If your executive breathes down your neck about a task you’ve done perfectly hundreds of times before, try putting yourself in their shoes before you get frustrated.
They deal with inefficient and incompetent people on a regular basis. Maybe they’ve been let down by a team that didn’t finish graphics in time for their presentation. Or they’ve missed a deadline because the communications team created a video that missed their vision. Your executive knows what it’s like to think, “I should’ve taken care of it myself” and how difficult it is to trust others.
The best way to encourage your executive to be less controlling and more trusting? Recognise why they micromanage. From there, you can lead them out of their controlling ways.
Three reasons executives micromanage
- They feel like they’re losing control
Your executive might micromanage because they feel like they’re losing control of some aspect of their life. It could be unrelated to you – a board member, a department lead or even a rebellious teenager at home. Be aware of the entire context of the situation, especially if your executive is a seasonal micromanager.
- They want to feel productive
Your executive works on initiatives or projects that take months, maybe even years, to complete. Because of this, they can feel unproductive. To combat this, they might want to build a quick slide deck, schedule a meeting or see another quick task to completion. If this is your executive’s motivation, help them break their long-term projects into parts they can measure on a short-term basis. If they see progress along the way, they won’t feel so unproductive.
- They don’t trust others to deliver excellence
Sometimes executives want things done with excellence and don’t trust others to deliver. The problem? Their micromanaging takes away any space for that person to figure it out on their own. They’re not setting them up to succeed. They’re doing everything while the other person watches.
Think about the last time they micromanaged you. Was it necessary or simply a personal preference? Can you gently show them your track record of excellence to ease their fears?
Delegate results, not tasks
Once you understand what’s behind your executive’s desire to micromanage, you can help them learn to delegate results, not just tasks. Your executive should explain the “why” and let you figure out the “what” and “how.”
Here’s an example. Your executive asks you to schedule a meeting with all 11 board members, over a nice dinner, at an off-site location, before the end of the year.
Delegating a task looks like this: Your executive texts each board member to ask what day works. Then they call restaurants to reserve a room. They call you with date options and mention they found a great restaurant. You let them know you already booked a different restaurant. They tell you to get a third option just in case. Later, they text the board again to ask where they’d like to meet. After gathering responses, they ask you to visit each restaurant. The next day, your executive visits a couple themselves, then books a room. When they call you later, you inform them you’ve already visited all three and booked a room elsewhere.
This whole time you’re thinking, “I just wasted my time while you did the work. And you wasted your time even though you have bigger fish to fry.”
Delegating results looks like this: Your executive asks you to schedule a meeting with all 11 board members, over a nice dinner, at an off-site location, before the end of the year. They tell you to let them know if you have any questions or run into any issues. They go back to working on the agenda and other key projects as they await your updates. You book the restaurant and all is well.
Notice the difference? Your executive can stop micromanaging and start leading well by delegating results, no matter what their motivations are. Your job is to help them overcome micromanaging and learn to delegate results.
Lead your executive by giving them specific examples of times they’ve delegated tasks when they could’ve delegated results. Walk them through your examples and show them how delegating results would’ve looked. Ask them if they’d be willing to try it differently for the next project.