Learn 7 strategies to lead new hires and direct reports effectively, without falling into the micromanagement trap.
The best way to avoid micromanaging is to communicate clearly.
The more clearly you communicate, the less uncertainty your team will face.
The less uncertainty your team faces, the higher quality work they’ll do.
Best of all, everyone will feel great about the goals achieved and how they got there.
But, most of us know that events typically unfold like this instead:
- You assign a piece of work to a direct report
- Your direct report smiles and nods
- You both walk away
- Time goes by and you still haven't gotten that status update you'd expected… so you check in hoping to be helpful (not realizing that you’ve taken step #1 towards micromanagement)
- You receive the work and it’s nothing like what you wanted… so you ask for a redo and more frequent check-ins—again hoping to be helpful (not realizing that you’ve taken step #2 towards micromanagement)
- The work still isn’t what you’d expected… so you sit down to walk through the task side by side—again hoping to be helpful (not realizing that you’ve taken step #3 towards micromanagement)
- You assign another project and are now extra doubtful of your team’s ability to do the job fully, accurately, and promptly… so you set up even more check-ins and give even more detailed instructions (not realizing that you’ve now cemented yourself as a micromanager)
If this downward spiral of micromanagement feels all too familiar, don’t despair! It’s more common than you think. In fact, it’s so common that it’s one of my most commonly requested keynotes.
The good news is that not only is micromanagement a solvable issue, but it’s also an issue that everyone, from higher ups to individual contributors, actually wants to solve. After all, no manager wakes up in the morning thinking, How can I make my team’s day a living hell? And similarly, no employee wakes up in the morning thinking, How can I make my manager’s day a living hell?
So, what can you do? Be more intentional with what you say when you’re first assigning work so that nothing is ambiguous.
Try these 7 strategies:
1. Share the 'Why': Clarify the Broader Objective
Imagine that you’re a new intern at your company and you’ve been assigned to look for an event venue. You found a 20-person conference room, only to learn that you actually needed a 200-person auditorium. This happens every day when tasks are assigned. Many managers focus on the work and don’t take the time to explain why the work is even needed (in this case, because you’re organizing a conference and not a workshop).
How should a manager communicate the broader objective (the ‘why’) of an assignment?
- State the main purpose: "The broader objective is [this]."
- Identify the end user and goal: "This is for [audience] for [this specific purpose]."
E.g., “The broader objective is to convince the client that we’re better and different from other agencies.”
2. Clarify the 'What': Describe the Exact Deliverable
Imagine you weren’t told that the venue selection criteria comes down to price, looks, catering options, distance from the Chicago airport, and parking. You’d spend hours analyzing the wrong criteria. Worse, you’d put together a polished slide deck when a few bullet points and a recommendation would have been enough. No one told you what kind of deliverable to turn in—so you turned in the wrong deliverable.
What specific details should a manager use to clarify the expected deliverable?
- Name the final format: "The deliverable is [this specific format, e.g., a one-page memo, a spreadsheet, a polished slide deck with fewer than ten slides]."
- Specify what to send: "Go ahead and send me [this file type or structure]."
E.g., “The deliverable is (A) a ghostwritten reply to the client with ~3-5 bullet point takeaways and (B) a short slide deck that I’d attach for reference and that I’d walk through on our next call.”
3. Explain the 'How': Outline the Process and Constraints
Imagine you weren’t told that a similar conference was held two years ago. The venue was great, but the food could’ve tasted better and had limited selections. You make a list from scratch when a conversation with a coworker could have gotten you halfway to the finish line. No one told you how to go about the process.
What is the best way for a manager to explain how to do a project?
- Provide templates/assets to use: "Please start with [this template]."
- Identify key information to reference: "Skim [this resource] / Ask [this person] for [these things]."
- Define stakeholders to manage: "Update [this person] once you’ve [got this to show]."
- Specify thinking to be done: "Brainstorm [for this question]" or "Make a recommendation on [this topic]."
- Explain what not to do: "Don’t spend a lot of time (or any time) on [these things] for [these reasons]."
E.g., “Please ask Claire for our usual pitch deck, save a new copy, and add/remove/change slides you’d like based on the questions the client asked last week and then send me your draft. Don’t spend time making any pretty slides yet—just describe what you want to see on each slide and let’s discuss first.”
4. Verify the 'By When': Establish Clear Deadlines
It’s an unspoken rule of the workplace: there are 2 deadlines to every project, the final deadline and the often unspoken “interim” deadline. If you’ve spent the last 16-plus years of your life in school, where there’s only a single deadline to every homework assignment, you wouldn’t know better—and many interns and early career professionals don’t.
“In the workplace, if a task has a deadline, it typically has two or more deadlines: a final deadline (which is often the one you’ll hear about) and at least one interim deadline (which is usually unspoken). The final deadline is when something will be released, published, or sent out. The interim deadline is an internal check-in to make sure that you are on track.”
(from The Unspoken Rules, Chapter 8: Take Ownership, page 101)
How does a manager set clear final and interim deadlines to ensure that projects stay on track?
- Start with the final deadline: Identify when the polished work product must be ready for prime time (e.g., next Tuesday’s client meeting at 3pm ET).
- Work backwards: Explain the internal steps needed to complete the task: "Working backwards from [this final deadline]... we need to send [this draft] to [this person] / consult [this person] / get buy-in from [this person] by [this internal deadline]."
