Why “Pinging the Channel” Gives Me Heart Palpitations

Verbally Processing My Thoughts

I named my business Offstage Operations for a reason: I genuinely like to be behind the scenes. I prioritize being a steward of your business, working quietly and efficiently so you can focus on your vision.

But recently, I had a private Slack conversation with a client that challenged my behind-the-scenes comfort zone. He gave me a piece of advice: “When you do things, just ping in the channel… Your clients only see your value if they know what you’re doing, not for a quality check at all, but you’re getting stuff done behind the scenes and I didn’t even know it. Plus, the other co-hosts will recommend you more if they see your value too”.

He was absolutely right, and I know he was giving me sound business advice to help Offstage Operations grow. But my immediate, physical reaction to posting my completed tasks publicly? Heart palpitations.

Here is why proving the work is done can feel so unnatural to those of us who naturally operate “offstage,” and how I am learning to bridge the gap.

The “Consider it Done” Mindset

My response to my client was honest: “That is hard for me. I have the mindset of: you told me to do it, and I agreed to do these tasks, so you should know I did it” (with a smiling emoji).

I left the corporate world partly because I was tired of the performative red tape. To me, if I acknowledge a task and say I’m going to do it, it’s done. I don’t want to feel like I am bragging or fishing for a “good job!” from the team just for doing the baseline of what I was hired to do.

It actually reminds me of the conversations I have with my teenagers. I constantly tell them that if they simply show up on time, follow the dress code, and do what they are told to do when they are told to do it, they will likely get a promotion. It is a bit sad that just doing the bare minimum expectation is enough to outshine your peers these days, but that is the reality of the workforce. Because of this, it has become the norm that supervisors have to stay on their employees and double-check everything.

The Business Reality of Visibility

Despite my personal feelings, I completely understand the rationale from a client or supervisor’s perspective.

When you run a business, you have a million things on your plate. If a contractor openly communicates that a task is complete, it saves you the time and mental energy of having to go dig around to check their work. You can just check it off your mental to-do list.

Furthermore, doing great work in a silo doesn’t bring in referrals. As my client kindly pointed out, publicly sharing what you are accomplishing allows other team members to see your value, which is vital for job security and growing your business.

Finding the Middle Ground

I did exactly what my client asked. I went into the channel and updated the team on all the tasks I had finished. My heart was pounding, and I was terrified they would roll their eyes and think I was just bragging.

But it made me realize something important about operations. While I might always be a backstage person at heart, transparent systems are the bridge between quiet execution and necessary visibility.

Instead of forcing myself to loudly announce my daily accomplishments, the real solution is implementing better task management systems. A solid system allows me to check off my work so the client knows it is handled, providing them with complete transparency and peace of mind without me feeling like I’m performing for an audience.

If you are a business owner who is tired of constantly checking up on your team, or if you want a reliable “second brain” who will just get the job done behind the scenes, I’d love to help you build the structure you need.