Today, I’m calling out something most OBMs and VAs are terrified to do…and something most CEOs don’t realize they desperately need.
Calling your clients out.
Oh yeah, we’re going there.
And before you even think it, let me say this: This isn’t about being confrontational or aggressive, and it sure isn’t “overstepping.” This is what your clients hired you to do.
They want you to let them know you see something they can’t because they’re too close. Because they might not see that contradiction from three weeks ago, the launch they’re really not ready for, or the shiny object derailing the entire plan.
And they need you to keep them on track.
I’ll be honest: this did NOT come easy to me. I’m a recovering people pleaser. I hate conflict. My anxiety brain used to talk me out of pushing back every single time. Then I realized what my silence was actually costing my clients.
So I started doing it scared…and every single time I did, it went better than I thought it would. They didn’t leave or get mad. They thanked me.
THAT is when I knew that this is the actual job.
And CEOs, this one’s for you too. If your ops person has never pushed back on you, that is NOT a green flag. A good ops person isn’t a yes-man. They’re there to protect you from decisions that are going to cost you. And if you’re not getting that, keep listening, because this episode tells you exactly what you should be getting.
Pop in your earbuds and hit PLAY to hear…
- Why “calling a client out” is the highest form of ops leadership (hint: it’s not confrontational. It’s care).
- The exact way I push back: clear, specific, and always ending with a solution and a question.
- Three stories about when I pushed back on real client stories, what actually happened, and how it helped me realize a client wasn’t the right fit for the agency.
- Why an ops person never pushing back on a CEO isn’t actually a good thing.
