3 Warning Signs You Might Be a Micromanager And What to Do Instead
As business owners and managers, we all want our teams to succeed. But sometimes, without realising it, we might be the ones standing in their way. If you’re constantly fixing your team’s work, making every decision, or handling all the key client interactions yourself, you may be guilty of micromanagement.
The problem? It stifles growth, kills motivation, and turns you into the bottleneck of your own business. Micromanaging not only holds back your team, but it also drains your time, energy, and ability to focus on scaling your business. It creates a cycle where employees become dependent on you, and instead of taking ownership, they simply wait for your approval or intervention.
So, how do you know if you’re a micromanager? More importantly, how do you fix it? Let’s dive into three key warning signs and what you can do instead to build a self-sufficient, high-performing team.
Video Transcription:
Here are the three warning signs that you are a micromanager, even if you don’t think you are, and I’m going to show you what to do instead.
The first warning sign is that you fix your team’s work. So when stuff comes back substandard, when stuff comes back with mistakes, which it always will by the way, you are the one just to quickly fix it quickly tweak it quickly, make some amends, sometimes even completely redo it. Great, then it’s perfect it’s ready to go out to the client.
The second sign that you’re a micromanager is that you have all the answers. Your team often are coming to you with questions and with decisions what should I do about this what should I say to that person what do you think about this? And they are relying on you for your expertise, sure, but also relying on you for decisions and movement forwards you become a bottleneck in the team’s progress.
The third warning sign that you’re a micromanager is that you are dealing with all of your clients or even dealing with all of the big clients that your team could be should be looking after so some of those warning signs don’t sound so terrible it feels like you’re being a good manager it feels like you’re stepping in it feels like you’re using your expertise but the impact on the team is that that they are not progressing, they are never learning because you’re always there with the answers, you’re always there fixing things.
So here’s what to do instead. I always say that ownership autonomy and ownership in your team has to be given to the team before it can be taken by them. It’s so easy just to have these expectations on a team that they should just get on with it they should just fix stuff, They should just know how to do this stuff. But that’s not always the case. And so just expecting someone to take ownership very rarely works.
As a manager, you’ve got to be really deliberate in giving that ownership over to them, handing over that ownership to your team members. Here’s what that looks like in in the real world. When work comes back to you that has errors in or isn’t quite up to scratch, it is so much quicker and easier for you just to fix it. And so you actually teach them to give less of a crap about delivering good work. Instead, you need to set really clear parameters of what good looks like, whether that’s a checklist or a quality assurance process or whatever.
Having really clear policies of what good looks like in any particular work. And then if something doesn’t meet those standards, the team member has to be the one to make the corrections. The team member has to be the one to even spot those corrections, right there’s three things wrong with this document, three things wrong with this drawing. Go figure them out. So you’re there to coach and to support your team, but they have to get their brain working they have to be the ones to make those corrections.
It takes longer. It’s so much easier for you to just go fix stuff. But if you want a team that takes ownership and you don’t want to be the micromanager that you inadvertently might be, you need to give ownership to your team before they can take it. The businesses that I’ve worked with that have implemented this principle with their teams have seen changes overnight. Some people won’t step up to the plate. Some people don’t want to take that ownership. But at least you know, because you’ve given them a chance the vast majority of your teams want progress they want more responsibility they want to be better at their jobs. So give them that space.
Give them the autonomy, give them the ownership of their own progress, because it’s the only way they’re going to learn and keep improving.
Key Takeaways: How to Stop Micromanaging and Build a Stronger Team
1. You Fix Your Team’s Work
One of the most obvious signs of micromanagement is constantly tweaking, amending, or even redoing your team’s work. You might feel like you’re just “ensuring quality,” but in reality, you’re unintentionally sending the message that their work isn’t good enough. Over time, this can lead to:
- A lack of confidence in your team members
- A culture where employees rely on you to ‘approve’ everything
- initiative and problem-solving from your staff
What to Do Instead:
Rather than stepping in to fix mistakes, focus on setting clear quality expectations upfront. This could be through:
- Checklists or SOPs that outline what ‘good’ looks like
- Quality assurance processes that let your team self-review before submission
- Training sessions to ensure they understand the standards expected
If something comes back with errors, coach your team to identify and correct them themselves, rather than immediately fixing it for them. It may take longer initially, but over time, they’ll learn to produce better work without your intervention.
2. You Have All the Answers
Does your team frequently come to you with questions like:
“What should I do about this?”
“How should I respond to this email?”
“What’s the best way to handle this client issue?”
If you’re the go-to person for every decision, you’ve unintentionally made yourself the bottleneck of your business. While it may feel like you’re just being helpful, in reality, this approach:
- Prevents your team from thinking independently
- Slows down operations as everyone waits for your input
- Reinforces a culture of dependence rather than empowerment
What to Do Instead:
Shift from giving answers to asking the right questions. Instead of solving problems for them, try responding with:
- “What do you think is the best approach?”
- “What options have you considered?”
- “How do you think we should handle this?”
By doing this, you force your team to start thinking for themselves. Over time, they’ll gain confidence in making decisions, and you’ll free yourself from being the constant problem-solver.
3. You Handle All the Important Clients
Many micromanagers justify their control by saying, “I have to handle the key clients, no one else can do it like I can.” It’s natural to want to maintain strong relationships with major clients, but if you’re personally managing every big account, you’re limiting your business’s growth. Here’s what happens:
- Your team never learns how to manage high-level relationships
- You become overwhelmed, limiting the number of clients your business can handle
- Your customers only trust you, rather than your business as a whole
What to Do Instead:
Start by gradually delegating client relationships to your team. Here’s how:
- Bring a trusted team member into key client meetings
- Set clear expectations and processes for handling clients
- Empower them to make decisions while providing support in the background
This shift won’t happen overnight, but if you never give your team the chance to step up, they never will. Clients should trust your business—not just you.
Micromanagement Fix: Ownership Must Be Given Before It’s Taken
One of the biggest misconceptions about leadership is expecting employees to “just take ownership.” In reality, ownership isn’t something people take—it’s something you give. If you want your team to step up, you need to:
- Deliberately hand over responsibility rather than just expecting them to take it
- Set clear expectations for what success looks like
- Support them through mistakes instead of immediately taking control back
By doing this, you create a culture of ownership rather than a dependency on your constant approval.
Building Independence Takes Time—But It Pays Off
The transition away from micromanagement isn’t instant. It takes time, patience, and trust. But when you make these changes, the results are worth it:
- Your team becomes more confident and proactive
- You gain more time to focus on strategy and growth
- Your business becomes less reliant on you, making it easier to scale
The Wrap-Up
Micromanagement might feel like you’re ensuring high standards, but in reality, it’s holding your team and your business back. If you want to build a high-performing, self-sufficient team, you need to step back, empower your people, and create a culture of accountability.
If you’re struggling with this shift or need help implementing better leadership strategies, let’s talk. Book a free 45-minute coaching session with me, and together, we’ll create a plan to help your business and your team thrive without you having to be involved in every detail.
