I Used to Think I Was Good at Delegating
I’d sit down with my team and unload every idea in my head.
- “Let’s do this.”
- “Oh, and we need to change that.”
- “Actually, what about this?”
Two hours later, I’d walked away feeling productive.
My team? They were probably wondering which of the 47 things I’d just mentioned they were actually supposed to do.
Then one day, someone reminded me:
“It was at the beginning of this call, Francesca. We’ve been talking for two hours.”
That was a wake-up call.
I realised I wasn’t delegating clearly.
I was creating chaos and expecting my team to somehow turn it into a plan.
It taught me one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned about delegation:
You can’t expect people to read your mind.
And if you want to trust your offshore support, you need to give them the clarity, capability and room to prove themselves.
Why Business Owners Struggle to Trust Offshore Support
If you’ve ever hired an offshore assistant and found yourself checking everything they do, you’re not alone.
You might tell yourself:
- “I’m protecting the quality.”
- “It’s faster if I check it.”
- “They don’t quite understand how I want it done.”
- “What if they make a mistake?”
- “I can’t afford to fix their mistakes.”
But here’s the uncomfortable question:
Are you struggling to trust them, or have you actually given them enough opportunity to earn that trust?
Because those are two very different problems.
Trust Isn’t Blind Faith
Trust doesn’t mean handing someone a task and disappearing.
It comes from seeing someone consistently deliver.
That starts with giving them:
- Clear responsibilities
- The right information
- Proper training
- An understanding of the outcome
- Boundaries around what they can decide
- Feedback when something needs improving
Without those things, you’re asking someone to guess.
And guessing isn’t delegation.
It’s a recipe for mistakes.
Give People Enough Information to Use Their Judgement
One of the biggest mistakes I see is giving instructions without explaining the bigger picture.
Don’t just say:
“Update the spreadsheet.”
- Explain what the spreadsheet is for.
- What information should be checked?
- Why does accuracy matter?
- What should they do if something doesn’t look right?
- What decisions can they make themselves?
That additional information gives people something incredibly valuable:
context.
And context allows them to use judgement instead of waiting for you to tell them every next step.
Don’t Expect Trust on Day One
Someone starting with your business doesn’t know what you know.
- They don’t know your clients.
- They don’t know your systems.
- They don’t know your preferences.
- They don’t know the 47 unwritten rules that apparently exist only inside your head.
So when they ask questions during their first few weeks, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re incapable.
It means they’re learning.
That’s why I like to think about responsibility in stages.
First 30 Days: Learn
- They learn your systems, processes, expectations and priorities.
- They ask questions.
- They complete tasks with support.
Days 31 to 60: Own
- They start taking responsibility for recurring tasks.
- They need less direction.
- Their questions become more specific.
Days 61 to 90: Improve
- Now you’re looking for ownership.
- They’re spotting problems.
- Suggesting improvements.
- Bringing solutions.
- That’s when you’re no longer simply hoping they can do the work.
They’re showing you they can.
Fiona’s Story: When Trust Turns Into Freedom
I recently spoke with Fiona Cullen, founder of Performastery, about her experience with offshore support.
Fiona’s expertise is leadership development.
She loves facilitating programmes, developing leaders and creating new ideas.
But she was also responsible for the technical execution behind the business.
- Website work.
- Email automations.
- Client portals.
- Forms.
- Marketing systems.
When Fiona was busy delivering programmes, some of those other priorities could slow down.
She didn’t need another version of herself.
She needed someone she could trust to take ownership of the execution while she focused on the work that required her expertise.
The Moment Fiona Knew She Could Let Go
After a couple of false starts, Fiona found Carmela.
Carmela began supporting the technical and operational side of the business.
One example really stood out.
Fiona needed a particular client contract form.
She explained what she wanted and handed it over.
Carmela created a custom branded form using HTML.
Fiona’s reaction?
“I just wanted a form. This is stunning.”
The important part wasn’t the form.
It was what happened before it.
Fiona trusted Carmela enough to explain the outcome she wanted without controlling every step of how it was created.
Carmela then had the capability and space to deliver.
That’s what trust looks like in practice.
Fiona Didn’t Need to Work Less
- Fiona was still working.
- Still facilitating.
- Still creating.
- Still leading.
The difference was that she wasn’t personally responsible for every piece of execution.
She could stay in her genius zone while Carmela moved other parts of the business forward.
That’s what good offshore support should create.
Not simply fewer tasks.
More valuable time.
Your Offshore Assistant Isn’t a Clone of You
There’s another lesson here that business owners sometimes learn the hard way.
Your offshore assistant isn’t a magical clone of you.
- They’re a person.
- They need onboarding.
- They need training.
- They need context.
- They need feedback.
- They need time to understand your business.
- They also have a finite number of hours.
If you’ve hired someone for 20 hours a week, you can’t give them 40 hours of work and then wonder why everything isn’t finished.
That’s not necessarily a performance problem.
It’s a capacity problem.
The Question You Should Really Be Asking
Before asking:
“Can I trust my offshore assistant?”
Ask:
“Have I built the conditions in which trust can grow?”
Because trust grows when people have:
- Clarity
- Capability
- Consistent expectations
- Communication
- Accountability
- Space to take ownership
You don’t build trust by hoping someone proves themselves.
You build trust by giving them the opportunity to prove themselves.
Are You Still the Bottleneck?
If you’re constantly checking, correcting and approving your offshore team’s work, stop and look at the bigger picture.
Ask yourself:
- Have I clearly defined what they own?
- Have I given them enough information to make good decisions?
- Have I allowed enough time for them to learn?
- Am I reviewing outcomes or controlling every step?
- Have I given them room to show me what they can do?
Because sometimes the person you think you can’t trust simply hasn’t been given enough opportunity to earn it.
Final Thought
I’m still a recovering control freak.
The difference is that now I understand that trust doesn’t mean letting go and hoping for the best.
It means building a relationship where the other person has the clarity, capability and confidence to take ownership.
When trust grows, your team steps up.
When your team steps up, you can finally step back.
And that’s when offshore support stops creating more work for you and starts creating freedom.
Want to Hear Fiona’s Full Story?
Fiona shares much more about finding the right support, navigating the early stages and learning how to let someone else take ownership of the execution.
Watch my full interview with Fiona here:
And if you’re still checking everything your offshore team does, perhaps the question isn’t simply whether you can trust them.
Perhaps it’s whether you’ve given them the conditions to earn it.