#121 Changing Community Leadership From You
Today I’m somewhere in the Rocky Mountains for a bachelorette party for my dear friend Danielle, who also happens to be building Affinity Collective behind the scenes with me and Justin.
She works on almost all of our client accounts and is an amazing product strategist, community builder, and teacher.
During one of our meetings this week we were working on a strategy to gather feedback for a client who is transitioning out of leading all of their community calls... and it's going super well.
So today we're talking about stepping out of doing *everything* in your community yourself... especially leading calls.
Let’s get into it –
One of the hardest changes you can make as a community builder is stepping out of the hot seat. For a long time, you may have been the face of every call, every workshop, every coaching session. Members joined to learn directly from you.
And that can work ... until it stops you from growing.
I’ve been on both sides of this. When I worked at Bossbabe, I took over running our monthly goal-setting calls. In the beginning, members weren’t thrilled. They had signed up expecting Danielle or Natalie. We hadn’t told them about the change in advance, so it felt like a surprise swap. Over time, once they got to know me, they were happy — but it took work to rebuild trust.
I’ve seen the opposite play out, too. One client, Amie Tollesfrud (aka lazymillionaire), runs a membership called The Lazy Social Club. We brought in my friend Jess Jones, a social media strategist and coach, to lead all her coaching calls. From the start, Jess was featured in the sales page, the emails, and the marketing. Amy talked about Jess’s expertise and why she trusted her. Members joined knowing Jess was their coach and they rave about her.
The difference between these two examples is that for Lazy Social Club we set clear expectations in the marketing funnel. When you make leadership changes without preparing people, it feels like a bait and switch. But when you lead with transparency, you set up your team and your members for success.
That’s why in the client program we manage now, we’re taking a more intentional approach. This program is built around a bestselling author’s methodology. All the on‑demand education is taught by the co-founders.
But in the live experience, members now work with a rotating team of coaches who facilitate weekly workshops and masterminds. The co-founders come in for occasional special events, but the week‑to‑week leadership happens through this coach team.
We made this change because it’s the only way to scale the program the way we want to – with many more cohorts per year (without burning out our co-founder).
It also creates more variety and gives members access to multiple perspectives and styles. But the key is how we set expectations. In the sales process, the marketing, and the sales calls, we’re clear that live workshops are led by the coach team — and we highlight their credentials, experience, and wins.
So far it's working! Feedback scores for live calls are up 3–13% compared to the last cohort, even though the founder isn’t leading them. Attendance is steady, retention is strong, and members are still getting the value they joined for.
Here’s how I guide clients through this shift:
Be clear before they join – Update sales pages, email funnels, and marketing to name and highlight the new leaders.
Collect feedback in real time – Ask for call ratings and comments after every live session.
Compare over time – Track whether call ratings, attendance, or retention change after you shift facilitation.
Train and support your new leaders – Give feedback on both content and delivery so the quality stays high.
Your Next Steps
If you’re ready to step back from leading every part of your community, start with one change:
Pick one recurring call or event.
Assign it to a trusted coach, ambassador, or community member.
Announce the change in advance in your marketing and community.
Collect feedback after each session.
Scaling your community often means letting go of the reins. Done with care, clarity, and the right people, your members may end up loving the experience even more.
Listen To Build With Becky
Go deeper with this week's podcast episode, Changing Community Leadership From You (10 mins)
We’ll cover:
Why members often resist leadership changes (and how to address it)
How to set expectations in your sales process and marketing
Metrics to track during the transition to ensure quality stays high
Training, feedback, and support your new leaders need to succeed
How this shift can unlock scale without burning you out
If scaling your community is the goal, letting go of the reins is a must. Here’s how to do it without losing the magic.
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