How to Hold Someone Accountable Without Micromanaging

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

Enjoyed this episode?

• Subscribe to The Things Leaders Do wherever you listen to podcasts
• Leave a 5-star review
• Share with a leader struggling to find the balance between control and trust

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

• Colby's LinkedIn Profile
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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
People first leadership.
Actionable strategies, realresults.
This is Things Leaders Do withColby Morris.

SPEAKER_01 (00:11):
Okay, you delegated the project.
And now you're sitting at yourdesk wondering, should I check
in?
That look like I don't trustthem.
But what if they're strugglingand and I'm not helping?
How do I know if they're ontrack without asking them?
Look, here's the tension everymanager feels.

(00:34):
You want to hold peopleaccountable, but you don't want
to be that boss, themicromanager everyone complains
about.
So you either stay too involvedand people feel suffocated, or
you stay completely hands-offand people feel abandoned.
Both send the wrong message.

(00:55):
And neither one is actuallyleadership.
Hey leaders, this is ColbyMorris, and this is the Things
Leaders Do podcasts.
My goal is simple.
Give you tools that actuallywork so you can lead better
starting today.
I keep these episodes between 15and 23 minutes because I know
you're busy.

(01:16):
Listen, you can you can listenon the way to work, and you'll
have something you can use thesecond you walk in the door.
I don't do theory.
Okay, I do practical stuff thatmoves the needle.
Today we're talking about how tohold people accountable without
micromanaging them.
Because there's a hugedifference between the two.

(01:38):
And getting this wrong costs youeither your credibility or your
team's respect.
Sometimes.
Most leaders think it's binary.
You're either hands-on or you'rehands off.
Involved or trusting.
But that creates two badextremes.

(01:59):
See, extreme one ismicromanaging.
You're getting into all thedetails.
You're asking how they'reapproaching each task, you're
solving problems they shouldsolve.
You're making yourself importantinstead of making them capable.
The numbers are brutal.
Sixty-nine percent of employeeshave considered changing jobs

(02:22):
because of micromanagement, andthirty-six percent actually did.
More than one in three peopleleft specifically because of how
they were micromanaged.
Even worse, 71% said beingmicromanaged interfered with her
job performance, while 85% saidtheir morale was negatively

(02:46):
impacted.
Look, you're not just drivingpeople away, you're making them
less effective while they'restill there.
Miles Anthony Smith said itperfectly.
He said, micromanagement is thedestroyer of momentum.
Now, extreme two is being twohands off.

(03:07):
Okay, on the flip side, leadersovercorrect.
They're so afraid ofmicromanaging that they delegate
and disappear.
No check-ins, no support, no noasking what the person needs.
Well, that sends a message too.
It says, This project isn'treally important.

(03:28):
You're not important to me.
I actually don't care enough tohelp 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 onthe leader, not the project.

(03:54):
Micromanaging asks, how are youdoing this task?
Show me what you've done.
Walk me through your process.
But accountability asks, how canI help you?
What is it that you need fromme?
What obstacles can I remove?
Steve Jobs has a famous quotehere.
He said, It doesn't make senseto hire smart people and tell

(04:17):
them what to do.
We hire smart people and theytell us what to do.
When you're holding someoneaccountable, you've handed off
the responsibility.
Okay, your job now is to removeobstacles, provide resources,
not to dictate every step theytake.

(04:38):
Here's the deeper truth aboutmicromanaging.
It usually stems from nottrusting yourself.
Yeah.
Micromanaging leaders don'ttrust others to do the job
because they don't trustthemselves to have developed
that leader well enough.

(05:00):
Ouch.
Most won't do the introspectionto realize this.
Okay, they'll they'll saythey're they're being thorough
or this person needs moreoversight or the stakes are just
too high.
But really, they're afraid.
Afraid the person will fail.

