Tomi led a 1,500-person business unit. His business and operational acumen were second to none — but his strengths were also his weaknesses. His team felt micromanaged because Tomi always came up with solutions before they could, and then directed them to execute without their input. Meanwhile, Tomi felt overworked and underappreciated for all the time and energy he put in to get to the right solutions.

Through executive coaching, we helped Tomi realize he was spending all his time on the day-to-day responsibilities of his team, which was his comfort zone. As a result, he never got to the more complex and strategic aspects of his work that his management really needed from him. Based on this insight, Tomi let his team sort out operational problems independently, and redirected them without giving them the answers when needed. He discovered they often came up with reasonable solutions, and he was able to focus more on the high-level relationships and complicated challenges that really deserved his attention.