Barbara Turley

Founder & CEO at The Virtual Hub | Speaker | Podcast Host 🎙| Operational Efficiency Enthusiast 💥| Passionately helping businesses remove bottlenecks & scale 🚀

A 'Mum first' entrepreneur who has bootstrapped and scaled a 350 employee, digital first support assistant company with clients spanning the globe, all while attending toddler ballet, kids ski club, playdates and living between the mountains of Europe and the beaches of Australia.

The usual question I get asked is 'how the hell did you do that?' 

To which my usual reply is ......

'By focussing on building great systems, nailing process delegation and leveraging cost effective teams of support assistants in The Philippines.'

Platforms. Processes. People. 

Everyday I see great companies full of great people who are roadblocked by the vortex of busywork. From small businesses with 5 people to large organisations with 500 people the story is the same. Great people bogged down by necessary but inefficient and time consuming busywork. 

By identifying the 20-50% of most peoples day that is taken up by admin and/or process driven tasks any business can strategically optimise their human capital budgets by delegating to a team of offshore virtual assistants. 

From e-commerce and SAAS to coaching and service businesses, we help unlock business growth by freeing great people from the time-suck of busywork.

At The Virtual Hub, we provide fully managed, in-house trained and dedicated virtual assistants starting at $750 USD per month.

By integrating great support assistants inside your business we act like a 'bolt on' scaling partner to your growth plans.

Founder & CEO

Helping companies work smarter, move faster & scale better with a combination of operational efficiency frameworks, tech stacks that work and offshore team strategies.

Founder | Workflow Automation | Follow for daily posts about Process Improvement & Effective Leadership | ex-Amazon

Hi, I’m a former brand marketer who’s now an expert in process improvement.

At Amazon, I led big marketing operations projects and saw firsthand how improving processes can make a huge impact. Today, through my consulting firm, I help marketing teams grow more efficiently by using smart management methods like Kaizen.

I work with CMOs of mid-to-large companies, especially those with teams of 10 or more, to streamline workflows, improve teamwork, and get the most out of their marketing tools. By spotting inefficiencies and turning them into productive actions, I help teams achieve more with less effort.

My goal is simple: save time, cut waste, and create a culture that’s always improving. With my experience in brand marketing and process optimisation, I’m here to help you scale your marketing operations smoothly and effectively.

In short: I help marketers improve their processes by removing inefficiencies, automating tasks and eliminating wasteful activities.

Oliver Ramirez G.

Leaders who punish mistakes also punish progress.

(here’s what most leaders miss)

When leaders obsess over avoiding mistakes, 
they unknowingly block innovation.

Here’s what happens when “no mistakes allowed” becomes the culture:

❌ 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀
↳ Teams stop taking risks.
➞ Innovation shrinks to safe, incremental tweaks.

❌ 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻
↳ Fear of failure keeps people quiet.
➞ The best ideas never see the light of day.

❌ 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗽 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆
↳ While you’re busy avoiding errors, competitors are busy learning.
➞ They adapt faster and win faster.

❌ 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲
↳ High performers won’t stay in a punishment place.
➞ You end up with compliance, not creativity.

The truth is simple:

✅ Mistakes can be fixed.
❌ Missed opportunities can’t.

Just ask Blockbuster, Kodak, or Nokia. 
Playing it safe was their biggest mistake.

💭 Has fear of mistakes ever hold you back?

- - -

♻️ Repost to help other leaders.
➕ Oliver Ramirez G. for leadership & process improvement.

Working with people smarter than you
is a blessing, not a threat.

I've seen too many leaders protect their ego by
choosing "manageable" candidates over top talent.

The cost:

❌ You avoid people who might question your decisions
❌ Every major decision becomes a bottleneck through you 
❌ Innovation dies because nobody challenges your thinking

Harvard Business Journal found that bad hires 
drive 80% of employee turnover.

But when you hire up, everything scales:
✅ Smart hires spot problems before they explode
✅ They bring solutions, not just execution
✅ High-performers attract other high-performers

The fastest-growing companies are led by founders
who know their gaps and hire exceptional talent to fill them.

"Try never to be the smartest person in the room.
And if you are, find a different room."
-Michael Dell

💭 Which part resonated with you most?

---
♻️ Repost to help other leaders
➕ Oliver Ramirez G. for leadership & process improvement

If blame is your reaction to mistakes,
you shouldn't be in management. 

The only way to avoid repeating mistakes
is to allow the space and security to self-reflect.

Here are 4 tips to learn from mistakes:

1️⃣ Start with safety
↳ Focus on learning, not blaming
↳ Fear kills honest feedback
↳ Begin with wins before discussing challenges

2️⃣ Focus on systems, not people
↳ Look at processes, not personalities
↳ Prevents defensive reactions
↳ Ask "what caused this?" not "who did this?"

3️⃣ Make it actionable
↳ Turn insights into concrete next steps
↳ Good ideas disappear without ownership
↳ Assign owners and review progress next time

4️⃣ Deep dive to uncover underlying issues
↳ Use the fishbone framework and 5 whys
↳ See the problem from different angles
↳ Document first the event and then deep dive

Teams that learn naturally outperform:

✅ Structured reviews deliver results
↳ Using retrospectives show +39% team performance
↳ Regular reflection cycles allow to improve faster

✅ Psychological safety promotes honesty
↳ High-trust places = more breakthrough ideas
↳ Fear-free zones encourage people to speak up sooner

✅ Documentation prevents repeat failures
↳ Tracked improvements compound over time
↳ Shared knowledge helps the whole team level up

The teams that win don't make fewer mistakes,
they learn from them faster. 

💭 What's your favourite tip?

