Almost everyone hates being “micromanaged”: this managerial posture, perceived as demeaning and disempowering, is a source of disengagement. The fight against micromanagement is thus on everyone’s mind.

On the other hand, there is less discussion of the opposite extreme, as management coach Victor Lipman underlines: a growing proportion of managers do not manage! Because they want to be liked, for fear of conflict, or to save their energy, they allow their teams to move forward as they see fit. This behavior often goes unnoticed, because these managers are appreciated and are often effective performers themselves. But the impact on collective results is inevitably felt.

Lipman insists: it is above all a question of will, more than of aptitude. To avoid this pitfall of under-management, managers can ask themselves three fundamental questions:

– Am I prepared to face disagreements and conflicts, unavoidable in any collective?

– Is setting objectives truly at the heart of my mission as a manager, and do I devote sufficient time to it?

– How can my team and I do better and continue to move forward?

Source : Under-Management Is the Flip Side of Micromanagement — and It’s a Problem Too, Victor Lipman, Harvard Business Review, November 2018.