Are You Micromanaging?

Years ago, I worked for a middle school principal who required lesson plans to be turned in weekly. I started out by turning in an overview of topics I would teach each day of the term. She wanted more detail, so I added a sentence about the lesson to each day in the overview. She wanted still more detail.

Every week, I felt that I was wasting time on this paperwork that I could have used to actually plan rich, engaging lessons or provide feedback on student work—and I later found out that she never even read the lesson plans that we teachers turned in.

I vowed to never be a micromanager when I became a school leader—but soon after I moved into administration, I began to slip into micromanaging without even noticing.

I organized and led a middle school math relay race for over 200 students. I had a team of experienced teachers to help with the execution of this large event, but I had a clear vision in my head of what the relay race would look like—the math questions, how they would be judged, who the judges would be, how to organize the teams. There was very little room for flexibility in my vision.

Each time the team met, I set an agenda and politely pretended to be open to new ideas, but I talked the majority of the time, and when I delegated tasks, I told each teacher exactly how to complete the task—and then I checked in often to ensure that they were doing it “the right way.”

As I sent the team a multi-paragraph email at nine o’clock one night, it hit me: I was micromanaging.

How had that happened?

My intentions were good—I wanted the relay race to be well organized and promote learning while also being fun. But in reality, I was alienating my team—I dismissed their ideas, emailed them during their personal time, and communicated mistrust by constantly checking in on their work.

The point is, despite my earlier experience, it was easy to slip into micromanaging because my behaviors were disguised as caring, detail-oriented, and goal driven. How do you know if you’re a micromanager? Ask yourself the following five questions.

1. Do You Need to Know Everything All the Time?

Ask yourself what emotions come up for you when you find out you weren’t looped into a decision that was made by your team. Can you distinguish between what you need to know and what you’d simply like to know?

Some school leaders feel confident that their team can discern between the issues that should be reported to administration and the ones that are small enough to be handled without additional consultation. As a new administrator at a school, I was asked by a colleague, “What kinds of issues do you need to know about?” I appreciated this chance to provide clarity right off the bat and said I needed to know about any issue that would be likely to come across my desk in the future. For example, if a parent was challenging a student’s grade, I needed to know because that issue could escalate, and I would be better prepared to discuss the issue with the parent if I had some background information.

However, there were a lot of issues that I would trust the team to handle, such as minor student discipline events, someone covering a class for a colleague who had an unavoidable appointment, or a parent conference regarding their child’s placement in next year’s math class.

If you require your team to fill you in on every small decision, you’ll be communicating a lack of trust in their professionalism and adding an extra step to their already heavy workload.

2. Are You a Resource for Your Team—or a Roadblock?

I worked with an administrator who was the only person who could approve stipends, expense reimbursements, and professional development funds before the request was forwarded on to the business office. Because he also had many other responsibilities, the financial requests would bottleneck with him. One of our teachers missed out on registering for a conference because she didn’t get the fund approval by the deadline.

A better system would avoid that bottleneck—the administrator should have allowed a few colleagues to share the task. Teacher requests could have been addressed in a more timely manner, and that administrator would have been less overwhelmed.

If every decision has to go through you, or you’d rather do a task yourself than trust someone else to do it, you’re not just micromanaging—you’re creating a bottleneck that reduces your team’s efficiency.

3. Do You Pretend to Listen to Your Team’s Ideas Knowing You’ll Do Things Your Way?

Think back to a faculty meeting you’ve attended where the admin solicited ideas from the entire division on how to revise a particular policy. Were any of the shared ideas actually used, or did the policy stay exactly the same? If a manager asks their team to share ideas but has no intention of using those ideas—a problem called “pseudo voice”—this frustrates employees and decreases morale over time.

As a school leader, be mindful when you ask for your team’s input. If a decision has already been made, honestly explain to the team that suggestions will not be considered for this particular issue. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if it happens often, you should consider how to incorporate your team’s perspectives in future decisions.

4. Do You Get Over-Involved in Details That Don’t Actually Matter?

School administrators are busy, so it’s important to pick and choose what details are worth your time and effort. I’ve worked with an administrator who changed the font on a PowerPoint presentation I created. I’ve also known administrators who check to ensure that teachers stay at school until 4 p.m. and don’t leave even a minute early. I’ve had colleagues say they sometimes avoid talking to parents just to skip the tedious documentation required afterward.

Are these details moving the needle on student learning? You might think that it’s harmless to make minor edits to a teacher’s presentation, but it may feel demeaning—and pointless—to the teacher.

5. Do You Email or Text Your Staff in the Evening or on Weekends?

We all do it. You’re up late working and have an idea you want to share with your team. You don’t mean for them to read the message, much less reply, at such a late hour. No harm done, right?

Staff members’ perceptions of authority impact communications—some are comfortable not checking their email at all after hours, but some see a message from their boss and reply immediately because they think they’re supposed to.

Consider “schedule send” when composing an email outside of work hours. Or email yourself, so the message is sitting unread in your inbox to serve as a reminder for you to send it at an appropriate time.

The mode of communication matters too, not just the timing. Set a communication protocol at the start of the year—for example, text after hours only for urgent matters, email during the workday, and speak by phone or face-to-face for anything sensitive.

Make Sure Your Actions Align With Your Good Intentions

Micromanaging can sneak up on you fast. It shows up masked as diligence, as caring, as wanting things done right. When I feel the urge to jump in, rewrite, or check in one more time, I’ve learned to pause and ask myself: Do I trust the people I hired?

The Ritz-Carlton built one of the most trusted hospitality brands in the world on that question. Every employee—managers, front desk, housekeepers, maintenance—is given the authority to resolve guest issues on the spot, up to an expense of $2,000. No manager approval, no request form, no bottleneck. The trust flows in both directions: The organization trusts its people, and guests trust the organization.

We aren’t running luxury hotels, but the issue is the same: If you’re leading a school with experienced, professional educators and staff, give them room to be good at their jobs.