Do you have Micromanagerialitis?

small business Aug 14, 2020

Have you ever caught yourself hovering over a colleague’s shoulder, double-checking a task you assigned five minutes ago? Or maybe you find it hard to let go of control—even when you're overwhelmed with work. If so, you may be suffering from a very real and widespread condition known as Micro-Managerialitis, or MMI.

This affliction quietly impacts millions of professionals—from CEOs to team leads, from solopreneurs to seasoned project managers. And yes, it’s making its way through our industry, too. The worst part? You might not even know you have it. (Rest assured, your coworkers definitely do.)

The Good News and the Bad News

Let’s start with the silver lining: MMI is curable.

The bad news: Like anything worth fixing, it takes effort, self-awareness, and a willingness to change.

Do You Have MMI? Here Are the Classic Symptoms:

You need to know everything that’s going on all the time.
Delegating? You’d rather just do it yourself.
Every decision, no matter how small, must run through you.
You don’t just tell people what to do—you tell them exactly how to do it.
Your team nods in agreement but rarely asks questions.
Eye rolls and awkward silences follow your feedback.
People dodge your office like it’s a crime scene.
And finally… shortness of breath (just kidding—mostly).

If these sound familiar, congratulations—you may have a mild to severe case of MMI. The root cause? Usually, it's a mix of mistrust and perfectionism. You don’t fully trust others to follow through or believe your way is the only way.

Here’s the thing: MMI doesn’t just impact you—it limits your growth, frustrates your team, and throttles your business’s ability to scale.

Step One: Own It

Like any condition, healing begins with acceptance. You’ve got to recognize the issue before you can change it. If you’re still reading, that’s a good sign.

Now, let’s tackle one of the core behaviors of micromanagement: telling people what to do and how to do it.

Why “How” Isn’t Always Your Business

Here’s a critical mindset shift: You’re hiring people to reach a destination, not to copy your exact path to get there.

Say you ask someone to put on their shoes. Do you care if they put on the left one first or the right? Of course not. What matters is that the shoes are on and appropriately tied when it’s time to go.

Business tasks are the same. Whether launching a webinar, building a sales funnel, or organizing a presentation, there are often multiple ways to get the job done. If your integrators or team members can deliver the result on time, on budget, and without cutting corners, does it matter if they did it differently than you would have?

Spoiler: It shouldn’t.

Systems Over Supervision

If you truly want your company to grow, your team to develop, and your stress to decrease, start creating systems, not dependencies. Give people tools, resources, and expectations—and then step back.

Let your team make decisions. Let them try. Let them fail and learn.

You’ll be amazed at what happens: Projects start flowing, your calendar frees up, and your team stops avoiding you. They might even start coming to you with questions, ideas, and feedback because they’ll feel like part of the solution rather than a cog in your machine.

Ending the MMI Epidemic

MMI might be widespread, but it doesn’t have to be permanent. We can all be part of the cure with humility, trust, and a shift in mindset. So the next time you’re tempted to micromanage, pause. Ask yourself: Do I need to control the “how” if the outcome is still a win?

And remember: a business filled with empowered thinkers will consistently outperform one built on control.

Let’s work together and wipe out MMI for good.