As an OBM, Leanne gets super invested in her clients and in their businesses. She becomes integral to the team, to them, and if she’s not there, it feels a little bit wobbly.
So If Leanne is this invested, how can she possibly step away for a period of time without it having a negative impact on her clients who mean so much to her? On their teams who she’s built relationships with?
Well, in this article Leanne gives you 7 things that you can do to make taking a break a little bit easier.
They’re the things that she generally does and has found they work and she’s hoping that it will give you a starting point and the confidence you need to take some time out when you need it.
This episode shares:
- Defining what a break means to you personally: Break look differently for everyone. What do they look like for you?
- Choosing the timing of your break strategically: Consider critical times for your clients.
- Planning in advance and sharing your intentions with your clients: Tell your clients as soon as you plan on taking a break.
- Managing the discomfort associated with your absence: Give your clients levels of certainty.
- Completing tasks in advance: Proactively work on tasks in advance to ensure minimal disruption.
- Finding temporary support: Assist in finding the right support in your absence.
- Setting clear boundaries: Communicate what your boundaries are when you’re on your break.
Defining what a break means to you personally
A break is a break but not all breaks are made equal. Leanne knows because of her personality, even if she’s having a break, she doesn’t stop. That doesn’t mean she’s available to clients. It doesn’t mean that she’s working all the time, but it means if she wants to learn something new, generally, she’s going to do this while she’s on a break because that’s her and what she enjoys.
A long time ago, Leanne learned that if she tries to take a break the way everybody else tells her to, she comes back from that break and doesn’t feel refreshed. Leanne gets bored when she’s not doing anything so if that means she wants to do a course, then she’s going to give herself that permission.
It might be for you that you don’t want to look at a computer screen for a week straight. That’s great. Make that what it means for you. But you should give yourself the permission that breaks can look how you want, so that you come back refreshed.
Tip:💡Permit yourself to step outside of everyone else’s definition of a break and do what feels good for you.
Choosing the timing of your break strategically
This is a crucial part of actually being able to relax when you are on a break. The timing is important and so although you can’t always plan in advance for months and months on end to when you’re going to take a break, you can be proactive and you can look at the clients that you have and what is going on for them.
When you’re considering the timing, think about when the critical times are for your clients. You work with them day in and day out. You know when things are crazy, when really important things are happening, and when things are just ticking along because you’re ramping up to the next thing. Map that out across your clients. Then you’ll know what impact it will have if you’re not there. Look for some quiet times. Those are the bits where you want to take a break. If there are no quiet bits, talk to your clients about it.
Tip:💡Be proactive where possible, when planning your breaks.
Planning in advance and sharing your intentions with your clients
Give your clients as much notice as possible. Sometimes we plan when we’re going to go away, but we don’t actually tell our clients.
Don’t do that.
Tell them as soon as you know, or as soon as you’re thinking about it. Keep them in the loop, because what adds to their discomfort is you saying, “oh, by the way, I’m not going to be here next week”. It makes them feel wobbly, like you’re there to keep them stable, and all of a sudden you’re bang, not there. It has a big impact.
So if we can share our thoughts with them and when we’re planning on doing things, the easier it is for us to work around business things.
Tip:💡 Let your clients know as soon as you’re thinking of taking a break for a period of time.
Managing the discomfort associated with your absence
When we’re going to take a break, we know that things won’t be happening as they normally do within your client’s business, because you’re not there. It adds a layer of unknown and for the majority of humans, change or unknown, is uncomfortable.
So what we want to do is manage that before we get there. The more levels of certainty we can give clients, the lower that discomfort will be. We want them to know what it’s going to look like. We want them to have everything they need for this to feel easy.
Look for the bits in the business where your presence or your lack of presence is going to be felt and come up with a plan for those things. Being in the position that you are, you know the way your clients think, you know generally their temperament, the way they feel, what they stress about, what they don’t. So think about your clients specifically and what they might need to make this easier because if you can communicate that to them, it’s also going to make it feel better for you. Because you’re not going to be worried either.