- - -

♻️ Repost to help your network learn faster.
➕ Oliver Ramirez G. for leadership & process improvement tips.

Sources: GoRemotely (2023), BusinessMap (2024)

85% of people believe they're over-performers.

(how your ego can kill your growth)

An unchecked ego can sabotage your growth:

1️⃣ The Feedback Filter
↳ You dismiss criticism as "they don't understand"
↳ Only hear praise, ignore improvement areas

💡Escape it by regularly asking for 360 feedback

2️⃣ The Fixed Mindset Trap
↳ Challenges threaten your "smart" identity
↳ You avoid situations where you might fail

💡A growth mindset requires you to challenge yourself 

3️⃣ The Comparison Obsession
↳ Focus shifts from learning to looking good
↳ Energy goes to protecting image, not developing skills

💡Keeping up appearances only fools yourself

4️⃣ The Knowledge Ceiling
↳ "I already know this" blocks new information
↳ You stop asking questions that reveal gaps

💡 Studies show curiosity drives career advancement

The answer is to develop a "quiet ego".

It's not about suppressing confidence,
it's right-sizing your self-perception.

Research shows that individuals with quiet egos have:
✅ More authentic relationships
✅ Higher wellbeing and life satisfaction
✅ Greater learning capacity under pressure

How to develop a quiet ego for growth:

1️⃣ The Reality Check
↳ Ask "What don't I know?" before every project
↳ Seek feedback from 3 different perspectives 

2️⃣ The Growth Challenge
↳ Choose 1 task monthly that makes you uncomfortable
↳ Document what you learned from failures

3️⃣ The Authentic Leadership
↳ Celebrate others' wins publicly
↳ Share your mistakes and lessons learned openly

The strongest leaders aren't those who never fail.
They're those who learn fastest from discomfort.

Your ego wants to protect you from feeling small.
Growth requires embracing what you don't know yet.

💭 What tip works best for you?

---
♻️ Repost to help your network embrace growth
➕ Oliver Ramirez G. for leadership & process improvement

Sources: The Quiet Ego Scale (2015), Growing a growth mindset (2020).

Take care of your team, 
and they’ll take care of your business.

Strong teams are built with training, 
motivation, and opportunities.

Here are 5 ways to build a strong team:

1/ Training is a smart investment
 ↳ Firms that train generate 3x more rev. per employee
 ↳ Stagnant teams lead to stagnant business.

💡 Make development a KPI, not a 'nice to have'.

2/ A good culture retains employees
 ↳ 62% of employees leave due to bad culture.
 ↳ Money attracts, but culture retains.

💡 Build a mission-driven, psychologically safe space.

3/ Accountability empowers employees
 ↳ Ownership fuels retention by 97%.
 ↳ People stay where they feel responsible.

💡 Give autonomy, allow mistakes.

4/ Empathy isn’t soft, it’s a superpower
 ↳ Employees with empathetic leaders are more loyal.
 ↳ People often don’t just quit jobs, they quit bad bosses.

💡 Listen, pulse check through direct/indirect channels.

5/ Well-being isn’t a perk. It boosts productivity.
 ↳ Burned-out employees cost millions in lost output.
 ↳ Happy teams outperform unhappy ones by 20%.

💡 Balance workloads, don't overwhelm your best talent.


Train people so well they can leave.
Treat them so well they won’t want to.

💭 Which point resonated most with you? 

- - -

♻️ Repost to help your network.
➕ Oliver Ramirez G. for leadership & process improvement tips.

- - - 
Sources: ATD Research, Charity Job Finder, Gallup, EY Empathy in Business Survey, University of Warwick.

Unproductive teams always display the same traits.

(spot these 8 issues & how to solve them)

Unresolved inefficiencies can cripple any team:
🚩 Tasks take longer to perform
🚩 Frustrations build up
🚩 People begin to stop caring

The worse part about work inefficiencies is that
they often go unnoticed until something big breaks.

Here are 8 common issues and how to solve them:

1/ Relying on a ‘Single Expert’
 ↳ One person trains everyone on a process
 ↳ Creates bottlenecks + knowledge gaps

💡 Document + record to share knowledge

2/ No standard way of doing things
 ↳ Everyone does the same task differently
 ↳ Leads to delays, rework, confusion
 
💡 Map, benchmark, document, align

3/ Manual-heavy onboarding
 ↳ Shadowing, 1:1s, endless presentations
 ↳ Eats up senior team time

💡 Automate; use onboarding tech

4/ Projects keep restarting
 ↳ Leadership changes direction mid-project
 ↳ Wastes time + drains morale

💡Align on success, get buy-in early

5/ Messy work environment
 ↳ Can’t find docs, assets, info
 ↳ Teams waste hours hunting for basics

💡 Organise, standardise, maintain

6/ People accept broken processes
 ↳ “That’s just how we do it”
 ↳ Innovation stalls, issues repeat

💡 Use PDCA to continuously optimise

7/ Misaligned team metrics
 ↳ Teams chase different goals
 ↳ Creates tension + competing priorities

 💡 Align everyone to a few core KPIs

8/ Underused software tools
 ↳ Features ignored or disconnected systems
 ↳ Manual work stays manual
 
 💡 Train, track adoption, integrate

Your team’s productivity is only as strong
 as the systems you've built.

Prioritise removing inefficiencies as you 
encounter them to set your team for success.

Start by auditing and optimising a key process this week.

💬 Which inefficiency trap resonated the most?

- - -

♻️ Repost to help leaders fight inefficiencies at work. 
➕ Oliver Ramirez G. for leadership & process improvement.

✍ For more, check my newsletter: https://lnkd.in/e5Yj72Ne

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