Rower or Riverbanker? How to Avoid Micromanagement
EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP PART 1 • PART 2
The Dreaded Leader
There are many kinds of leaders, and many kinds of leaders are needed.
But there is one kind of leader no one likes — the micromanager.
Sadly, sometimes micromanagers don’t even know they are micromanaging. Or if they are, they are not sure how to lead more effectively.
What’s the better alternative? And how do you know if you are micromanaging?
Sometimes leadership is like rowing down a river. You and your team are in a boat. You know the next destination where you all need to go.
As the leader of the crew, it’s your job to keep the crew pointed in the right direction.
You keep the direction and destination in mind.
You assess if the boat is on course or off course.
You give feedback to the crew to let them know they’re headed in the right direction.
You cheer them on and give them tasty snacks and water to keep them energized.
But some leaders deviate a bit from this role.
They start to stare at the crew members’ rowing.
They make mental notes when a crew member is holding an oar too high, or that the boat is not going in a perfect straight line, or that the crew members seem to be not seated in alphabetical order.
They get frustrated that the crew took a little break to get some rest, and although they made up for lost time, the ship is not going the steady pace that the leader hoped.
And what happens?
The leader jumps into a seat, grabs an oar and starts rowing.
The Rower represents a micromanaging leader.
Rowers push others out of their seats and take over.
They know the right way to do things and they can do it right. They start working at the tasks and get involved in the weeds. They make all the decisions. They dictate how things are done.
Hmmm… there seems to be an awful lot of work for only one person on this team!
Unfortunately, the displaced crew member is now sitting there with nothing to do. Even worse, the crew member feels a sense of disempowerment because their job has just been taken away from them.
Do this often enough, and the crew member will quit the team. If multiple frustrated people leave, the boat stalls in the water because there is no way the leader can operate so many oars at once.
Instead of being a Rower, what is a better approach?
Be a Riverbanker.
The Riverbanker
I know Riverbanker is not a real word, but it expresses the general concept of what effective empowering leaders do.
Riverbankers dig out the boundaries by giving guidelines. They share values and broad principles and general practices so that the crew members know the boundaries within which they should operate.
Riverbankers don’t talk about how to do things in terms of specific actions or steps. They cast the vision of the destination and clarify the outcomes that are to be achieved.
How the crew members actually get there is up to them. As long as they don’t violate the boundaries of the riverbank, they are good to go.
So who cares if the crew decides to hook the boat to a school of fast-swimming fish that gets everyone to the destination at twice the speed? If it doesn’t violate the riverbanks the leader has set, more power to them!
But if the intent of the exercise is that an oar company has hired the team to test the oars, then using a school of fish is a no-go. A riverbank to establish is that usage of oars is mandatory.
I realize there are exceptions to this, as sometimes teams need to follow standardized processes, and people who become overly creative can actually set the team back. But Riverbankers give their team freedom wherever they can.
What’s the difference between Rowers and Riverbankers?
Rowers:
Forget to champion purpose and culture and focus more on the tasks to do. Sure, we all do this at some point. But if most of your time is focusing on your subordinate’s tasks and telling them how to do things, you’ve become a rower.
Get involved in tasks that their subordinates are supposed to do. Empower your subordinates to do their jobs. Get involved through coaching and asking questions to help them realize better ways of doing things. Especially if you are working with someone who is experienced, giving specific action steps that they already know can come across as disempowering or demeaning.
Tell subordinates how to do something, not what they are supposed to accomplish in the end. Inspire with a destination, not with the delivery mechanics. Let them use their creativity to come up with solutions. It might not be exactly the way you do it, but if the end result is what was defined, then celebrate their work without criticizing their means.
Make decisions instead of asking good questions to coach subordinates to make the decisions. People flourish and develop when they have freedom to explore and experiment. When you ask them questions, they also learn to problem-solve on their own.
Riverbankers:
Establish purpose. Talk about the why of what you are doing so people understand how their work ties into the bigger picture. Not only does this contribute to better morale, but people feel a sense of purpose in what they do.
Define destination and outcomes. The team needs to know what it’s trying to accomplish. What is the end result of its work? What is the ultimate goal upon which the team should be focused?
Communicate values and principles. Values are about how the work is done, not how as in function of specific tasks, but general principles that influence decision-making about work. These principles enable team members to prioritize decisions, figure out the best way to go about things, and do their work.
Define what is not allowed. When providing riverbanks, it is sometimes easier to share what is not permitted vs. trying to think of every possible scenario and trying to frame guidelines in the positive. Although in general it is better to lead out of the positive, in this case defining the negative boundaries actually gives team members more freedom. As long as they don’t violate the negatives, they are good to go!
What if?
Some of you are thinking, “But what do I do if I have a totally green team member who doesn’t actually know how to do anything? If I’m hands off, they will fail!” In this case, you are not micromanaging, as your team member needs training. Never fear, I will address that in the next article!
How about you?
I pose the extremes in this article, but the reality is that most of us are a blend of both, depending on the circumstances. Which way do you lean?
In your experience, what are other practices that effective Riverbankers employ?
Please comment below - I’d love to hear from you!
P.S. Don’t miss part 2, which discusses how to take your empowerment skills to the next level!
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