Case Studies from some real-life professionals, who have trusted Carob Consult in becoming more aware, better leaders, and achieving the impossible perfect work-life balance.
Work-Life Balance Case Study
Meet Riley!
Riley is a Senior Marketing Manager in the Pharmaceutical industry.
Riley’s Challenges & Lost Balance
Post-Covid and now working from home on most days, Riley was realising that she is working more than before and this is affecting her well-being. Her productivity was declining, and she was struggling to find her motivation.
She wanted to reduce her working hours from 10 to 12 hours a day to a reasonable 8–9 hours a day. Her ultimate goals were a better work-life balance and reduced stress.
Carob Consult Process: Finding Riley’s Work-Life Balance and Increase Productivity
We started slow. When working with senior leaders who are going through burnout, it is unhealthy to tackle the big changes before you work on the basics – rest, recovery, and self-care.
Our first couple of sessions focused on increasing her meaningful breaks through the day and learning to say “Positive No”. There was a lot of discomfort with saying “Positive No”, but Riley started seeing the benefits and this helped her to recover her confidence. She improved her focus and learned to ask for help.
One of the tools that we used helped her to align with her strengths and develop a gratitude practice. Riley got better at influencing certain processes at work and was ready for us to focus more on her leadership development.
Breakthrough & Results: A Healthier & More Balanced Work Rhythm
At the end of our coaching programme, Riley was working fewer hours than before. To her surprise, she had increased her productivity and creativity. She was flexible with her work patterns and had more time for her family.
A big gain for her was that she was comfortable saying “Positive No” and setting boundaries. She was ready for her team to grow!
Riley’s Feedback
We met at the right time when I was on the verge of burnout. Your support was instrumental in my recovery and in getting a different perspective on my professional life. I’m in a better place today! Thank you for walking through this with me!
Letting Go Control
Meet Owen!
Owen is a Senior Quality manager with more than 15 years of experience working for a company in the food industry. He is leading a team of 10 professionals.
Owen’s Challenges & Over Controlling
Owen’s main challenge was that he is very controlling and he started to realise that if this was working in the past now it is no longer a functioning approach. His ultimate goal was to let go of control and improve leadership.
Carob Consult Process: Building Awareness and Adjusting Expectations
After setting the direction of our work we started exploring what are Owens’s main fears and how he can overcome them. He was fearing that the team might fail and then this will be his failure as well. Our work focused on making this fear more rational and manageable. Once we started unwrapping the topic other concerns surfaced – he has very high expectations towards himself and that is constantly focusing on what is not working rather than on what is working.
By building awareness we started a process of transformation. Owen needs to start adjusting his standard and expectations based on reality. A key element was our work on his emotional regulation and self-compassion. He learned to delay his reaction, see the situations from a different perspective and trust his team more. This created more space for him to focus on his work and reduced his stress levels.
Breakthrough & Results: Improved Trust &Leadership Style
Towards the end of our coaching journey, we performed a structured 360 process with Owens’s team and manager to better understand if he made any progress and what areas of development he need to focus on in the future.
We got a clear picture of how the team is seeing his transformation and that they appreciate the efforts he is making to change and grow as a leader. The level of trust was significant and the team was feeling comfortable with his leadership style.
Owens’s Feedback
Working with Dragan helped me to be more comfortable with who I’m as a leader, admit my blind spots and realise that my team is very strong. I become kinder with myself and learned to stop and reflect.
Adopting Leadership Mindset
Meet Nate!
Nate is a manager with an insurance company.
Nate’s Challenges – From Individual Contributor to a Leader
Nate was recently promoted to a managerial position after working as an agent in an insurance company for 8 years.
As a new manager, he found himself in uncharted territory and was expected to navigate unfamiliar waters.
Nate’s goal was to become an effective leader who can manage diverse groups of people in different ways and achieve the set goals.
The Coaching Process: Letting go of Techincal expertise
We started digging in and Nate got the awareness that he is no longer expected to be a technical expert.
His A-HA moment was when he said “They are not paying me to be an expert”. The big question was – “What are they paying me for now?”
A whole new image of him emerged and he gained clarity about what he wanted to be.
This was a groundbreaking moment in our coaching process.
Nate started focusing on the important things: building trust with the team, improving his feedback skills, and strengthening his relationship with his peers.
Breakthrough & Results: Improrved Feedback Skills and Gratitude
By the end of our coaching program, Nate’s confidence in his leadership skills had significantly increased. He was more comfortable giving constructive feedback and challenging his team when necessary. He became more proactive in his interactions with peers, and was more open to sharing his thoughts and ideas.
One thing that Nate got as a ”side effect” of our coaching was increased Self-Compassion and Gratitude. He discovered the power of saying ” Thank you” for things we take for granted.
Nate’s Feedback
I am grateful that I had someone to walk with me when I was trying to find my way in the new role. This was the best thing that could have happened. Our sessions gave me the space to be vulnerable and build the courage to change the way I operate.