Through our time volunteering with the scouts there have been some interesting cross overs!
At Virtual Diamond, two of us volunteer as a Scout leader and a Cub leader in our local Scout Troops. In recent times, I have noticed how these two things complement each other and work together.
1) Communication is Key
In Scouts one of the most important things is communication, of both ideas and opportunities. There are many people in the community with years of experience who can help you to know how to best share information or how they taught a topic in an interactive way. This is reflected in our work as virtual assistants – we are often learning new systems and sharing ideas across different industries. Being able to communicate effectively with our clients helps us to learn their use of their systems quickly and effectively. As well as this, working with a diverse group of industries means that we can see the cross comparisons between them, this allows us to show others the best way to introduce new ideas.
2) There are always ways to make things more efficient
As a virtual assistant, we don’t just take tasks away from your mind and time, we ensure that every process is the most efficient it can be. Whether that be through handy automation techniques or knowing system efficiency steps we can make sure your processes run smoothly and quickly! At Scouts this has been super useful! Many a scout leader are not that technologically savvy… most prefer to be in the great outdoors starting fires and hiking. Which has meant that knowing how to automate payments, organise schedules or plan events has helped us as Scouts to make sure we are spending our time efficiently and making the most out of every chance!
3) Trying something new can be exciting
Have you ever tried axe throwing or fire starting? What about coasteering or bungee jumping? Scouts is great for offering all kinds of experiences! The same enthusiasm is taken when we start a new project – there might be something new to learn, but we are always keen to take it head on.
4) We are always learning
Throughout everything, we find that the biggest cross-over between our volunteering and our work is that simply: We never stop learning. You will never know everything, in Scouts or in the world of virtual assistants. But what we bring to the table is a wide breadth of knowledge, an enthusiasm to keep learning and a keen mind to make things more efficient.
There tend to be ways in which our hobbies can support our work and visa versa. So… I hope that answers what does Scout leading have to do with being a Virtual Assistant? It’s about our mentality when facing challenges and our ability to want to know more and learn.