Amanda Turner: Scaling from 5 to 50, The President's Guide to Letting Go

In this episode

In this episode of Coordinates Unknown, we sit down with Amanda Turner, the President of RedTag, to discuss the “wild” transition of scaling a digital agency from a small team of three to a powerhouse of over 50 employees. Amanda shares how her background in the hospitality industry became her secret weapon in building a culture rooted in empathy, service, and client experience.

Amanda opens up about the single hardest part of leadership: moving from being “the doer” who wears every hat to becoming the leader who must “let go” to allow others to lead. We also dive into the RedTag “Secret Sauce,” a unique hiring philosophy that prioritizes culture fit over technical skill sets to ensure the team wins as one.

In this episode, we explore:

• The Social Pioneer: How Amanda helped build RedTag’s social marketing arm before social media experts even existed.
• The “Letting Go” Hurdle: Why delegation is a strength, not a sign of doing less work.
• The Culture Cheerleader: A look inside the hiring process and why finding people who “own it” is half the battle.
• EOS & Order: How implementing an Organizational Operating System provided role clarity during rapid growth.
• Not Order Takers: Why RedTag seeks bold partners rather than clients who just want to “check a box.”

The “Coordinates” (Timestamps)

• 00:01:51 · Dreamers & Doctors: Why traditional childhood dreams didn’t include “Digital Ad President”.
• 00:02:44 · The Origin Story: How Russ and Kevin recruited Amanda to build the social marketing side of RedTag.
• 00:06:05 · Hospitality Mindset: Applying empathy and service from hotels to client relationships.
• 00:08:48 · The Secret Sauce: How RedTag hires for culture first using the “Leslie Hyatt” method.
• 00:11:51 · The Creative Explosion: Hiring Charlie Ost and the journey to winning an Emmy.
• 00:15:30 · The Hardest Part of Leadership: Learning how to truly “let go” and delegate.
• 00:21:38 · EOS & Structure: Transitioning from a nimble team of five to a powerhouse of fifty.
• 00:29:34 · Not Order Takers: Why RedTag turns away clients who just want to “check a box”.
• 00:30:58 · Core Values: Deep diving into Discover Boldly, Own It, Lead with Purpose, and Win as One.
• 00:34:31 · President/CEO Access: Why you can still call the leaders of RedTag directly.