I'm not even going to lie to you. My delegation game is not great. I'm the person who thinks "but no one can do it as well as me" and then spends three hours on something that should've taken twenty minutes. So when Renee Hastings came on the podcast, I was ready. I needed this conversation, and honestly? You probably do too.
Renee runs Executive Help Now, and her unique client code is something I want every entrepreneur to hear: she takes a personal interest in the hopes and dreams of her clients. Not just their task lists, their actual dreams. When you anchor into someone's why, their mission becomes your mission. And that's when the real magic happens.
The Fear Behind Your Refusal to Delegate
Here's the thing Renee dropped on me that I wasn't expecting: the reason most entrepreneurs don't delegate isn't about time or money. It's fear. Fear of losing control. Perfectionism. Trust issues. And those things? They didn't start yesterday.
"All of these things that get revealed as a part of this process didn't just start yesterday and they are deeper than what's appearing right now on the surface. Once you get an understanding of where the actual fear is coming from, deal with that. Heal from that."
Renee put it in a way that made me see delegation completely differently: it's a form of self-care. You deserve to hand things off. You deserve to not carry everything. And the process of building trust with a team member is exactly like building trust in a relationship, you start small.
Delegate something minor. Something that won't rock the boat if it doesn't go perfectly. And when your assistant delivers consistently, accurate, thorough, responsive, they're earning your trust. The more trust they earn, the more you hand over the things that actually move the needle.
It's like I said to Renee, we're not going to marry the guy on the first day. Start small. Build from there.
Hire for Values, Not Just Skills
When I asked Renee what to look for in a hire, I assumed she'd say skills. She corrected me immediately: hire for values. Shared values. Because skills can be taught. Who someone is at their core, that's what determines whether they'll fit your business or not.
"Don't just hire a warm body to fill a space. Hire the right body. They may not be the best fit for you, but they may be an amazing fit for somebody else."
And then she hit me with the mic-drop moment of the episode. The biggest mistake entrepreneurs make after hiring? Saying "here are some things, go do it" without any training. Your new hire is not a mind reader. They didn't wake up born with knowledge of your systems, your preferences, your way of doing things.
Renee's advice: invest time on the front end. Explain what needs to happen, why it needs to happen that way, and how it fits into the bigger picture. Any assistant worth their salt won't make you repeat yourself. And here's what really got me, if you don't invest the time to train on the front end, how much time will you waste correcting mistakes on the back end?
"If you don't have time to train on the front end, how much time is it going to take you to correct something because you didn't take the time?"
That one gave me goosebumps. Because she's right. We skip the training and then complain when things go wrong. That's on us.
And for those of you thinking "I don't have time to write a whole training manual", neither do I. I just shoot a quick Loom recording of myself doing the task. Two minutes. Done. My team can see exactly how I want it done. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to exist. If you're ready to delegate your marketing strategy, see how the Amplify Partnership works.
Quick Takeaways
- Audit your time first. Before delegating anything, write down how you spend every hour of your day. If a task isn't adding dollars to your bottom line, it shouldn't be on your list.
- Recognise the fear. If you're resistant to delegation, look deeper. Control issues, perfectionism, and trust problems are usually rooted in something older than your business.
- Start small and build trust. Delegate low-stakes tasks first. As your assistant proves consistent, hand over bigger responsibilities. Trust is earned, not demanded.
- Hire for shared values, not just skills. Skills can be taught. Mindset and values alignment cannot, at least not on your timeline as a business owner.
- Train on the front end. A two-minute screen recording beats a corrected mistake every time. Invest the time upfront so your team can hit the ground running.
When I asked Renee what she's choosing today, because what you don't change, you choose, she said, "I am choosing to be great." At the end of her own shows, she tells people: you were made for something great, so go and be awesome. Let's all be great. Let's go be great.
"If you don't have time to train on the front end, how much time is it going to take you to correct something because you didn't take the time?"