Put your holidays in their calendar. Have it black and white, easy to find. Share your plan. “Hey, this is how it’s going to work when I’m not here”. As you’re putting things in place, share it with them so that they can see in that lead up, in that journey towards that break, you’re on top of it. You’ve controlled the whole thing. It’s all right. You know what they need and you’ve got it sorted and you’re not concerned so they don’t need to be. Give them the reassurance. Manage that discomfort and be proactive. Have those conversations sooner rather than later.
Tip:💡 Proactively put together a plan for your absence and share it with your client.
Completing tasks in advance
Like everything else, workload goes up and down. If you’ve planned properly, you’ll know what can be done in advance. Look at those things. Even if usually you don’t do things that early, when you’re going to not be there, see if some of that stuff can be done early then communicate that to your client. “Hey, I know that we usually do this
in the second week of the month, but I’m going to do this in the last week of the month before because I’m not going to be here and I want it done. I want it done properly. So I’m going to do it here”. You manage that in advance.
So sit and think about some of the bits that can be moved earlier, that aren’t going to have a negative impact by doing that. Then I want you to think about what’s going to be needed. You’re not there, some of this stuff we’re going to move to earlier. What else might my client need in this period? Is it critical? They might need somebody who can send text messages to clients. Is that critical? Is that a critical thing if it’s not done? Yes or no? Because some things, just because we do them, doesn’t mean that they’re 100%t essential. They’re beneficial, they increase experiences, but the whole ship won’t fall over if those things don’t happen. So we need to know what those things are and then evaluate with the things that are critical, the things that do need to happen.
Consider what questions your client might have? Leanne finds it helpful if she’s not going to be around to have a space in her client’s project management system that has a list of resources they always ask her for when she’s around. Contact details for people, links, files and etc. The things that clients consistently will message her about.
Tip:💡Take a holistic view to what you’re working on for your clients and proactively work on tasks in advance to ensure minimal impact in your absence.
Finding temporary support
When we’re not around, the likelihood is clients might need another body, and it might not be for your entire role. It might be for a little bit. Someone who can stay on top of the inboxes or somebody who can help manage the team so that they all know what they’re doing. This might be at a smaller capacity than what you do it in.
Let’s say you spend an hour every day managing a team. You might get somebody in who does a 30 minute check to make sure things are going along and that everyone knows what to do and that’s it. That’s enough while you’re not there.
So think about those things that we know need to happen, who else can do them? Then think about the people you know and the people you trust that you can bring in and share that idea with your client. “Hey, I have a really close colleague who is an OBM. They’re fantastic at what they do. I trust them and I think we should bring them in to get them to do these bits while I’m not here. Are you happy for me to do that?” This gives your client a second layer of confidence. It’s somebody that you already know. It’s somebody that you’re confident can do the job, someone you know and it gives your client the support they’ll need in your absence.
Tip:💡 Assist in finding a trusted person to continue supporting your client in your absence to reduce your client’s overwhelm.
Setting clear boundaries
You might have boundaries, but you don’t communicate them. Everybody has different boundaries and we just need to communicate what they are with our clients and what it looks like. Some people don’t mind getting calls and messages when on a break and others do mind. The second you give clients the clarity into what your boundaries are while you’re on a break, they’re usually pretty good at following them.
Tip:💡 Have a conversation with your client on what you need from your break and why you need it. This will help them understand why you’ve set the boundary and they’ll more than likely respect and follow it.
And… that’s a wrap!
Hopefully these 7 things have given you a good framework to make taking a break a little bit easier.
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Follow along with the transcript
[00:00:00] E28 How can I take a break without letting my clients down?
Leanne Woff: [00:00:00] Hello, hello, hello! Welcome to another episode of the Audacious OBM. [00:01:00] Today we are talking holidays. How can I take a break without letting my clients down? Now I know, as an OBM, I get super invested in my clients and in their businesses and the way that they run. I become integral to the team, to them, and if I’m not there, it feels a little bit wobbly.
