How to Stop Micromanaging Your Team – Part 1

Influence

3 Oct

Man pointing at computer screen, giving instructions to a colleague

The Cloning Effect of Micromanagement

When I joined a new company, I was introduced to the senior manager of the department during the first few days of the onboarding process. One of the things I learned from him was: “Once you’ve learned how I like to work, then you’ll settle in well.”

What he was saying was: “This is how I like to work and how I like to do things. Learn to be like me, and you’ll fit in well.”

You could see that it worked too. The people who were promoted were clones of this senior manager. John Maxwell, in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, calls this “The Law of Magnetism: Who you are is who you attract.” Maxwell observes that people are drawn to those who are like themselves, and leaders naturally attract staff similar to them. While this can be effective in creating alignment, it can also stifle creativity and lead to a lack of diverse perspectives.

The Limits of the “Clone” Strategy

The trouble is that this strategy can only take you so far. The best leaders would say: “If you want to see my weaknesses, look at my team.” This is where the real challenge of leadership begins—acknowledging that your strengths and weaknesses will be reflected in your team. If you focus on cloning yourself, you may create a team that mirrors your own limitations rather than maximising their unique strengths.

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👉 While micromanagement and the ‘clone strategy’ may feel like safe bets for maintaining control, they limit your team's potential. In the next post, we’ll explore how great leaders take a different approach—focusing on empowering their teams through personal leadership and creating opportunities for success. It’s called the 'CEO' approach to leadership!

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Next Steps

Reflect on your own management style in relation to the senior manager I mentioned above
Consider where you fit in Patrick Lencioni’s helpful article, Micromanagement Is Underrated
To help you manage your team more effectively, consider using Patrick Lencioni’s Working Genius framework. It’s among the best models I’ve used for helping team members understand and appreciate each other.