- Propose a first interim check-in: Ask the team member for a commitment: "So, would it be possible to get [this draft] by [this date and time] so we have time to [make these changes or have this discussion]?"
Note: This framework also shows your team your thought process, so they learn to think and execute like you do.
E.g., “Working backwards from next Tuesday, which is when we’ll meet with the client again, we need to send the deck to the client by next Monday 5pm, run a draft by Vivek before he leaves for vacation on Friday. So, would it be possible to get at least an ugly version of your draft deck by tomorrow 12pm so we can chat and have all afternoon to make revisions?”
5. Confirm the Priority: Clarify the Relative Urgency
We’re all often juggling multiple priorities, all of which are urgent and due yesterday. If you don’t clarify whether task A is more urgent than task B, then you risk others guessing incorrectly.
How can a manager help their team prioritize better in the face of conflicting deadlines?
- Use comparative language: "Please prioritize [this task or this part of this task] over [this other part of this other task]."
- Share the rationale: "Because [this aspect of the work] is more important [for these reasons]."
- Confirm what’s already on the to-do list (especially if an employee has multiple supervisors): Ask, "What else do you have on your plate?" and then discuss.
E.g., “Please prioritize this draft deck over the agency research we discussed yesterday because the research is internal whereas this deck is client facing.”
6. Clarify the Creative Freedom: Explain What’s Already Been Decided
Imagine you’re a new hire starting on a big project for the first time. But, every time you have an idea, it gets shot down. You’d probably start wondering, What’s the point in even trying? I’m going to be vetoed anyway. As a front line manager, you can help keep morale high by discussing how much creative freedom your team can have.
What language should a manager use to clarify an employee's creative autonomy and decision-making authority?
Share the broader context behind the task and, specifically, what’s already been decided, what’s still up for debate, and what’s within an individual’s influence.
- If something has been decided: “For context, it’s already been decided by [these higher-ups / the team leader] that [this would happen] even though [this ongoing tension]. That said, [all of these things] have not yet been decided, so I would love your input on [these areas], especially since [this uplifting reason].”
- If nothing has been decided: “Nothing’s been decided—including whether to even move ahead with this plan—so please push back, share your ideas, and let me know if we’re wasting our time on this and should be spending our energy elsewhere.”
E.g., “For context, it’s already been decided by the CEO that we’ll still do a conference this year, even though we’re still internally debating the merits of in-person events. That said, the venue and conference theme have not yet been decided. Please share your ideas, especially since you’re closer to the details on what our clients and partners want. What we do might even end up influencing the type of venue we go with.”
7. Separate What’s Best Practice vs. What’s a Judgment Call
Imagine you’re a newer team member who’s told to make the title text blue… then black… then green. And each time, you’re not told why. It’s easy to start wondering: Why are we wasting our time on this? As a manager, you can help prevent frustration and outright mutiny by clarifying what’s “best practice” (defined here) or a “standard operating procedure” (SOP) (defined here) and what’s merely your own preference.
How does a manager differentiate between a 'best practice' and a personal judgment call?
A task qualifies as ‘best practice’ if:
- The task is repeated over and over again.
- There’s a set way to do the task.
How to establish best practices:
- Create standard operating procedures (SOPs): Develop documents, videos, or templates that provide step-by-step instructions.
- Build a precedent library: Whenever a job is well done, annotate what makes it good and save it for others to reference.
For judgment calls:
- If the task doesn't meet the two criteria above, it's likely a judgment call and should carry less weight than a ‘best practice’. Your preference is likely helpful input, but not a rule. Consider involving your team in your decision making. You might just walk away with a better work product.
E.g., “For reference, here’s a memo that was submitted to the board in the past. People complained that it was too long, so keep yours to one page, but the general structure and formatting are there.”
As the saying goes, “The path to hell is paved with good intentions.” If my work with people leaders across geographies, industries, and job types has taught me anything, it is that most managers have good intentions. It’s just a matter of translating those good intentions into equally intentional actions.
FAQ
1. What’s the problem with micromanagement?
Micromanagement can lead to negative outcomes for both managers and their direct reports, including:
- Discouragement
- Frustration
- Decreased trust
- Less creativity or problem-solving
- Longer time to reach goals
- Increased risk of burnout
- Increased risk of turnover
Furthermore, the more you micromanage someone, the more they will rely on you to think on their behalf—and the less managerial leverage you will have. The goal of building a team is to scale yourself—and not to simply have more “cooks in the kitchen.”
2. Doesn’t it look bad on me if a new hire makes a mistake?
Yes and no. Yes if you, as a line manager, allow a work product to be submitted to an important stakeholder without reviewing it first. No if you set clear expectations on how much time they should spend before coming to you and when they should check in with a status update. Mistakes are part of the learning process. The more feedback you offer early and often, the more you’ll steer a new hire towards the desired behaviors that will save you time in the long run.
3. What if a new hire doesn’t reach out and ask for help? Should I leave them alone?
If a new hire isn’t reaching out, they might be struggling with imposter syndrome and are worried about looking incompetent. So, don’t just leave them alone and expect they’ll be fine. Rather than wait for them to come to you, pre-schedule a check-in once they’ve spent some time thinking through the task. You could also explicitly ask in your next 1:1 if there was anything that they felt held them back or that was confusing.
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