Project Innovation-LEIDS

⭐️Controlling others is not leadership; it is a form of aggression.

Micromanagement, where individuals surveil employees, deny them any autonomy, discourage any initiative, and want to be informed of every little detail of their team's work, creates a high-stress environment detrimental to employee well-being.

Some might think there is good in micromanagement; at least the manager cares. This would be like telling a person in a relationship with someone who follows their every step, calls them many times a day to see where they are, tracks their phone, and gives them no independence that, at least, their partner cares.

Control is not caring. Micromanagers can seem present for their teams, but they are mostly absent.

They are absent when their teams need them, do not offer support, do not listen, and are so focused on details and tasks that they often don't deal with negative workplace behavior or conflict.

These managers often lack positive leadership skills. They cannot create trust and are so focused on details, norms, tasks, and objectives that they lack interpersonal skills.

These individuals may excel at what they did before becoming managers because their work needed a focus on tasks and details, but leadership is about people.

I believe that there are two types of controlling leaders:

1- Abusive, unethical leaders who manipulate the system; these individuals often have narcissistic or psychopathic traits.

2- Micromanagers who are detail-oriented, highly ethical, highly rigid, and perfectionistic individuals who cannot trust others or delegate.

Both types of leaders are harmful to their teams, and both types of leaders are associated with toxic leadership.

Abusive leaders and micromanagers create highly toxic work environments, including impossible deadlines and high expectations, while offering no support to employees.

Why are so many managers presenting these two types of toxic leadership? The answer lies in the leader selection process.

If organizations considered the importance of humility, openness, flexibility, listening skills, empathy, and caring, they would most likely avoid hiring abusive leaders and micromanagers.

However, since many organizations hire leaders based on how they believe the individual will increase productivity and profit while ignoring their impact on employees, these candidates are at an advantage during the selection/promotion process.

Toxic leaders create toxic work environments. They distrust employees, create competitive instead of collaborative environments, and are always more focused on achieving goals than employees' well-being.

Positive leaders care about their employees as much as they care about reaching goals. They understand that healthy employees who are allowed autonomy will be more creative, innovative, and productive.

Human beings cannot thrive when they feel controlled.

Take care of yourself and the people around you 💗

Check out new EdSurge article!

We discuss the importance of teaching Power Skills like critical thinking and creativity in K12 education. As we move towards the AI era, we must equip our students with the timeless skills needed to overcome any challenge. Please contact me if you would like to schedule a time to discuss this powerful platform for your school district or at the campus level.

Dr. Ross Williams Jr.
Education Consultant NXTLVL

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