What if micromanagement is good?
The word has a terrible reputation, and most leaders will do anything to avoid being accused of it. But when someone is brand new to the role, or an experienced person is picking up a task for the first time, a prescriptive step-by-step approach is exactly what is required. I refer to this as a tell-directed approach, and in that situation, it is good leadership.
The problem is when a manager keeps using that approach after someone has learned how to do the work.
The person has demonstrated they can do it, but their manager is still telling them how. Still checking every detail. Still expecting them to run everything past them.
At that point, what is the manager actually communicating? That they don’t trust someone to do something they have already shown they can do.
But stepping back too soon creates problems, too. Giving someone a task they don’t know how to do, with very little direction, isn’t empowering them. It leaves them to figure it out and hope for the best.
Managers need to know where direction is needed and where it is getting in the way.
If your managers are struggling to know when to direct and when to step back, send me a message. Helping leaders make that call with intention is a big part of the leadership development work I do with organizations.
