A Micromanager is a person you pay for top talent to walk away…
When you have talented people, they normally require a certain amount of freedom to move. Yes they will make mistakes, and yes they may go over budget, but that’s the price you pay for the magic to happen.
If the situation gets out of hand then you get the opposite effect: a budget black hole which swallows the entire company into bankrupt universe of the unknown.
So where is the balance?
IT’S IN THE LEADER.
A good leader needs to create a team where:
- The visionary can experiment and inspire
- The manager can keep the group tight without killing the magic
- The rest of the team can maintain their emotional drive while respecting budget and timelines.
It’s far too much of a short summary, the reality is different, but at least you get a sense of how it should be.
What to do on a daily basis then?
We are all affected by our internal and external environment.
Internal is how we feel (mentally and physically).
External the outside (the world we live in).
The daily run for a leader is to assess the team and adjust the course.
Practically this means observing each team member to get a sense of their emotional state.
For instance… if one day the manager looks tense, it’s best to let him/her focus on something else and give more space to the visionary players.
Equally if the visionary players seem too loose, it’s time to bring the manager into action and remind everybody of the daily/weekly goals.
You need to maintain a constant balance. The Yin and Yang.
It’s time consuming, but it works far better than micromanaging everybody or leaving things to chance.
If things worked in a certain way yesterday, you cannot expect for the same to happen today.
Ensure your top talent has space to move and doesn’t constantly feel like someone is breathing on their neck.
Equally beware of the following negative character types:
The mask:
People who seem great on the surface but aren’t actually very good at delivering. Great talkers, poor achievers.
The spider:
People who lie about their work or use other team members unfairly for their own personal agenda (narcissists). Great manipulators, toxic for everybody.
The introvert:
Amazing achievers who are simply bad at communication. Don’t let them go. They’re often at the back of the room but have incredible technical abilities.
KEEP GOOD AND CLEAR COMMUNICATION
Itallows everyone to feel welcomed and appreciated. People won’t be afraid to voice their concerns, and most issues will be solved before they escalate.
GOOD STORY?
Here is an interesting article about Apple, and how their Chief Design Officer Jony Ive (a visionary) lost power over Tim Cooks’ thirst for money: https://magazine.wfu.edu/2022/05/22/after-steve-how-apple-lost-its-soul/