How to Stop Being Such a Micromanager

Welcome back to my LinkedIn newsletter where I share tips, ideas, and strategies to help you become more effective in business and life.

If we haven't been acquainted yet, I’m a professor of organizational and cross-cultural psychology, the author of Global Dexterity and Reach, and an HBR contributor and consultant. I also work closely with coaches, trainers, consultants and teachers to certify them in my Global Dexterity Method.

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I hope you enjoy today's newsletter about a topic many of use struggle with (but are afraid to admit).

You've skyrocketed up your organization and are now running a team, or perhaps even an entire organization. But you struggle delegating to your team and letting them accomplish their work.

Here are 3 quick tips for helping you kick your micromanaging habit.

1. Recognize why micromanaging is a dysfunctional strategy. Micromanaging shows you mistrust your team. It takes away time from what you should be doing as a leader, which is thinking big picture, setting the strategy and direction, equipping your team with the information and access they need to execute on this vision... and then getting out of the way.

2. Rethink your own role. Recognize that what got you to the executive level (being a rock star individual performer) isn't what's going to make you successful. Your job now, in addition to developing vision and strategy, is to develop people. Create an environment where you give your people opportunities to develop and use their skills; reward them for effort; create a culture where people aren't afraid to ask for advice and feedback. Build a team people want to join and be a part of, and then the micromanaging habit will be much easier to kick.

3. Make sure you're hiring the right people in the first place.  It's hard to let go if you have legitimate concerns about the ability of your people to do the job! So, hire thoughtfully, and if you don't have the leeway to hire your own team— work on establishing that.