Avoiding micro management

The biggest threat to self-managed employees who would like to get a higher sense of inclusion and has an inner drive.

Accountability is an interesting word. It means “the fact or condition of being accountable; responsibility”. Google says that: “lack of accountability has corroded public respect for business and political leaders”.

I will get back to why Accountability is the remedy against micro management. But first, a little story.

Meet Johnny and Elsa. Both are new to the company and their teams. Johnny has been hired as a Manager and Elsa as an “Individual contributor”.

Johnny takes on his new role with great vigour. He interviews his team members, get’s to know them by first name and ask for their strengths. Team members listens carefully to their new manager (perhaps because they are afraid to lose their jobs?).

It's also important to make an impression so when Johnny makes a half-hearted joke, some chuckle semi-fake or tries to laugh supportively. Johnny sets out to go thru his task list and implement the changes he sees fit with a strong drive. He is the manager.

Elsa is also new to the team, but she is more careful in team meetings. She want's to feel the waters a bit before she speaks up. What if she says the wrong things?

Her team members are nice to her and listens, but sometimes a bit more passively. They hope she wont question the status quo too much. Any challenge from her at this point would be fended off or ignored. 

What’s the difference here? A piece of paper saying who has what role. The rest is self invented by Johnny and Elsa. What says that Elsa can’t sit down one-to-one with her new team colleagues and get to know them?

Nothing is limiting her from doing that. The only difference between Johnny and Elsa are that piece of paper, probably a salary level and the act. Nothing else. So what is stopping people from taking this step? Why do we do it just because we are told so?

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