So If I am this invested, how can I possibly step away for a period of time without it having a negative impact on my clients who mean so much to me? On their teams who I’ve built relationships with? In this episode, I’m going to talk about I’m going to give you 7 things that you can do to make taking a break a little bit easier.
These are the things that I generally do [00:02:00] and that I have found work and I’m hoping that it will give you a starting point and the confidence you need to take some time out when you need it. The first of these things is define what break means for you. What do you mean Leanne? A break is a break.
Well, yes, but not all breaks are made equal. So I know because of my personality, even if I’m having a break, I don’t stop. That doesn’t mean I am available to clients. It doesn’t mean that I’m working all the time, but it means if I want to learn something new, generally, I’m going to do this while I’m on a break because that’s me and that’s what I enjoy.
And a long time I learned that if I try and take a break the way everybody else tells me to, I come back from that break and I don’t feel [00:03:00] refreshed. I get bored and I want to be able to do what I want to do when I want to do it. So if that means I want to do a course, then I’m allowed to do that and I give myself that permission.
If it means that, I want to check in with a certain client just to see how they are, then I’m going to do that because that’s what I want to do. It might be for you that you don’t want to look at a computer screen for a week straight. That’s great. Make that what it means for you. But what I want you to have is permission that breaks can look how you want, so that you come back refreshed.
And so for me, that sometimes means, Oh, I’m going to log in to this tool and I’m going to play around, because I can’t stop thinking about it and I find it exciting. Like that’s fun for me, even though it seems kind of [00:04:00] worky. It’s fun for me and I want to be able to do that in between doing all of my other holiday things.
Number two, choose when. This is a crucial part of actually being able to relax when you are on a break. The timing is important and so although you can’t always be, planning in advance for months and months on end to when you’re going to take a break or you might not have full control over when you’re going to take a break.
You can be a little bit proactive and you can look at the clients that you have and what is going on for them. When you’re considering when, I want you to think about when the critical times are for your clients. You work with them day in and day out. You know when things are crazy, when things that are really important are happening, and when things are just ticking along because you’re ramping up to the next thing.[00:05:00]
Map that out across your clients. Then you’ll know what impact it will have if you’re not there. And I like to be around when it’s a critical time, when I know my client is going to need me specifically, when I know that something, a big launch is happening and there is a likelihood of things needing to be happening really quickly or with somebody who knows this in and out. Where, the outcome is big for the client. I like to be around. Usually, too, because I’ve put in all the work to get it up to this point. So I’m going to be there when it launches. So map out those bits. Look for some quiet times.
Those are the bits where you want to take a break. If there are no quiet bits Talk to your clients about it. I have had many conversations with my clients [00:06:00] around when what’s happening in their world and at some point I want to take X amount of time off and when do they think would be a good time.
Not saying that that is when I’m going to do it, but having the conversation so I can get some more insight into what the plan is.
Number three. Plan in advance. Give your clients as much notice as possible. Sometimes we plan when we’re going to go away, but we don’t actually tell our clients. Don’t do that. Tell them as soon as you know, or as soon as you’re thinking about it. Keep them in the loop, because what adds to their discomfort is you saying, Oh, by the way, I’m not going to be here next week, or I’m not going to be here in two weeks.
And it makes them feel wobbly, like you’re there to keep them stable, and all of a sudden you’re bang, not there. It has a big impact. So if we can share with [00:07:00] them our thoughts, and when we’re planning on doing things, hey, in July, I’m planning on having a week off. That’s what I’m thinking because kids have holidays or because I really want to go to Paris, whatever it might be, so that you’re planting that seed early on.
And the more notice that we have as humans, the easier it is for us to work through something. So if it is going to be a little bit wobbly or it scares us, there’s heaps of time for us to get okay and comfortable with the idea. And that’s what we want. So we want to give clients as much notice as possible, and we want to keep them in the loop.
Which brings me to number four, which is manage the discomfort. When we’re going to take a break, we know that things won’t be happening as they normally do within your client’s business, because you are not there. It adds a layer of unknown and for majority of humans, change or unknown, is [00:08:00] really uncomfortable.
