Issue: Overcoming Micromanagement

"Vern, we're promoting Alice to VP. We need someone who can develop a high performing team. You are viewed as a bottleneck who gets too involved in the work of the people who report to you."

Downward spiral Vern was a perfectionist. Everything had to be done his way. The more people who reported to/through him the more he worked redoing their work. He lost sight of the big picture for the details, and he squelched initiative, creativity and accountability.

Epiphany lead to action Losing the promotion to Alice got Vern's attention and action. Here's what he did:

1. Vern faced the fact that there was a problem. He engaged a leadership coach to help him change his behavior.
2. The coach obtained 360-degree feedback from the people with whom Vern interacted in order to determine what he was doing that worked well and what he needed to change,
3. Vern's coach helped him to realize that, though he was talented in marketing, so was his team. He needed to accept their solutions even if they might differ from his.
4. With the feedback and help from his coach, Vern created a vision of how he would like to be perceived as a leader one year hence and a plan to get there.
5. Vern shared his feedback with the people who had provided it and his vision. He asked for their support and they promised to help.
6. With his team Vern created a checklist for delegating assignments. This resulted in assignments that were better thought out and reduced the need for subsequent changes.
7. Initially, when Vern was tempted to jump in, he phoned his coach to discuss whether he really needed to. Subsequently, he found he could ask the people involved, "Do I need to get involved, or can you deal with this yourself?" 90+% of the time they could without his help.
8. Vern had monthly "brown bag" lunches with his team to get their feedback on his progress. As they saw that he was actually trying to make changes, they opened up and gave him useful feedback.

Results At the end of the year, Alice was still VP of marketing, but Vern has now been identified as having promotion potential. He has been able to cut his workweek from 70+ hours to about 50. He is spending more of his time thinking and acting strategically. He is no longer frustrating his team. There are fewer misunderstandings of expectations. People are now taking responsibility for providing finished quality work. Vern has learned that by trusting and empowering his team that they have risen to the challenge beyond anything he had imagined. Vern's career is brighter now and he now "has a life."

While it is difficult for micromanagers to change their behavior, it is possible. Vern had strong motivation to change and a vision to pursue. He accepted that he had a problem. He was willing to try different ways of interacting. His efforts to change were encouraged. His boss, his team and his coach supported him. Vern succeeded!

Sincerely,

Ian Jacobsen, FIMC
Certified Management Consultant