Context

This case came through a referral. This client´s manager, who had been in a coaching programme with me for almost a year, reached out and said, “I have a colleague who just took over production as a director. I believe coaching would really help her.”

She had just stepped into a new environment. Previously, she had managed production in a local company. Now she was promoted to Production Director in a multinational, reporting for the first time to an international headquarters. The expectations, the speed, and the way of working were entirely different.

When we met, she agreed immediately. As she said herself: “That’s me — I need to be involved in everything, I need to be informed, I need to be included.” Highly dedicated, she was already feeling the weight of the role, with little clarity about priorities, her real responsibilities, and what she should delegate.

The business context

Her manager’s perception was sharp. He had seen signs that she was:

• Jumping into every detail.
• Struggling to prioritise effectively.
• Needing to focus more on organisation and people management.

At the same time, the production area was unstable. Turnover was high, with people leaving and joining, and multiple departments — quality, moulding, welding — required stronger collaboration and clearer leadership.

This combination of a new international structure, high staff rotation, and a leader who defaulted to “I need to do it all myself” was exactly what made coaching not just useful, but urgent.

Problem identified

As always, the coaching process began with profiling using Hogan and Saville assessments. For me, it is essential. It allows us to understand a leader’s personality in depth, how they fit into their role, and how they are perceived in the professional context. That way, we can focus the coaching from the very beginning and save valuable time for what matters most: integrating the learnings into the role and into the business.

In her case, the profile was clear:

• She was a perfectionist, with a strong need to be informed at every step to feel things were under control.
• She was highly structured, detail-oriented, and focused on process.
• She showed a tendency to control rather than manage — to want involvement in each part of the work, rather than delegating.
• Delegation emerged as her biggest challenge.

I often describe the difference like this:

• Managing is delegating and recognising whose role it is, letting them propose how it should be done, and then checking results at the end.
• Controlling is being present in every step, requiring being informed, changing or commenting on results yourself.

And this was the key for her to see: control kills the strategic part. Management opens the space and time for a leader to focus on strategic things.

Control kills the strategic part. Management opens the space and time for a leader to focus on strategic things.

Coaching goals

We set her coaching goals around three priorities:

• Delegation. To let go of her instinct to be involved in everything and start trusting her department managers. As her profile showed, “delegation was at that time her biggest challenge”.
• Collaboration. To strengthen collaboration across departments, so that each manager understands how their work impacts the others. The aim was, in her own words, “to ignite the collaboration among the departments for them to understand how the work of each department impacts the other.”
• Positioning. To establish herself with the headquarters abroad, moving from reactive, emotional reporting to structured, fact-based communication with clear proposals. As we discussed, preparation was not about how I feel but about what the situation is, what the data says, and what I propose.

Coaching process

The way we worked was very concrete. “I was asking her: Where would you start first? What is the challenge? What needs to be done first? Why is this important? Who else needs to be involved?”. Step by step, using this logical approach, she learned to slow down her pace and bring more structure.

With her team, she became more attentive to the level of development of her managers. Some were excellent technical experts but would never be leaders. Others had leadership potential. She reorganised, hiring where needed and moving people into roles that truly fit their strengths. “She learned that she is not alone. That HR is there, too. It’s not only about production; there are other functions in the organisation.”

With headquarters, the challenge was not the content and proposals — she knew. The challenge was how she communicated it. In the beginning, she would go into meetings with everything she felt and saw that day. It came across as emotional, reactive. We worked on preparation, on presenting facts and data, and on formulating clear proposals.

Her proposals were always excellent. The difference was in how she structured and delivered them.

Change observed

The impact was significant:

• Organisation. She stabilised her departments, reduced turnover, and built a structure where the right people were in the right roles and motivated to stay.
• Leadership. She delegated more, stepped back from control, and created space to focus on strategy.
• Collaboration. She built stronger relationships with HR and other functions, learning to listen more than to push.
• Communication. She presented to headquarters with clarity and credibility. Her structured proposals were well received and recognised across the group.
• Career. Her improvements became visible beyond her site. Practices from her plant were shared in other locations, and she was soon invited into conversations about taking on a COO role.

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Stepping into a new role always tests how well we balance control and management, how clearly we communicate upwards, and how much trust we place in our teams.

Where do you recognise yourself in this story?

• Do you find yourself pulled into every detail rather than freeing time for strategy?
• Do your communications with headquarters or the board convey your full authority and credibility?
• Are you confident that your team members are in the right roles, motivated, and ready to grow with you?

If these questions resonate, a consultation call can be the next step. It is a confidential space to reflect, explore your context, and see what change could look like for you.

To your success,
Simona

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I'm the founder of BOC Institute, one of the renowned consulting agencies for international companies operating in Slovenia and South-East Europe.

I coach CEOs and top managers 1:1 worldwide. I'm here to save you time, energy, and money through your objectives, decision-making, and leadership development. I understand we can change the world one coaching session at a time!

Do you feel like having a call? You can reach out here and let me guide you from there.

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Simona Špilak www.simonaspilak.com