What’s the difference between control and micro-managing?  Not much. Great leaders understand that to get the best from those that work for them they need to empower them, not control or micro-manage them.

I was hired by a company to work with one of its key executives.  She had been with the organization for about three years and was truly hell on wheels.  When people on her team went to lunch she would literally yell at them if they came back late.  One time I was at their office and of her of staff had worked through lunch to complete something she asked for.  At 2:30 he left to take a late lunch, which was to go to the gym. When he returned, in front of the rest of the team she told him leaving late was not acceptable, going to the gym wasn’t acceptable because he took more than an hour and berated him up and down.  

While this behavior is never acceptable, he was a $100K senior professional!  She went beyond micromanaging and controlling, which I don’t even know what to label this behavior.

Empowering people includes assuming they are intelligent enough to make good decisions and will.  That should they have a question they will ask and will take responsibility for and be accountable for the end result.  This doesn’t guarantee that results will be perfect, but it does mean they take ownership.  

Ok, the example above is extreme, and I promise you it happens more often than you realize.  But what’s the big deal with micromanaging? Doesn’t it prevent mistakes and ensure the results you want?  Ah, no to both!

Micromanaging and it’s cousin controlling is bad for morale, decreases productivity, reduces creativity and innovation, eliminates the need for people to take accountability and frustrates the dickens out of people.  While you may believe it drives superior performance, in reality, it allows people to shirk responsibility for performance. If they do it your way and it doesn’t work out they simply shrug their shoulders and say “it’s not my fault, I did what you asked”.  

How does this benefit anyone?  They don’t learn, they don’t have to be accountable and you never see what they are actually capable of.  AND what if they have a better idea than you?  

Consider the other alternative of empowering people.  Yes, you have to be comfortable letting them make mistakes because they will, and hopefully they learn from these mistakes. They buy-in and thus take greater ownership and accountability.  They may still be frustrated but they will be with themselves if they aren’t able to handle the task or handle it well, so they won’t be looking to blame someone else (you the leader). You’ll see what they can and can’t do, how they noodle through problems and how they handle when they don’t know something.  What could be better when you have a promotional opportunity or need a critical project handled than to already know the capabilities of your team?

Great leaders understand that empowering people comes with risk and the potential upside far outway the risks.  They have learned how to mitigate the risk while allowing others to grow and develop and stretch their wings.