A common trend among leaders I’ve learned a lot from is their willingness to dig into the details. Different folks chose to engage in different kinds of details. But, they almost always cared deeply about some detail.
This means lots of curiosity, feedback, and micromanagement.
Micromanagement is simply the flip side of this desire to engage with the details. And, while some do a good job minimizing it, it never goes away. It’s part of the package.
Two lessons I’ve learnt about this –
(1) Be aware of the details your manager/leader care about. Expect to be micromanaged – but, as part of the process, expect to learn a lot.
(2) The degree of micromanagement is inversely proposal to their trust in your competence. Over time, the degree of micromanagement should go down. Else, it is time to reflect about how well you’re converting the feedback into learning.
