Weeks 8-16: The Joys of Delegating
Alice met every week with Dr. Yelyuk for two hours—an intensive
schedule. Part of the time, Alice was instructing her in management
techniques, so their meetings took on the air of a classroom. Yelyuk
was an excellent student, inquisitive and appreciative. They also talked
about ways to relieve her perpetual stress.
“OK, Dr. Alice, I did it: I hired a full-time manager for the business.
She’s an expert at selling online with a great resume. And she loves the
Givenchy line. I’ve been realizing from all the things I’ve been learning
that delegating is a just a smart thing to do; you tell the person what you
want to accomplish, and they do it! And they usually do it better than
you could, because they’re experts. So I thought, why not delegate to an
expert online person? She’ll probably do it even better than me. And then
I won’t have to fret about it.”
“I’m happy that you can use what you’ve been learning for your side
business, too.”
Yelyuk smiled. “I’ve been using it for my family!” she said. “‘Lana,
please take the dogs to the park this afternoon. Sophia, please watch over your
little brother while I’m on the phone.’ Pretty soon, I’ll be able to just kick
back on my sofa and eat chocolates!”
Alice and Yelyuk shared a laugh. “The joys of delegating,” Alice said.
One of the most gratifying things about executive coaching is seeing
clients take what they’ve learned and start applying it in their personal
lives. Dr. Yelyuk was using her new skills to reorganize her business and
her family.
Week 17: Success
After an intense four months, Alice and Dr. Yelyuk were nearing the end
of the engagement. Yelyuk now had a grasp of basic management techniques
and had begun to use them. She was scheduling fewer surgeries
and leaving time for breaks and lunch. Her stress level was down, and
her mood was upbeat. In addition, her leisure time had increased, which
allowed her more quality time with her family at home.
Typically, to bookend the initial 360 assessment, Alice interviewed
the executive’s staff post-coaching. In this case, things were a lot better—a
lot more structured, and much more collaborative. Staff members were
doing their own work, not hers, so they were happier and more productive—
plus, they were taking breaks and able to eat their lunch. The flow
had improved greatly, and patients were no longer languishing on the
tables outside the OR.
