Leadership is serious business, and with it comes the responsibility of achieving real results. You’ve got people counting on you. I think that pressure is something most leaders knowingly signed up for and embrace. However, this same pressure causes a temptation for many leaders to fall into detrimental practices like micromanagement.
Of course, we all say we hate micromanagement. No one wants to be known as a micromanager. But, if we’re honest, micromanagement is so tempting because it feels responsible. It reduces risk and prevents obvious mistakes. Yet the long-term cost is significant. When everything requires the leader’s oversight, people lose the opportunity to test their own ideas, develop their own judgment, and grow into their full potential. What looks like control from the leader’s perspective often feels like confinement for others.
So, how do you overcome the temptation to micromanage? The remedy is threefold: flexibility, humanity, and humor.
First, we must make space for flexibility. This is different from the idea of personal flexibility. Flexibility in leadership means allowing people to experiment and to learn from missteps. Because progress rarely follows a straight line, teams must be given opportunities to try things that do not work to find what does. A culture that makes space for odd ideas, strange approaches, or even moments of failure is one that can adapt and endure challenges.
I’ve seen far too many talented leaders become frustrated by trying to control everything. A wiser approach is to create flexibility where people can explore and discover what they are truly capable of. You need to have enough structure to keep the mission clear, but also allow enough freedom to let people find their way.
When Satya Nadella became CEO of Microsoft, he shifted the culture away from rigid hierarchies and a control mentality. By allowing teams to experiment with cloud services, they transformed the company’s entire business model and regained their position as an industry leader.
The next factor in overcoming micromanagement is leaning into the humanity of your work.
Specifically, leaders must bring a sense of empathy and humility to their work. Your organization is made up of people, not machines. Every person has quirks, passions, and hidden gifts. Some of those gifts may not look “strategic” at first, but when nurtured, they often become the difference-makers.
When Alan Mullaly took over as CEO of Ford in 2006 and then turned around the struggling automaker, it was in large part due to his humble, empathetic approach. While other auto-industry executives practiced aggressive micromanagement, he encouraged a team approach where failures could be shared as openly as successes. The result was a leadership model that helped Ford survive the Great Recession without taking any government bailouts.
Finally, there is value in humor when it comes to overcoming micromanagement.
Many studies have shown the value of humor in the workplace. Humor softens conflict, diffuses tension, and strengthens bonds. It has been shown to increase creativity and job satisfaction. Workplaces with high creativity, strong job satisfaction, and low conflict allow leaders to lead without feeling the pressure to have to micromanage. You don’t need to become a stand-up comedian (and you certainly shouldn’t take any cues from Michael Scott), but it is worth a reminder that work, even when serious, does not always have to be somber.
At Southwest Airlines, humor has long been part of the leadership playbook. Flight attendants crack jokes during safety briefings, and leaders model that culture of levity from the top. The result is a workforce that feels empowered. This culture has consistently helped Southwest rank high in employee satisfaction and customer loyalty.
As much as we might desire it, it is impossible to script every outcome in leadership. There will be moments that feel odd, unexpected, or even a little messy. The temptation is to grasp the reins tighter and increase control through micromanagement. But success requires flexibility, humanity, and humor. Flexibility allows the team to experiment and create wins you didn’t know were there. Humanity reminds them that their quirks and unique perspectives are not liabilities but assets. Humor softens the process, keeping pressure in check and relationships intact. Together, these qualities create an environment where people can bring their whole selves to the work, try new things without fear, and discover gifts that no leader could have scripted in advance.
#leadershipdevelopment
#humility
#skilldevelopment