Why Startup Leaders Fail: Micromanagement

True leadership is building a house without swinging a hammer

image by master1305

Micromanagement is a dirty word.

It evokes the image of a grumpy, old, bespectacled and besuited bureaucrat standing over your shoulder, judging everything you do and waiting for the right moment to apply just a little more un-constructive criticism.

So why do most startup leaders micromanage their teams?

• First reason, because management is more art than science. And most budding artists will stick to tight brush strokes and rigid, straight lines.
• Second, most startup leaders just don’t know any better. This is not their fault. Most of us begin our careers being managed by people who should never be allowed to manage other people.
• Third, they desperately want to be seen as a leader. And the easiest way to be seen as a leader is to be seen. A lot. Like, all the time.

Finally, there’s nothing necessarily wrong with their micromanaging, they’re just micromanaging the wrong things.

How Micromanagement Starts

Last week, I hopped on a call with a founder whom I’ll call “Chet,” because I think that’s a funny name.