Virtual assistant superpowers are not to be ignored.
The office managers, executive assistants, chief of staff and administrative assistants have fine tuned their skills for the greater good of our organizations and have a long history of doing so.
It’s also not surprising that 43% of administrative professionals reported that their job title doesn’t accurately reflect the work they are performing (World Administrators Alliance, Global Skills Report).
Whoa.
These numbers indicate that collectively, administrative support roles have a significant number of undervalued workers and finely tuned expertise.
Here’s my list of underrated administrative superpowers that make the virtual/executive assistant industry go round and that we’d do well not to ignore.
Rapport
Relationships are the core of human existence.
We love to be (and need to be) in community with one another.
But relationships require work; work we either aren’t willing to put in or haven’t learned how to do yet.
This is why rapport is the first skill on the list.
I’ve been described as having a “likable personality”— perhaps that high school superlative nomination for “Most Friendly” was on to something.
But the older I get and the more I work with clients, the more I understand why that is — I have a knack for rapport, “a friendly, harmonious relationship characterized by agreement, mutual understanding, or empathy that makes communication possible or easy.”
My laid-back attitude and lightheartedness certainly help with naturally making people feel comfortable, but rapport building is also a skill I’ve sharpened.
Listening to understand, rather than hearing something in one ear and having it go out the other a second later, is a key component of building rapport as a virtual assistant, executive assistant, executive business partner, or other operations support role.
If you understand your executive’s or organization’s needs, vision, and goals, you can fuel them.
Tone
How you say what you say can mean the difference between a receptive client and a disgruntled one.
In addition to executive administration, I also have a background in marketing and communications, arenas that have taught me to be keenly aware of tone (the style or manner of expressing mood or emotion in speaking or writing) and when/how to adjust it.
For example, I’m typically a generation or two younger than most of my customer base, meaning many are used to catering to children or grandchildren around my age.
I don’t walk on eggshells with them, but because of their natural inclination to mentally place me in the box with their kids or younger employees, the box where they put those they’re used to caring for, guiding, and correcting, I’m ever intentional about positioning myself as the trusted expert they’ve hired.
Oftentimes, this requires a soft delivery for hard news.
For instance, when a client’s social media efforts fall through, and I must explain what went wrong, or when conducting research disproves a theory about a product idea on the table.
Tone is particularly crucial when communicating difficult, sensitive, or surprising news.
Tone can even be deciphered in non-verbal communication, such as email.
If it bothers you when people say things a certain way to you aloud, then it will bother you when people say certain things via email.
The way you hear the email in your head may not be how it reads on screen.
A virtual assistant that can write and edit written communications with tone in mind is an asset to the team.
Presence
Local virtual assistants may occasionally visit their clients in person, adding more value to their service.
Entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, and small business owners have unpredictable schedules and workloads.
The reality is that their weeks, even days, can go from high to low very quickly. In these times, they want to know that their most trusted pillars of support are available and willing to help them through the next “big thing”.
Business owners know they’ve found a keeper when their executive assistant’s physical presence and prior legwork make them feel at ease and confident about the next steps ahead.
Strategic Thinking
Seasoned, high-performing business owners who are overwhelmed need strategic thinkers on their team.
Administrative professionals with strategic thinking skills won’t just present the next shiny thing; they propose solutions that bring stability, offering viable options rather than unsolicited opinions.
For example, executive assistants with strategic thinking capabilities help their organization connect the dots to the big picture by asking questions such as: Does this align with the company’s vision? “This is a great proposal. Can I offer a few suggestions to make it even better?” or what if we tried…”
Growing businesses and leaders need trusted thought partners and doers in one, those that can form ideas into actionable plans and polished visuals that accurately communicate their business and mission.
Strategic thinking virtual assistants blend strategy, partnership, and creative execution to support their organization.
Creative Problem Solving
Plans come with problems; some we create, but many are unavoidable.
Let’s say you’re hosting a pop-up shop at a local downtown restaurant to promote a new line of desserts.
You want to give away free t-shirts to the first 100 customers; 215 have already reserved their spot.
But the vendor only sent you 60 custom shirts, and the event is in three days. You’ve tasked your administrative assistant with finding a solution.
What will they do?
One reason so many administrators are generalists is their creative problem-solving skills.
They have a level of resourcefulness crafted from an array of experiences and tasks that ultimately benefit multiple components of their work.
In this scenario, the administrative assistant has a screen-printing t-shirt contact after organizing a volunteer day at his previous shop.
He knows they do good work and offer reasonable pricing for expedited orders.
To avoid shipping delays, he picks up the order himself and adds it to the existing pop-up inventory the day before the event.
Crisis averted.
Customer Service
Customer service is an essential part of support work, but not all administrative assistants, office managers, project coordinators, virtual assistants, or other admin staffers are adept at offering it.
Virtual assistants who can make impressive human interactions in the rise and continuous development of AI are valuable to their company.
Quality customer service is what keeps customers coming back, more than anything else, because impeccable service puts you over the top every time.
If your admin displays outstanding customer service on all accounts, you have a keeper.
Time Management
If you have an effective virtual assistant, you’ve probably noticed you have more time to do the things you love in business, versus all the things you have to do.
You’re hopefully feeling less overwhelmed and more empowered to take your business to the next level because you have an executive assistant who:
- Sets clear priorities, helping themselves (and you) stay focused on what’s most important.
- Plans ahead to allocate time effectively.
- Delegates tasks to appropriate team members to increase efficiency.
- Actively works against procrastination
The list of seven underrated virtual assistant superpowers is not exhaustive.
Do you see these at work in your assistant or in your work as a virtual assistant? What would you add/ remove from this list?
To learn more about what a virtual assistant can do for you, schedule a discovery call HERE.
Chassidy Michelle | Founder, Owner
To seasoned, high-performing business owners who are overwhelmed, we are the brand of executive support services that provides administrative support, event support, content creation, and social media management so you can feel relieved and free to enjoy life. That’s because, unlike task-oriented admin professionals, we have the innovative thinking and business management expertise to be your problem-solving partner for future business growth. Click HERE to learn more.