Things Leaders Do

How to Hold Someone Accountable Without Micromanaging

• Colby Morris

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You delegated the project. Now you're wondering: Should I check in without micromanaging? How do I hold people accountable without hovering?

Here's the tension every middle manager feels: You want accountability, but you don't want to be the micromanager everyone complains about.

In this episode, leadership consultant Colby Morris breaks down the critical difference between holding someone accountable and micromanaging—and shows you exactly how to check in on your team without making them feel controlled or abandoned.


What You'll Learn:

  • Why most leaders face a false choice between micromanaging and being hands-off
  • The key difference between checking in on the leader vs checking up on their work
  • Why micromanagers struggle with trust (and what's really behind it)
  • How a nervous VP became confident through accountability instead of control
  • How to use one-on-ones to create accountability without surveillance
  • The exact questions that support your team instead of suffocating them
  • Clear signs you're getting the balance right (and how to adjust when you're not)


Key Statistics:

  • 69% of employees considered changing jobs because of micromanagement, 36% actually did
  • 71% said micromanagement interfered with job performance
  • 85% said their morale was negatively impacted
  • Micromanagement is among the top 3 reasons employees resign


Featured Quote:

"It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do. We hire smart people and they tell us what to do." — Steve Jobs

Perfect for middle managers, directors, and team leaders who want to delegate effectively without either hovering over their teams or abandoning them completely.


Connect with Colby Morris

Website: nxtstepadvisors.com 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/colbymorris

Services: Executive Coaching | Leadership Training | Keynote Speaking | Delegation & Accountability Workshops

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Remember: Keep checking in on your people, not checking up on their work. Keep asking how you can help instead of how they're doing every task. And keep trusting the people you've developed while still being present to support them. Because those are the things that leaders do.

#Accountability #Micromanagement #LeadershipDevelopment #Delegation #MiddleManagement #PeopleFirstLeadership #OneOnOnes #LeadershipSkills


SPEAKER_00:

