252: How I Stopped Managing Tasks and Started Leading a Team

Welcome to the She Thinks Big podcast. I'm your host, Andrea Liebross, coach, speaker, life balance architect, and strategic thought partner for high-achieving women who want to think differently, lead confidently, and create success on their own terms.

As an entrepreneur myself and the bestselling author of She Thinks Big, here's what I know: You've been at this for a while, but somehow you can still feel stuck in the day-to-day. And running your business like a to-do list does not fulfill the vision.

So around here, we're not about more hustle, we're about smarter strategy, bolder thinking, and leading a business that fits your life. Each week, you'll hear the mindset shifts, real-world tools, and CEO-level conversations that help you reclaim your time, grow with intention, and elevate your leadership. Now, let's dive in.

Hello, my friends. Welcome back to this special five-part series celebrating five years and more than 250 episodes of podcasting of She Thinks Big. Originally, it was Time to Level Up, but it changed its name to She Thinks Big. We are at episode here, number 252. But in reality, there's probably 262 or 265 episodes out there. But this is number 252.

So in honor of reaching that 250 mark, I've been doing this five-part series. If you've been following along, you know that each episode is exploring a key theme that's shaped both my business and my life and the women I coach. Those five themes are priorities, beliefs, team, systems, and money. If you missed the first two, go back when you can. We talked about aligning your time and upgrading your beliefs. But if you're joining here, you're right where you need to be.

Now, I want to remind you too that I created Five Leaps in Five Minutes, which is a Google Doc, really, that summarizes all of the key points in these five episodes and gives you all of the, what I call, “hell yes action items.” The things you're going to definitely do, you need to do in order to have that five-year leap in five minutes. The things that I've learned, I want to share with you. So that's what we're doing today.

Today we are diving into the third theme—team. Really how to build one, lead one, and most importantly, how to see yourself as a leader of one. So here's my story, my evolution. When I started my business, my team was just me and maybe my coffee mug. Like most entrepreneurs, I wore all the hats. I was coach, marketer, bookkeeper, scheduler, podcast host, tech support, all while being mom and spouse and dog owner and daughter and Uber driver and dinner maker.

For a while, that worked. I liked being in control, and I told myself that no one can do it like I can. But what I didn’t realize back then is that my team didn’t start with employees or contractors. It started with my first coach, Missy Shopshire. Missy was the first person that—well, she really was the second person—but the first longstanding person that I invested in to help me think differently. I would say she was my first teammate, even though she didn’t technically work for me.

But that experience taught me that every coach I’ve ever hired has been part of my team because they have helped me see things differently. They have helped me make braver decisions and believe bigger. Then, after Missy, or alongside Missy, came the creative phase. I hired Krista to build my first website. I hired a copywriter to help me find my voice. I hired Lisa Coombs—she’s still out there, go find her, she’s great—to find my voice. I hired a photographer, Kim Beasley, to capture what my brand could look like.

Those early hires made me feel like I was stepping into legitimacy. Like this was legit, people. This was becoming something real. Then came a woman named Brooke who handled my books and billing, and scheduling, and that was the first time I felt actual relief, I think. Like someone else was carrying some of the mental load. And of course, that’s when I realized I needed systems, not just support.

So I brought on Lynda, who set up Dubsado workflows and organized my world inside Trello. And I brought on someone named Kristen, who helped me build some PowerPoint decks when I started speaking. Then came the wave of copywriters, graphic designers, editors, virtual assistants, web designers, more coaches. At one point, I think I had five different people touching my brand at once. I would say now I have about ten people that are touching my brand at once.

Over these last five years, some of those people were incredible. Some weren’t a fit. But all of them really helped me learn how to communicate and lead and trust. Then came the podcast. I hired my first producer, Stephanie, to help me launch Time to Level Up in November of 2020. Then someone else to help me land some guest spots on other shows. Eventually, Stacey Harris—my producer to this day—who’s been with me probably since episode 80 or so, and she’s been with me through some rebranding too.

As the business grew, so did the team. Because these graphic designers, they’re helping me bring, I would call it, visual consistency. Event planners I’ve hired to help manage retreats and She Thinks Big Live. Chefs I’ve hired to help nourish the guests at those events. Stylists for photo shoots, bookkeepers, CPAs, lawyers to keep everything running clean behind the scenes. Marketers, merch specialists, visibility managers to help expand our reach.

One of the biggest trust leaps I’ve made has been hiring coaches—hiring other coaches. Not just for me, but I'm going to all it all of the choices that I have made to hire coaches for me have really been also decisions for my clients. This is huge. Letting other coaches come alongside me to help me better serve my clients is big. Then I took the plunge and I hired coaches to coach my clients inside my coaching programs.

So I have some productivity specialist coaches. I have money coaches. They are coming alongside me to serve the women inside my programs. That meant surrendering my belief that I had to personally touch everything. The result—the women in my programs got even more support and perspective and value.

Here’s the part I actually didn’t really realize until about two years ago. Even though I’ve been working with all of these types of people for years, I didn’t realize until about two years ago, I didn’t really see them as my team because they’re all 1099s at this point. I saw them as individuals that I collaborated with. I saw them as people that were helping me get a specific job done. Then one day I realized how much magic we were creating together, how connected our work really was. I thought, “This is my team.”

That was the moment that everything changed. I started holding regular team meetings, and we began sharing wins and aligning around goals and solving problems together instead of separately. That’s when I finally felt like the CEO—not the operator—but the CEO of my business. I won’t lie, team hasn’t always felt easier. Sometimes team has felt harder because hiring people is vulnerable. Letting go of control is vulnerable. Explaining what’s in your head so someone else can execute it—that’s vulnerable too.