And so what we want to do is manage that before we get there. The more levels of certainty we can give clients, the lower that discomfort will be. We want them to know what it’s going to look like. We want them to have everything they need for this to feel easy. And so I want you to think about what it is that your client might need during that period.
You know them well. Well enough to know, okay, these are the bits where they’re going to wobble. I know if I’m not there to schedule, six months worth of social posts that don’t go out for another three months, it’s not going to be an issue. But I also know that I’m not going to be there, every second day to jump on a call and just let them know what they’re doing for the day. Look for the bits where your presence or your lack of presence is going to be felt [00:09:00] and come up with a plan for those things.
So you. Being in the position that you are, you know the way they think, you know generally their temperament, the way they feel, what they stress about, what they don’t. And so I want you to think about your clients specifically and what they might need to make this easier. Because if you can communicate that to them, it’s also going to make it feel better for you.
Because you’re not going to be worried either. I want you to put your holidays in their calendar. Have it black and white, easy to find, Hey, this is when Leanne isn’t here. I want you to share your plan. As we’re preparing for us not being around, tell your client, Hey, this is how it’s going to work when I’m not here.
This is what I know that you would have needed me for. This is the plan to happen instead. As you’re putting things in place, share it with them so that they can see in that lead up, in that journey [00:10:00] towards that break, you’re on top of it. You’ve controlled the whole thing.
It’s all right. You know what they need and you’ve got it sorted and you’re not concerned so they don’t need to be. Give them the reassurance. Manage that discomfort and be proactive. So have those conversations sooner rather than later. Looking at the scope. Talking to your client. Asking them if they’re, they think they’re going to be okay.
And reassuring them that you’re confident. And set up an autoresponder. So when you go on leave, set up an autoresponder that says, Hey, I’m on leave. And then tells them what to do. So if your clients have forgotten that you’re on leave, well, maybe they haven’t forgotten, but maybe they’re used to just typing in your email to talk to you.
And they do that. We want them to get something back that says. Hey, you know I’m Lee, I’m on leave. Thanks so much for keeping me in the loop anyway, I’ll get back to it and read [00:11:00] through it all when I’m back. Here’s what you can do in the meantime. And you decide, it might be email a different person. It might be you can call this person.
It might be, if it is urgent, do these three things. It might be if you’re looking for where something is saved, go to Blah. So thinking about the things that will make it easier for your clients and then it becomes easier for you too. Number five. Manage the work. Okay. Work, like everything else, and workload goes up and down.
And if you are planned properly, you will know what can be done in advance. Look at those things. And even if usually you don’t do things that early, when you’re going to not be there, see if some of that stuff can be done early. And then communicate that to your client. Hey, I know that we usually do this
in the second week of the month, but I’m going to do this in the [00:12:00] last week of the month before because I’m not going to be here and I want it done. I want it done properly. So I’m going to do it here. You manage that in advance. And so it’s taking some of the pressure off that time. And to do that, you really need to look at the different things that you do for clients and pick up the common threads, because sometimes we just go into Autopilot, and we do, and we do, and we don’t actually create the connection of, ah, this is what we’re doing. So sit and think about some of these things, and think about the bits that can be moved to be earlier, that aren’t going to have a negative impact by doing that. Then I want you to think about what’s going to be needed.
You’re not there, some of this stuff we’re going to move to earlier. What else might my client need in this period? And Is it critical? They might need somebody who can send text messages to clients. Is that critical? Is that a critical [00:13:00] thing if it’s not done? Yes or no? Because some things, just because we do them, doesn’t mean that they’re 100 percent essential.
They’re beneficial, they increase experiences, they do all different things. But, the whole ship won’t fall over if those things don’t happen. So we need to know what those things are. And then evaluate with the things that are critical, the things that do need to happen how we’re going to keep, fill that gap.
What questions might they have? I find it helpful if I’m not going to be around to have a space in their project management system that has, here’s all the bits that you always ask me for. Here’s the stuff, here’s where I keep this. Here’s the email address for this person. The things that I know my clients consistently will message me about and go, Hey, you know that thing, like I have a mini handover, little land where they can go and they can get what they need because I am not there.
