Every manager knows they’re not supposed to micromanage. So what makes the behavior so common?
Is it a knowledge problem? Or an emotional one?
I think it’s both — that’s what makes it so challenging to change.
Early on as a manager, I tended to believe:
I have to make sure it’s done right, and the only way is to do it myself.
This led me to get into the details of everything. I jumped from task to task, trying to do it all. I became a bottleneck. My team didn’t develop. They got frustrated. And so did I.
The knowledge shift came when I learned: yes, I need to make sure it’s right, but there are other ways: setting clear expectations, holding others accountable, and helping my team to think instead of just follow instructions.
But the biggest shift was emotional, not intellectual.
It was going from “I have to make sure…” to “I want to make sure…”
It was shifting my thinking from fear-based (have to) to purpose-based (want to).
Instead of micromanaging out of fear that something would go wrong, I started to focus on what I wanted to achieve, and gradually built the confidence that I could deal with it if something went wrong.
The result? My team accomplished more, I felt less frazzled, and everybody enjoyed the process more.
You might have thought patterns like mine. Or maybe yours sound like:
- “I need to be hands-on — this is how I was trained”
- “I don’t have time for my team to figure it out themselves”
- “I’m afraid they can’t do it alone”
- “I want to be seen as helpful…if I delegate it, what’s my value?”
These seem logical. But more than likely, there’s an emotional attachment that keeps you from seeing other options.
To create lasting change, it’s essential to address both the intellectual pattern and the emotional hook that keeps it in place.
What about you? Is there a recurring thought that lands you in a problematic mindset? And is there a fear you’ve latched onto, that keeps you coming back?