For a long time, I double-checked everything. I stayed up late redoing tasks, or I hesitated to delegate because it was just easier to do it myself. But here’s what I learned. I didn’t have a team problem. I had a trust problem. So here is what brings me to my very first lesson for today.

Lesson one: Remember, you can get all these lessons at andrealiebross.com/five for the Five Leaps in Five Minutes. It’s going to have all of these lessons right on there. So, lesson one—you’re not building a business. You’re building a team that builds the business.

When women come into my coaching programs, they often say, “I need systems.” But nine times out of ten, what they really need is people. I mean, a system can organize your business, but a team can scale it. Because once your team is aligned, systems become tools, not crutches. The moment you stop hiring for help and start hiring for ownership of things you want them to own, then everything changes.

Lesson two: Hire for clarity, not relief. Most entrepreneurs hire when they’re desperate for relief, but the best hires, I think, happen when you’re clear on outcomes. You’re not overwhelmed by tasks. So before you post for that next role, ask yourself, what will this person own? How will I know they’re successful 90 days from now?

Hiring from panic really builds that chaos, but hiring from clarity builds freedom. I really love this 90-day thing. What kind of outcomes do you want to see in 90 days as a result of hiring them? What are they bringing to your business? How are they helping you build the business? Relief is not a business builder, but clarity is. Clarity builds that freedom.

So that brings me to lesson three. As your team grows, your role as CEO shifts from managing tasks to managing trust. Control feels safe, especially when your name is on the business. But control actually, I would say, kills creativity. So clarity fuels creativity. Clarity is the thing that's going to create the freedom.

When I started leading from clarity instead of control, everything really shifted. Now my team includes Christy, who's my visibility and outreach manager; Macy, my marketing strategist and copywriter; Yvette, my VA, who keeps communication flowing; Bajan, my designer; Stacey, my podcast producer; Brianne, who helps me with my numbers; I've got Sherry and Karen, who are helping me with legal things; I've got Paige and Lauren, who are doing some merch. Who else? And then for my upcoming retreat, I've hired Michelle and Stephanie to be the chef and the helper.

So there are so many people, and each of them owns their lane. My job is to communicate the vision clearly so that they can run with it. Which brings me to lesson four, the visionary plus integrator duo. One of the biggest shifts for me was embracing the visionary and integrator model. I'm the visionary. I'm the big ideas. I'm the creativity. I'm the energy. But every visionary needs an integrator, someone who turns those ideas into execution.

When I accepted that I didn’t need to be both, everything got lighter. I could stay in my zone of genius and trust others to stay in theirs. I'm really about to hire someone else into that integrator role so that they can own that and only own that. So lesson five is that your team is a mirror.

Here’s something I tell my clients all the time. Your team reflects your clarity. If they’re confused, your communication isn’t clear. If they’re disengaged, your vision feels distant. If they’re anxious, your energy is stretched too thin. Leadership is a mirror, and your team will always show you what’s happening at the top. So if they’re confused, disengaged, or anxious, that probably is a reflection of you as CEO.

All right, here’s my practical application. Here’s my hell yes and big thinking homework—the three L questions. Number one, lead. I want you to ask yourself, where am I still leading by control instead of clarity? Number two, let go. What’s one decision or task I can delegate this week completely? Number three, lift. Who on my team needs acknowledgement, not instruction?

So lead—where am I still leading by control instead of clarity? Let go—what’s one decision or task I can delegate this week completely? And lift—who on my team needs acknowledgement, not instruction? Pick one small action in each category because leadership really grows, I would say, in these small moments, not in these big milestones. The big milestones come and go. We celebrate for a few minutes and then we’re off. So the growth happens in moments. It does.

You can find these three things at andrealiebross.com/five. What I know now—here’s what I know now about building a team. Building a team isn’t just about scaling your business. It’s about scaling your belief in others. It’s realizing that your role isn’t do it all. Your role is to create the environment where others can do their best work.

When I finally started seeing everyone from my coaches to my contractors as my team, something clicked. We now have team meetings, and I realized that this isn’t just building a business anymore. This is leading a business. Those meetings, those team meetings, have become one of my favorite parts of my week because that’s where I get to witness the ripple effect of trust in action.

So my friends, if you are listening and realizing it’s time to stop being the bottleneck in your business, this is the kind of transformation we create inside my coaching program. It has a trickle-down effect. You also stop becoming the bottleneck in your house too, I will tell you. So whether it’s a private coaching partnership, an Activator Intensive, or the Ascension Collective, I’m going to help you move from managing everything to leading with clarity and confidence.

The first step that you need to take in figuring out how coaching can help you is to book a clarity call. Book a clarity call. We’re going to get clear and figure out which support best fits where you are right now. You can book that call at andrealiebross.com/consult. Link is in the show notes.

Because here’s the thing—the right team doesn’t just make your business run smoother. It gives you back belief, bandwidth, and joy. So my friends, next week, we are talking about systems and why freedom is actually found in structure. We’re going to dig into how to make automation work with your humanity, not instead of it.

If this episode resonated, I want you to share it with a friend who’s ready to lead differently. I want you to invite them to come into this coaching and podcast world. Go set up your clarity call. Go download andrealiebross.com/five. Go download the Five Leaps in Five Minutes. Then I will see you next week. Remember, right now is your time to think bigger. See you soon.

Thanks for listening to She Thinks Big. I know you’re committed to yourself and your businesses because you listened all the way to the end of this episode. But this isn’t really the end. It could be the beginning of your next power move.

If today’s episode gave you clarity, courage, or just a much-needed breath of fresh air, take that as your sign to take the next steps. So do it. Visit andreaslinks.com to take my Silent Saboteur Quiz and to discover our next steps in getting you to take action and achieve the success and freedom you crave.

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