When you moved from technical expert to team leader, you were probably warned about the dangers of micromanagement if you had any kind of leadership training.
Especially for those of us whose skills in technology propelled us into leadership roles, it’s often tempting to push our technical perspective on those that we’re leading. The caution against doing that is an important one.
But it’s possible to go too far in the other direction - especially if you have team members that resent your leadership and are quick to complain about what they perceive to be micromanagement.
When you delegate responsibility to one of your direct reports, it’s still perfectly valid, and even important, for you to hold them accountable for the success of that responsibility. That may very well mean offering corrective feedback or asking them to report their progress on a regular basis. The frequency of status reporting will depend on how much of a stretch this new responsibility is for them and the significance of the impact of the success or failure of the project.
Failing to hold team members accountable is one of the major five team dysfunctions that Patrick Lencioni writes about in the Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Don’t let your fear of micromanagement on one side of the road throw you into the ditch of passivity on the other side of the road.
And if you find it a challenge to find that balance to avoid both abdication of responsibility on one hand and micromanagement on the other, let’s talk.
Visit stevedwire.com/connect for a complimentary conversation.