🔑 10 Lessons in 10 Years of Ops Boss® Coaching
Real lessons from real leadership — for rainmakers, team owners, and operations leaders who are ready to scale with soul.
Buckle up. Because I’m not afraid of hurting your feelings. I care about you too much. After ten years of mentoring, training & coaching TENS OF THOUSANDS of Ops Bosses® and ten years of owning my own business – I have some observations.
Leadership isn’t about comfort. It’s about growth. Growth happens when you look in the mirror & face the truth — even when the mirror gets uncomfortable.
So whether you’re a Rainmaker or an Ops Boss®, ask yourself: Am I willing to hear the truth… if it’s what unlocks my next level? If so, keep reading.
1. Mission Attracts, Vision Aligns, Values Anchor
Don’t “recruit” people to a mission. (I’m not saying don’t recruit!) But “recruiting to a mission” is chasing — and likely to backfire. When you live your mission with purpose, authenticity, and integrity, like-minded people find you. And when you are clear on your values, you notice them. They don’t join just for hype or personal gain, but because they see you’re already operating in sync. The mission is important, and they know they can go further, faster, as part of your team.
At Ops Boss® Coaching, our mission has always been: Dream BIG, Achieve BIG, Impact Lives. Our vision: One by one by one by one — WE change the world. Every team member, past and present, has embodied that — before they joined the team.
If you build without mission/vision/values/beliefs/perspective (MVVBP) as your foundation, you’re building an upside-down triangle. It will tip over.
However, when you live your MVVBP, you attract people who already share your culture. You attract what you already are.
Your MVVBP shouldn’t just hang on the wall. It should live and breathe — and be felt DAILY by every team member and client who works with you. Your MVVBP isn’t a recruiting tool — it’s a magnet for aligned maturity and a North Star for every decision you make in the business.
✅ For the rainmaker: MVVBP isn’t a buzzword. It’s your launching pad. Mission attracts maturity . That translates to retention.
✅ For the ops leader: Your role is co-caster of vision and to ensure the MVVBP is living (think systems)— not just on the wall.
2. Top Ops Bosses® Are Not Unicorns
“I can’t find my unicorn” is a comment I hear frequently. People think there aren’t many top operations leaders. I disagree. They’re just in hiding. And they don’t come out of hiding for just anyone — they come out for leaders. Top ops talent isn’t drawn to top agents or big business owners — they’re drawn to top leaders. And top leaders are Unicorns.
When you hire an Ops Boss®, they’re vetting your leadership — not just your job offer. They’re not dazzled by your production. They’re watching your actions, your track record, your relationships, your vision, your values.
And make no mistake — while you’re interviewing them, they’re interviewing you. They want to know if you’re for real. Do you walk your talk? Do you have results in the past that forecast bigger results in the future? Have you created other leaders? Have you created opportunities with those leaders? Have you earned the respect of those leaders with results? Or is your ego bigger than your pocketbook?
Top ops talent isn’t looking for a job. They’re looking for a partnership worth building and an opportunity for massive growth. Too many team owners talk a good game — and don’t deliver. Usually because they haven’t mastered self-leadership.
✅ For the rainmaker: Your operations hire is your leadership mirror. The secret sauce to a great Ops Boss®… is YOU.
✅ For the ops leader: Don’t partner with someone who hasn’t done their own work.
3. Your Business Will Only Rise to the Level of Your Willingness to Have Uncomfortable Conversations
Otherwise, what you tolerate is what you train.
The conversations are not difficult — they’re just awkward. And every time you lean in, your leadership muscle grows. Avoiding them is expensive. Face them, and your team — and peace of mind — will scale.
This goes both ways — conversations with those you lead, and with those you follow. Lead UP.
✅ For the rainmaker: When you avoid conflict, you cap growth.
✅ For the ops leader: Comfort is not your calling — courage is.
4. Stop Doing Addition Instead of Multiplication
A Group of People Adds. A Team MULTIPLIES.
I used to think working together was collaboration — it’s not. That’s just addition. One more person = more production.
Collaboration is strategic, intentional, and exponential. It involves trust and the contribution of each person’s unique gifts, talents, experience, and perspective. It sometimes requires division — of roles, ego, or control — but done right, that division multiplies growth.
You need people who see what you don’t. Leadership requires blind spot awareness — and the courage to invite feedback instead of avoiding it.So you need people around you who don’t just agree with you, but complete you. It’s not about being right. It’s about being whole.
✅ For the rainmaker: Stop adding numbers. Start building a team. Stop doing everything yourself. Build a team of leaders who multiply your results. If everyone agrees with you, you’re in an echo chamber — not a company. Ask, “What am I missing?” Invite feedback.
✅ For the ops leader: Multiply by dividing what no longer serves you. And don’t wait to be asked for input. Say, “Can I offer a different perspective?”
5. Opportunity Isn’t Given. It’s Created — and Then Shared.
Top talent doesn’t wait around for opportunity. They don’t just “seize it” when it floats by. They BUILD it. And they want to build it with leaders who don’t hoard opportunity, but scale it — for themselves, their team, and the business.
✅ For the rainmaker: You don’t have to hand out opportunity — you can facilitate it. Open doors, make connections, multiply it.
✅ For the ops leader: Stop waiting. Start building. Don’t just do your job and expect to be well paid. Go beyond. Show results first. EARN the right to partner in future opportunities. Then build it.
6. Profit Isn’t an Accident. It’s a Discipline.
Open your books. Have a weekly date with your money. Meet monthly with your DOO to review financials. If you’re hiding from your numbers, you’re probably hemorrhaging opportunity.
