Most people picture a micromanager as a tyrant who inspects every piece of work, a leader with a control problem. Plenty of very good leaders micromanage too: people who understand the situation, understand themselves, and have high EQ.
In this solo episode of In The Arena, Shaun Dyke looks at why leaders micromanage and what it does to the people around them.
Start with a better definition. Micromanaging begins when something about the work becomes so important to you that you're unwilling to let someone else own the outcome.
Stepping in can be completely rational, and it often wins in the short term. But the environment a leader creates is one of the biggest reasons people want to accomplish things and own the result. When you keep taking the work back, the people doing it stop feeling like they can accomplish anything or own the outcome. It can also become self-fulfilling. You doubt their ability, you step in, they never get the reps, and you were right to step in.
That's why telling yourself to let go rarely works. People see the behavior. What drives it is a motive, and until you know which one, you're treating a symptom. It's also why the most useful question to ask your team isn't "Do I micromanage?" Almost everyone will say no.
What you'll learn:
• Why very good leaders, with high EQ, still micromanage
• Micromanaging defined: the work matters so much to you that you won't let anyone else own the outcome
• When stepping in is the rational call, and why it only wins in the short term
• How to keep very high standards without constantly taking the work back
• What micromanaging does to the environment your team works in
• Hero culture, and the dopamine hit of saving the day
• Achievement, affiliation and power: three motives that can sit behind it
• A three-minute check you can run while you listen
• What to ask your team instead of "Do I micromanage?"
• What are you protecting? The quality of the work, your identity as an expert, a sense of control
• Why a lack of goal and role clarity makes leaders over-control
If you've ever handed something off and then taken it back, you'll come away knowing what to look for in yourself and what to ask your team.
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Micromanagement without the caricature
02:15 What micromanagement actually is
05:20 What it does to your team
07:22 The three motives behind it
13:19 So what do you do about it?
15:27 Shaun's say-do gap, and what you're protecting
17:52 The leader who knows everything
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In The Arena is a podcast about what it really means to live and lead well: the patterns that run us, the scripts we inherit, and the beliefs we reinforce without realizing it. Hosted by Shaun Dyke of DoorTwo.
