Why Bad Leaders Lean on Their Authority
September 10, 2025
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Authority comes with leadership. It provides leaders the power to make decisive decisions, give orders, and uphold standards. Yet, if
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Authority comes with leadership. It provides leaders the power to make decisive decisions, give orders, and uphold standards. Yet, if
Effective management balances oversight with accountability while avoiding micromanagement. Micromanagement stifles employee autonomy and engagement, leading to negative outcomes. Conversely, accountability fosters collaboration and improves performance. Leaders should establish clear standards, invest in coaching, transfer ownership, and provide timely feedback to enhance team dynamics and individual responsibility.
Effective leadership requires inspection not micromanagement. While inspection fosters accountability and performance, micromanagement undermines trust and autonomy, ultimately demotivating team members and hindering overall productivity and engagement.
Leaders should focus on preparing their team members rather than just protecting them. This involves establishing development plans, delegating responsibilities, and providing personalized coaching. By doing so, leaders can empower their employees, reduce stress, and increase productivity, ultimately fostering a culture of growth and success.
Everyone starts somewhere. However, the place where people start is different from the place where they take ownership. Professionals go through stages from a mindset and a skill perspective to equip themselves to take decisive actions and make effective decisions.
Now before you act as you have never micromanaged, stop right there. You have been guilty of it, and I have as well. To closely observe, control, or remind others what they should be doing or how they should be doing is an easy thing to do when you are ultimately responsible for their choices. But just because it’s easy doesn’t mean it correct.
Through our research studying teams and leaders, we identified the 5 most common types of conflict in the workplace between bosses and their direct reports.
Micromanagement is a not only a problem in organizations, it’s a big problem. But I am not telling you anything you don’t know because anyone who has had a boss for an extended period of time can relate to being micromanaged.
The question is, why are we seeing so much of it today?