#95 the details

We have interviewed several candidates lately and when asked what they would like in a supervisor, all of them say "someone who doesn't micromanage".  It occurs to me lately what a fine line that is.  How do you balance being the brand evangelist for your organization without micromanaging?

Leaders know that everything matters when creating or preserving your brand:  e.g. handwritten signs, staff apparel, how the phone is answered, appearance of offices and publications.  If a leader sees a detail that is out of sync with the impression or standard of quality that she is trying to establish, the natural tendency is to say or do something about it.  And soon it feels like the leader is immersed in minutiae instead of focusing on the big picture or execution of strategic initiatives.  

As someone who often finds myself seeing the details, it is hard to know when to comment about what I observe or whether to stay out of it and let it go.  I often try to reconcile this internal tension by pointing out what I saw, without directly prescribing the solution to fix it.  I lead discussions about the ideal state, and let people use their own observations to notice what is out of sync.  I hold "lessons learned" evaluation meetings where groups can provide feedback-without-blame to improve details in future years.  And, yes, I have been known to just tend to a few things myself.

I try to have my efforts as a leader focus on the impact of the details rather than the precision of how to execute them.  Maybe that could be called micro-leading?  I hope my potential staff would approve.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com