Most new managers and leaders step into their roles with the best intentions. However, some may unknowingly start to micromanage their teams, which can lead to some big problems if it’s not recognized and addressed.
Micromanagement can happen through the misplaced instincts and long-term habits of leaders and managers who may not even be aware of their behavior. Here, 16 members of Forbes Coaches Council discuss some effective ways for new leaders to avoid it.
Members of Forbes Coaches Council share ways for new leaders to avoid micromanaging their teams.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Share Your Inspiring Vision
New managers often come in with a “fix it” mentality. This eager approach can create team resistance, followed by the urge to micromanage their results. Instead of rolling up your sleeves, roll out your vision for success. Share your inspiring vision so teams feel valued, safe, unified and fulfilled. Ask them for step-by-step ideas to achieve your common goals, and empower them to take ownership. - Tanya Chernova, Tanya Chernova Global Corp.
2. Define Your Relationships
Leaders should start by defining the type of relationship they want to have with their teams and where they should personally focus to have the biggest business impact. Keeping both in mind will clarify the role the leader should play and what it would look like in action. Investing in learning more about each team member’s breadth of experience will also help the leader trust and let go faster. - Neena Newberry, Newberry Solutions
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3. Delegate The Right Tasks
Leaders who micromanage are perceived as erratic, obsessive and highly unproductive. Here are a few ways new leaders can stop using old tricks. First, learn to delegate the right tasks to the right people. Second, make your expectations clear from the start. Third, ask your employees how they would like to be managed. Finally, build a trust bonus by talking to your team about how you’d like to be kept apprised of their progress. - Joshua Miller, JoshHMiller.com
4. Think ‘Progress’ Over ‘Perfection’
Micromanaging is a common leadership derailer and is often based on a perfectionist personality trait. Perfectionism not only holds you back from focusing on strategic initiatives as a new manager, but it will hold your team back from the learning and growth that empowerment enables. Consider the mantra “progress over perfection”—if you wait until something is perfect, it may be obsolete. - Beth Egan, Skillsoft
5. Play To The Team’s Strengths
The goal of being a good manager is to become a leader. When leading a team, if you can find your team’s strengths and play to those strengths, then your team can be self-sufficient. Communication is important, and doing regular check-ins will help minimize confusion and provide clarity on what the team needs to accomplish. - Lauren Najar, Lauren Najar Coaching LLC
6. Align Yourself With Your Values
One of the best ways to step into leadership and managing others is to tune into your values. Values help you zoom out, see the big picture and remember what’s important—not just for you and your actions but also for how you want to lead and inspire others on your team. When you show up at work aligned with your values, you inspire others to do the same. And great work will flow from there. - Ashley Jablow, Wayfinders Collective
7. Build Trust Through Diligence
The trust gap needs to be closed. Confidence in another person’s capacity closes the trust gap. This confidence is built upon the trifecta of diligence, integrity and accountability. The diligence of the leader is needed to understand the team’s strengths and state the rules of engagement, which include integrity and accountability. - Najuma Abiela, SOULCHI
8. Check Yourself Before Others
Micromanaging comes from a place of deep insecurity and fear. It’s loudly saying, “I need everyone to know I am in control (because I do not trust my ability to lead).” When you find yourself checking read receipts and tracking how many times someone gets up from their desk, take a beat. Ask yourself what this resource’s performance says about you. - Nicole Brant-Zawadzki, BZ Coaching
9. Create A Clear Outcome
As you think about delegating tasks or a project, make sure you are clear on what the objectives are. What will successful completion look like? Is there an example of this being done before? Provide examples, tools and resources where you can. This will prevent you from micromanaging because you have equipped your subordinates with the information they need. - Oluwashogo Oyeniyi, Dr Shogo Consulting
10. Utilize Intentional Inspiration
New managers should utilize intentional inspiration to engage their teams to achieve peak performance. An effective strategy for recording this is to adopt empathy-based delegation (EbD). This means that, without judgment or pressure, the new manager can understand the strengths and areas of improvement of each direct report, task them and allow direct reports to use their initiative to deliver excellence. - Abiola Salami, CHAMP
11. Study Situational Leadership
Meet with your teams to better understand their experience, developmental areas and where they have done the work before. Study situational leadership to understand how much direction, coaching or delegation individuals need, and tailor your leadership style accordingly. Remember that when you become a new leader, you go from doing the work to managing the work, which is a whole new skill set. - Rachel Guberman, Accelerate Talent Management
12. Seek Success From Inside Out
For new managers or senior leaders to avoid micromanagement, it is crucial to seek improvement and success from the inside out. It starts with embracing your truth and understanding your fears and concerns around delegation. In addition, explore your relationship with power and personal branding. Accept that you are a success in progress. However, operating in the moment is the key to success. - Eugene Frazier, EF Choice & Associates, LLC
13. ‘Ride Shotgun’ With Your Staff
Spend a day on the front lines with your team members in their jobs. Don’t tell them what to do—just help them do it. Be their assistant. Your future suggestions on how things can be improved will be more relevant and more likely to be received as “helping” versus “micromanaging” because you will have walked a mile in their shoes and carried their bags for a day. - Glenn Grant, Selfassembled Ventures
14. Set A Supportive Tone With Staff
People feel micromanaged when their managers tell them not just what to do, but how to do it. Managers and leaders can instead set a supportive tone while at the same time challenging their teams by asking them how they would like to achieve an objective. The manager sets the bar; the team figures out how to clear it, with an invitation to ask for the guidance they may need. It’s a win-win. - Joelle Jay, LRI
15. Establish Standards For The Team
The best way to avoid micromanaging is by having systems and processes in place to empower your teams to do their required work. This also provides checks and balances, as it establishes the standards by which your teams should be performing. Also, leaders need to keep in mind they are in their position to serve unique roles that only they can execute, which allows them to stay focused. - Marc Zalmanoff, Marc Zalmanoff LLC
16. Get Feedback From The Team
Don’t beat around the bush. It’s okay to ask your team the question, “Do I micromanage too much?” Or, if that question has too much of a negative connotation, consider asking, “Do I provide enough support? Am I providing the right types of support?” As a new manager, your team may hesitate to be honest, but as you actively build trust with them, you might be surprised at what you learn. - Christopher Mullen, UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group)
