There comes a point in “business growth” where the problem is no longer:
“How do I get more done?”
The problem becomes:
“How do I stop everything from depending on me?”
That is exactly what this week’s episode of The OBM Show explores in my conversation with longtime entrepreneur and educator Gillian Perkins.
Because Gillian is not speaking hypothetically about Online Business Managers.
She has worked alongside the same OBM for nearly eight years.
And what makes this conversation so valuable is that it goes far beyond the surface-level conversations we often hear about delegation, hiring, or team support.
This is a real look at what operational leadership actually feels like inside a scaling business over the long term.
Click here or on the preview below to watch now:
Prefer to listen? This episode is also available as a podcast on the OBM Show Podcast here.
The “Work Mom” CEOs Secretly Need
One of the funniest and most accurate moments in the episode is when Gillian describes her OBM as her “work mom.”
The person saying:
“No, we are not switching platforms again.”
“Remember the goals you set this quarter.”
“You need systems before you need more growth.”
And honestly?
That description perfectly captures what a strong OBM actually brings to a business.
Because great OBMs are not simply managing tasks.
They are:
👉protecting priorities
👉creating operational structure
👉solving problems proactively
👉bringing consistency to the business
👉helping the CEO stay focused
👉keeping the business operationally healthy as growth accelerates
For visionary entrepreneurs especially, this becomes incredibly important.
Because visionaries are often excellent at generating ideas, building momentum, and driving growth… but not always naturally wired for operational maintenance and long-term consistency.
And that is not a flaw.
It is simply a different leadership style.
This is why the visionary + integrator partnership can become so powerful inside a growing business.
What Gillian Thought She Needed vs What She Actually Needed
One of the most insightful parts of this conversation is hearing Gillian explain what she originally believed she was hiring for.
At first, she thought she needed: accountability, project oversight, someone to keep things organized and help preventing tasks from slipping through the cracks.
But after hiring her OBM, she realized the real value was much bigger than that.
What she actually needed was someone who could: lead operationally, make confident recommendations, create systems, build infrastructure, manage moving pieces and bring stability to rapid growth.
That distinction matters.
Because there is a massive difference between:
hiring help and hiring leadership.
And many business owners do not fully understand that difference until they experience it firsthand.
Why Hiring VAs Did Not Solve the Problem
Another important conversation inside this episode is Gillian’s honesty about hiring virtual assistants before hiring an OBM.
She openly shares that while VAs helped complete tasks…
they did not actually remove the operational burden from her shoulders.
In fact, in many ways, they created more management.
More oversight.
More coordination.
More decisions still depending on her.
This is one of the clearest distinctions between task delegation and operational leadership.
A strong OBM is not simply another person to manage.
A strong OBM helps manage the business itself.
The Confidence CEOs Are Actually Looking For
One of the biggest themes throughout the episode is trust.
Gillian shares that one of the reasons she hired her OBM was because she sounded confident, assertive, and proactive during the interview process.
Not bossy.
Not controlling.
But capable of leading.
That operational confidence became one of the biggest reasons the partnership worked so well long term.
Because CEOs do not want someone waiting around for instructions all day.
They want someone who is able to think critically, anticipate problems and take ownership.
This is one of the reasons operational leadership becomes so valuable during scaling.
Because when it comes down to it, as businesses grow, the CEO simply cannot hold every operational detail alone anymore.
The Next Step
If you want to strengthen your operational leadership skills, the OBM Accelerator is the best place to begin.
Inside the OBM Accelerator, we help you build the operational thinking, systems knowledge, communication skills, and leadership confidence needed to support growing businesses strategically.
For business owners reading this and thinking, this is exactly what my business is missing…
You do not need to keep holding everything together on your own.
You can explore our Directory of Accredited OBMs or be matched directly with the right partner through OBM School’s matchmaking process.
It’s time to SCALE strategically and sustainably and step back from the day-to-day so you can focus solely on the parts of the business that need your attention.
