“We don’t go running away from our values. We go drifting away, and one day wake up in a place we never meant to be, drifting in a direction we would have never chosen.”
John G. Blumberg
VA Tip: Sometimes it’s easy to let our values drop when a client wants us to do something for them that doesn’t quite align with our own values. Or perhaps we get swept away with hype that someone has been promoting and others have been jumping on the bandwagon.
Be careful not to cross this line. You need to be true to yourself and your business. If what you’re asked to do, is something you wouldn’t normally do for your own business, then you need to consider it carefully and take time if necessary, before responding.
Make sure you speak up and explain why, or simply decline the work. I’ve had to make a stand in the past and it has usually been the right decision, even though it meant losing work at the time. Over the long term you have to feel good about what you do and how or why. You don’t want to be lying awake at night wishing you didn’t…. or regretting because you made a decision that wasn’t wise. There can often be repercussions.
If you feel uncomfortable about something a client asks you to do, take the time to consider it and think first, before agreeing or carrying out an action. Your client might actually thank you for your cautiousness and protecting their business as well as yours.
Rick - VA Australia says
There will come a time when you will have no alternative but to make decisions with possible ethical costs at some point. How you react could have major implications for your reputation and career as a virtual assistant.
Timely recognition of risks can prevent many possible ethical problems from escalating to the point of causing damage to your career or business. Just be sure that you took the time to consider what is righteous and what is otherwise.
Don’t to something that you will regret later on.