Ops Boss® Coaching has been profitable every single year of our 10 years — that’s not magic. It’s diligence, consistency, and a willingness to be transparent so that three people’s eyes (plus our CPA) are on the books regularly.
✅ For the rainmaker: If you want to scale, stop closing your eyes & hiding.
✅ For the ops leader: Earn a seat at the financial table, then take it.
7. Systems Don’t Slow You Down — They Set You Free
The right systems aren’t cages. They’re springboards. They reduce chaos, protect your energy, and give your business the power to run — even when you’re not in the room. (So rainmakers, stop making yourself the exception to your team’s systems.)
And here’s the truth for ops leaders: if no one else knows how to do what you do, you haven’t made yourself powerful — you’ve made yourself pigeonholed. Being irreplaceable in your impact is powerful. Being irreplaceable because you hoard information? That’s a ceiling.
✅ For the rainmaker: You can’t scale chaos. Stop being the chaos.
✅ For the ops leader: Build systems to replace yourself to promote yourself.
8. Leadership Is a Sacred Responsibility
You don’t just lead tasks, teams, or transactions. You lead people’s careers, confidence, and sense of purpose. Your impact echoes beyond the office — into their families, their futures, and their lives.
Own that. And honor it with the same faith they’ve given you.
Leaders make the real climb:
Superstar → Business Boss → Lifegiving Leader.
One changes production. One changes profit. One changes lives.
✅ For the rainmaker: This means going from entrepreneurial to purposeful. Making decisions with intention instead of on the fly. Hiring with processes. Being a great steward of money, risk, and opportunity.
✅ For the ops leader: Your title doesn’t define your impact — your leadership does.
9. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Over the last 10 years, I’ve heard a lot of admins complain:
- “My boss won’t lead gen.”
- “My agents won’t prospect.”
- “They won’t time block.”
- “They miss meetings.”
Agents complain:
- “They take too long.”
- “There’s no system.”
- “Stuff keeps falling through the cracks.”
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Before you criticize team members, look in the mirror. Are YOU doing the things that matter (the 20%) — or are you just busy being “so busy”.
Leadership isn’t about ease. It’s about doing what makes the business better — even when it’s uncomfortable.
✅ For the rainmaker: Your team follows your example. If you’re operating in “do as I say, not as I do” — change it. Lead gen & recruit DAILY.
✅ For the ops leader: Want a seat at the table? Earn it with results, not reasons. Focus on your 20%.
10. Your Speed To Scale Relies On Trust
Rainmakers Value Speed. Ops Bosses® Value Trust.
Rainmakers are wired for urgency and momentum. Ops leaders can move just as fast — but only when there’s trust in the vision and partnership.
PS – Leadership trust isn’t built in meetings — it’s built in moments, and in your ACTIONS. So work on your relationship like you work on your business.
Speed without trust = chaos.
Trust without speed = stagnation.
But together? Magic.
✅ For the rainmaker: Want fast execution? Build deep trust first. Do what you say you’re going to do. Show up to meetings. And have their back.
✅ For the ops leader: Once trust is there, massively accelerate the pace. That’s how you scale with power and precision.
🎁 Bonus Truth (Because You Know I Had To)
Coaching isn’t a perk. It’s a requirement — for BOTH of you.
Too many times I’ve seen rainmakers get coaching and not their ops person — or vice versa. That creates a growth gap. And when that gap gets big enough, someone leaves.
Also: Coaching is NOT a fix-it tool.
If you’re avoiding the hard convos and hoping 30 minutes a week of coaching will fix it… it won’t.
✅ For the rainmaker: Growth is not a solo sport. And operations coaching is not an expense. It’s an investment in the one person (besides you) who has the most influence on your success or failure
✅ For the ops leader: Coaching is a power-up. Ask for it. Earn it. You’re worth it.
🎁 Bonus #2: If You Really Want to Level Up as an Ops Boss®… Own a Business
There’s no faster way to deepen your leadership, empathy, and business acumen than sitting in the owner’s seat. I thought I knew what it took — I’d run at a high level as a DOO and COO for 23 years. But founding & leading Ops Boss® Coaching taught me what even top operators can’t fully grasp until it’s their name on the line.
Things I learned? That’s a whole other post. What didn’t change? My deep respect for the entrepreneur who takes all the risk.
✅ For the rainmaker: Hire a leader who is entrepreneurial. If your ops leader already thinks like an owner — keep them. And pay them WELL. (You get what you pay for.)
✅ For the ops leader: Becoming a great intrapreneur starts with thinking like an owner. Start your own side gig. (As an example, one of our awesome DOO clients also owns a music therapy business.)
🔥 The Real Truth Behind All These Truths:
Ops Bosses are the engine. The heartbeat. The force behind the force.
They are not paper-pushers, task-takers, or “just admin.”
They are leaders. Builders. Visionaries. Culture carriers.
And when they’re developed, empowered, and coached?
They don’t just support a business — they scale it.
They change lives. They change the world.
At Ops Boss® Coaching, we’ve had the honor of walking alongside tens of thousands of these leaders over the last 10 years. We’ve built something extraordinary — not because of one person, but because of the team we’ve built. The mentors who’ve shaped us. The coaches who’ve challenged us. The clients who’ve trusted us. The Ops Bosses who’ve shown up, done the work, and said, “Let’s go.”
This movement isn’t mine. It’s ours.
So if you’re an Ops Boss® reading this — I hope you feel seen.
If you’re a Rainmaker — I hope you see the power standing right next to you and invest in it. Because when you develop your Ops Boss®, you don’t just build a better business — you build a legacy.