People first leadership. Actionable strategies, real results. This is Things Leaders Do with Colby Morris.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, you delegated the project. And now you're sitting at your desk wondering, should I check in? That look like I don't trust them. But what if they're struggling and and I'm not helping? How do I know if they're on track without asking them? Look, here's the tension every manager feels. You want to hold people accountable, but you don't want to be that boss, the micromanager everyone complains about. So you either stay too involved and people feel suffocated, or you stay completely hands-off and people feel abandoned. Both send the wrong message. And neither one is actually leadership. Hey leaders, this is Colby Morris, and this is the Things Leaders Do podcasts. My goal is simple. Give you tools that actually work so you can lead better starting today. I keep these episodes between 15 and 23 minutes because I know you're busy. Listen, you can you can listen on the way to work, and you'll have something you can use the second you walk in the door. I don't do theory. Okay, I do practical stuff that moves the needle. Today we're talking about how to hold people accountable without micromanaging them. Because there's a huge difference between the two. And getting this wrong costs you either your credibility or your team's respect. Sometimes. Most leaders think it's binary. You're either hands-on or you're hands off. Involved or trusting. But that creates two bad extremes. See, extreme one is micromanaging. You're getting into all the details. You're asking how they're approaching each task, you're solving problems they should solve. You're making yourself important instead of making them capable. The numbers are brutal. Sixty-nine percent of employees have considered changing jobs because of micromanagement, and thirty-six percent actually did. More than one in three people left specifically because of how they were micromanaged. Even worse, 71% said being micromanaged interfered with her job performance, while 85% said their morale was negatively impacted. Look, you're not just driving people away, you're making them less effective while they're still there. Miles Anthony Smith said it perfectly. He said, micromanagement is the destroyer of momentum. Now, extreme two is being two hands off. Okay, on the flip side, leaders overcorrect. They're so afraid of micromanaging that they delegate and disappear. No check-ins, no support, no no asking what the person needs. Well, that sends a message too. It says, This project isn't really important. You're not important to me. I actually don't care enough to help you succeed. Okay, that's not trust. That's abandonment. The answer is accountability, which is completely different from both extremes. Here's the key distinction. Accountability is checking in on the leader, not the project. Micromanaging asks, how are you doing this task? Show me what you've done. Walk me through your process. But accountability asks, how can I help you? What is it that you need from me? What obstacles can I remove? Steve Jobs has a famous quote here. He said, It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do. We hire smart people and they tell us what to do. When you're holding someone accountable, you've handed off the responsibility. Okay, your job now is to remove obstacles, provide resources, not to dictate every step they take. Here's the deeper truth about micromanaging. It usually stems from not trusting yourself. Yeah. Micromanaging leaders don't trust others to do the job because they don't trust themselves to have developed that leader well enough. Ouch. Most won't do the introspection to realize this. Okay, they'll they'll say they're they're being thorough or this person needs more oversight or the stakes are just too high. But really, they're afraid. Afraid the person will fail. Afraid it will reflect badly on them. Afraid they didn't prepare the person adequately. And instead of addressing that by developing their people better, they hover, they control, they diminish capability in the name of, quote, making sure it gets done right. That's why micromanagement is labeled among the top three reasons employees resign. All right, let me show you what accountability looks like in practice. I had a VP who took on her first big project. It was a cross-functional project, lots of moving parts. She was nervous, she was unsure. And our first one-on-one after the project started, I worked with her, just established check-ins that she felt comfortable with. I told her I was available anytime she needed me, but we'd address the project on her self-assigned dates. I didn't want to hover. I wanted to develop her. So I let her set the rhythm. On our third check-in, yeah, it was obvious she was falling behind. She needed help. So I just asked her, why didn't you ask for help? She said, I didn't want to seem incapable. Hmm. So we talked about what help really means. I'm not here to help her, you know, be micromanaged. I'm here to help her stay on track. I'm here to remove obstacles, you know, communicate on her behalf. That's not incapable. That's that's smart enough to leverage the available resources. Asked her if she wanted to do slightly more frequent check-ins, but again, I continued to let her run the project. I didn't take it over. I didn't start making decisions for her. I just asked her if she wanted increased support. Once she learned when to ask for help, she took off. Yeah, that project succeeded. More importantly, she grew as a leader. That's accountability. I checked in on her and what she needed, not status reports on tasks. So, how do we actually do this? I want you to use your one-on-ones as the accountability structure. Don't ask, what did you do this week? Ask things like, How's the project going? Where are you stuck? What can I do to help you? What barriers can I remove? And then let them tell you when they need more frequent check-ins. Okay, in my VP story, I didn't decide she needed more check-ins. I asked if that'd be helpful. When you micromanage, you impose structure. When you create accountability, you co-create it. And then adjust based on confidence and experience. Look, a brand new leader on their first big project will need more frequent check-ins. They just will. An experienced leader on a routine project, maybe every other week, the frequency changes. Okay. The focus doesn't. You're always checking in on the leader, not checking up on the work. Now, let me rephrase that. It's not that you don't know how things are going. Okay. But the important piece is that you're checking on the leader to see what they need to get the work completed. Does that make sense? And then I want you to build trust with new leaders who haven't experienced this before. Look, some of them they learned not to trust in previous environments. Okay? You have to show them through your actions, not just your words, that that checking in isn't a trap, that asking for help isn't going to be used against them. Building that trust takes time. But once they trust you're there to support them, not catch them failing, they'll ask for help before they're drowning. That's when accountability really works. So how do you know if you're getting this right? Well, as they say, there will be signs. So here are some signs that you're doing accountability right. One, people ask for help before they're drowning. Two, they make decisions without checking with you first. Three, they tell you what they decided, not asking permissions. And four, your check-ins feel supportive, not stressful. Now, these are signs that you may need to adjust how you're doing it. One, they're not asking for help at all. You might be too hands off. They're asking permission for everything. You're probably micromanaging. Or they seem relieved when you cancel the check-in. Yeah, you're probably hovering. Pay attention to these signals and they'll tell you what to adjust. Here's what I want you to do this week. I want you to pick one person on your team who you've delegated something significant to. And then ask yourself honestly: Am I holding them accountable or am I micromanaging? Or am I too hands-off? Then in your next one-on-one, focus your questions on them. How can I help you with this? What do you need from me? What obstacles can I remove? Notice how they respond. Notice how it feels different than asking for status updates. And if you realize you've been micromanaging, have the conversation. Be honest. Say, I realize I have been too involved in the details. I trust you to handle this. What support structure would actually be helpful to you? That's leadership. Okay, that's accountability without control. If your organization needs help developing leaders who know how to delegate effectively and hold people accountable without micromanaging, I would love to help. I work with leaders and teams through keynote speaking, executive coaching, and leadership training to build people-first cultures that drive real results. You can connect with me on LinkedIn or you can visit my website. Both those links are in the show notes. And hey, if this episode resonated with you, would you do me a huge favor? Would you subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review? Okay, and share this episode with another leader who's trying to figure out this balance. This is how we help other leaders get better faster. It's how we spread the word of the show and really make an impact on leadership out there in the workplace. And remember, keep checking in on your people. Okay, not checking up on their work. Keep asking how you can help instead of how they're doing every task. And keep trusting the people you've developed while still being present to support them. And you know why? Because those are the things that leaders do.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to Things Leaders Do. If you're looking for more tips on how to be a better leader, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and listen to next week's episode. Until next time, keep working on being a better leader by doing the things that leaders do.