Tracy’s coaching client Bill is a senior VP. His climb up the ladder was a result of his talent for doing the work and running a tight ship. In his current position, Bill’s hands-on approach is no longer effective. In a 360 review, feedback indicated he was perceived as a micro-manager. Bill was offered a coach by his company and knew he could benefit from the opportunity.
As Tracy and Bill co-created their coaching relationship, Tracy asked Bill to share a diagram of his team noting direct reports and the people under them. Tracy asked Bill to define the responsibilities of his direct reports and their groups. Tracy then asked Bill to list his responsibilities and estimate how much time each required. With the clear awareness this created, Tracy asked Bill what would happen if he delegated each of his tasks. This gave Bill the insight as to which tasks he was best served to keep and which to start delegating. Then Tracy asked Bill who he could delegate each task to and how that fit with their current work load.
Bill noted that while certain tasks were logically delegated to certain people, he lacked confidence in their ability to handle the work. Tracy asked Bill about the best and worst possible outcomes if he delegated to them. She also asked Bill what would happen if he did not delegate it to them. Bill decided he was going to begin with delegating where he had the most confidence. Bill then said that in his next coaching session he wanted to strategize how he could get the appropriate people up to speed for handling the work.
