have their own business or work for an agency. Since they are not your employee, how much do you have to actually lead them?

Are you a manager or a leader?
This leads to the age-old question of leadership versus management. I would argue that management is more tactical; it is the ways in which a person works with you, how they communicate with you, submit requests, receive feedback, etc. Management is the “what.” By this definition, working with an outside contractor requires less management than working with an employee. Indeed, because Freedom Makers is an agency, we handle the management aspects, including selection, screening, and payments.

2020 is Right Around the Corner! What Do You Need to Do Now to Be Ready?

9/23/2019

By Laura Renner

Wow, can you believe it? 2020 is almost here! One quarter left to go!

Just today, someone reminded me that the holidays are around the corner. For her, that means she and her business will slow down. She plans to use the rest of the year to prepare for 2020, to start fresh.

2020! While it is just another year, it does seem momentous does it not? I mean, it is synonymous with “hindsight is 20/20” and “20/20 with Barbara Walters.” How can you not stop and think more about your life and your business with a year like that? We are entering the 20th year of the 21st century, I cannot think of a better reason to reflect on where you have been, where you are going, and where you want to go.

The Strength in Failure

9/16/2019

By Laura Renner

I always say there is no such thing as failure, because everything is a lesson learned.

BUT if you do not learn from it, then it is a failure.

Take this example I heard from Pradyna Leitner, a business success coach: Imagine when a baby tries to walk for the first time. What happens? She falls. Now imagine if because she fell, she believes she cannot walk. She starts to explore having surgery or getting a wheelchair.

We all know that is ridiculous. It takes a long time and many attempts to be able to walk. And even when the baby starts walking, he is not fully competent on his legs for several years! One point of failure does not mean the baby cannot walk; it is one data point on a long trajectory.

Much of life is the same way. You cannot focus on one data point of failure. Yet so many of us do. We see every fall as proof that we cannot walk!

<<Previous

My Experience with the Global Good Fund Veteran Program

A Veteran's Takeaway on Leadership

Testing the Waters: Dealing with Differences in the Workplace

Lead From Wherever You Sit & No Matter Your Title

Avoiding Conflict in Your Business: Define Roles & Responsibilities

Who's the Boss: 5 Tips for Becoming the Boss Your Business Needs

Closing the Loop

Strong Leadership When Working with a Virtual Team

2020 is Right Around the Corner! What Do You Need to Do Now to Be Ready?

The Strength in Failure

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