Have you ever made the right call at work, only to face unexpected backlash for it? A simple decision I made turned into office drama I never saw coming.
During the initial days at my job, at the organization I was new to, I quickly realized that some internal processes were a mess, especially when it came to managing Salesforce licenses. There was no dedicated internal Salesforce Admins or SMEs, and without clear ownership, things had gotten out of hand.
One of the biggest challenges I took on was managing the Marketing Cloud licenses. With limited seats available, I found myself tasked with auditing existing usage and determining how to best allocate access moving forward.
Most of the Marketing Cloud access was held by the Marketing team, including third-party vendors who were involved in email marketing and campaign management. Given their role, it made sense for them to have access.
Most Marketing Cloud access was used by the Marketing team and third-party vendors involved in campaigns, which made sense. However, another senior leader requested additional licenses for his team. Since I was still auditing and had limited licenses, I politely declined, explaining we needed to complete the audit first. My manager supported this approach, as it followed Salesforce’s best practices, ensuring licenses were given to those who truly needed them.
What I didn’t expect was the backlash.
A project manager, not even involved in the licensing decision, lashed out at me in a meeting I wasn’t part of. I only found out when colleagues offered their support. I reached out to my manager, who was traveling, and she immediately reassured me, saying I’d done the right thing. Her support gave me the confidence to stand firm in my decision.
This experience taught me an important lesson: as a BA or in any role enforcing policies, you need thick skin. Not everyone will agree with your decisions, and some will push back. But if you’re following best practices and have the right support, don’t let others’ opinions shake your confidence.
Being a BA isn’t just about managing stakeholders; it’s about standing firm when needed. Our job is to ensure processes run smoothly, not to please everyone. And that’s a skill worth mastering.