And then tell them it exists [00:14:00] and tell them to use it. Number six, help them find temporary support. So when we’re not around. The likelihood is they might need another body, and it might not be for your entire role. It might be for a little bit. Someone who can stay on top of the inboxes or somebody who can help manage the team so that they all know what they’re doing.
And it might be at a smaller capacity than to what you do it in. Let’s say you spend an hour every day managing a team, you might get somebody in who just does a 30 minute check to make sure things are going along and that everyone knows what to do and that’s it. That’s enough while you’re not there.
So I want you to think about. With those things that we know need to happen, who else can do them? And I want you to think about the people that you know and the people that you trust that you can bring in and share that [00:15:00] idea with your client. Hey, I have a really close colleague who is an OBM.
They’re fantastic at what they do. I trust them and I think that we should bring them in to get them to do these bits while I’m not here. Are you happy for me to do that? And so it’s giving them a second layer of confidence. It’s somebody that you already know. It’s somebody that you’re confident can do the job that, you know, so well how to do and it gives them that support.
Whereas if we just say, oh, we’re going to need to find someone. It already feels yuck. It already feels unknown, so we want to try and limit that. And then start talking to your fellow OBMs. Think about the different people you need to connect with so that you’ve got people you can reach out to when you want to be on leave.
There are so many capable OBMs out there, and they’re just an email, a Facebook group, a WhatsApp message [00:16:00] away. Use them! And if you can, bring someone in a little bit sooner. So if you’re going to subcontract and say, hey, this person on my team is going to help you while I’m gone, get them in on the conversation as early as possible, even if it’s just for a little thing, so that your client gets familiar with the face.
That person becomes a known quantity, even for a little thing. Hey, I’m going to have Susie come in and she is going to brief the team. She’s amazing. She’s on my team. I’ve seen her work. I trust her 100 percent and so should you. And then you might get Susie to come in, for one little job. So the client can see her, meet her, go, Oh yeah, okay.
I know who Susie is. Cool. So always be proactive. Try and think ahead and try and minimize the discomfort. And the last thing that will help you take a break as an OBM is to set your [00:17:00] boundaries and communicate them. You might have boundaries, but you don’t communicate them. And everybody’s boundaries are different.
So it might be okay for your clients to send you emails. With little questions while you’re on break. You might already have factored in 30 minutes a day while you’re on leave that you’re going to check that and look for anything urgent and if it’s urgent You’ll reply, you know that it’s going to take you two minutes to do that.
And you’re quite happy with that. That’s cool. Your boundary might be, you don’t want to talk to anybody work related. That’s cool. Don’t send me text messages. I won’t answer. Don’t send me Slack messages. I won’t answer. Don’t contact me on Facebook. That’s for. Friendship questions, not work questions.
And communicate what it’s going to look like to your clients. Because the second that you give people the clarity, they’re usually [00:18:00] pretty good at following those things. And unless the whole building is burning down, which I’ve never had that happen once, They’re not gonna contact you, they’re gonna manage it, and they’re going to value you enough to go, this is what they need, so they can come back and be, all guns blazing, ready to go.
They’re refreshed, they’re happy, that you’ve got to remember that this relationship goes two ways, and the likelihood is your clients want you to be at your best. And they want you to have a break when you want to have a break. Like as much as you want to make their lives good and easy, they want that for you too.
So remember that and let them know how they can help you do that. That’s where your boundaries come in. So that’s it for today. I hope that that helps you and gives you a little bit of a framework to work through, especially if you’re living in the, how do I do it and my clients are dependent on me and what [00:19:00] if I do that and then they all leave?
They’re not gonna leave. You are very crucial and critical, but we want people who value us and value that we need time out too. Thanks so much for joining me today. If you found this episode useful, please jump on your favorite podcast app and leave me a five star review because that is how these platforms tell other OBMs that there is quality advice here.
If you have any questions. Don’t forget, please send me a DM or an email. You’ll find me at Leanne Woff on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or you can email helpme at audaciousempires. com. Have a great week.
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