(05:21):
Afraid it will reflect badly onthem.
Afraid they didn't prepare theperson adequately.
And instead of addressing thatby developing their people
better, they hover, theycontrol, they diminish
capability in the name of,quote, making sure it gets done

(05:44):
right.
That's why micromanagement islabeled among the top three
reasons employees resign.
All right, let me show you whataccountability looks like in
practice.
I had a VP who took on her firstbig project.
It was a cross-functionalproject, lots of moving parts.

(06:06):
She was nervous, she was unsure.
And our first one-on-one afterthe project started, I worked
with her, just establishedcheck-ins that she felt
comfortable with.
I told her I was availableanytime she needed me, but we'd
address the project on herself-assigned dates.
I didn't want to hover.
I wanted to develop her.

(06:28):
So I let her set the rhythm.
On our third check-in, yeah, itwas obvious she was falling
behind.
She needed help.
So I just asked her, why didn'tyou ask for help?
She said, I didn't want to seemincapable.
Hmm.
So we talked about what helpreally means.

(06:51):
I'm not here to help her, youknow, be micromanaged.
I'm here to help her stay ontrack.
I'm here to remove obstacles,you know, communicate on her
behalf.
That's not incapable.
That's that's smart enough toleverage the available
resources.
Asked her if she wanted to doslightly more frequent

(07:13):
check-ins, but again, Icontinued to let her run the
project.
I didn't take it over.
I didn't start making decisionsfor her.
I just asked her if she wantedincreased support.
Once she learned when to ask forhelp, she took off.
Yeah, that project succeeded.
More importantly, she grew as aleader.

(07:37):
That's accountability.
I checked in on her and what sheneeded, not status reports on
tasks.
So, how do we actually do this?
I want you to use yourone-on-ones as the
accountability structure.

(07:57):
Don't ask, what did you do thisweek?
Ask things like, How's theproject going?
Where are you stuck?
What can I do to help you?
What barriers can I remove?
And then let them tell you whenthey need more frequent

(08:18):
check-ins.
Okay, in my VP story, I didn'tdecide she needed more
check-ins.
I asked if that'd be helpful.
When you micromanage, you imposestructure.
When you create accountability,you co-create it.
And then adjust based onconfidence and experience.

(08:39):
Look, a brand new leader ontheir first big project will
need more frequent check-ins.
They just will.
An experienced leader on aroutine project, maybe every
other week, the frequencychanges.
Okay.
The focus doesn't.
You're always checking in on theleader, not checking up on the

(08:59):
work.
Now, let me rephrase that.
It's not that you don't know howthings are going.
Okay.
But the important piece is thatyou're checking on the leader to
see what they need to get thework completed.
Does that make sense?
And then I want you to buildtrust with new leaders who

(09:20):
haven't experienced this before.
Look, some of them they learnednot to trust in previous
environments.
Okay?
You have to show them throughyour actions, not just your
words, that that checking inisn't a trap, that asking for

(09:43):
help isn't going to be usedagainst them.
Building that trust takes time.
But once they trust you're thereto support them, not catch them
failing, they'll ask for helpbefore they're drowning.
That's when accountabilityreally works.
So how do you know if you'regetting this right?

(10:05):
Well, as they say, there will besigns.
So here are some signs thatyou're doing accountability
right.
One, people ask for help beforethey're drowning.
Two, they make decisions withoutchecking with you first.
Three, they tell you what theydecided, not asking permissions.

(10:29):
And four, your check-ins feelsupportive, not stressful.
Now, these are signs that youmay need to adjust how you're
doing it.
One, they're not asking for helpat all.
You might be too hands off.
They're asking permission foreverything.

(10:49):
You're probably micromanaging.
Or they seem relieved when youcancel the check-in.
Yeah, you're probably hovering.
Pay attention to these signalsand they'll tell you what to
adjust.
Here's what I want you to dothis week.
I want you to pick one person onyour team who you've delegated

(11:12):
something significant to.

And then ask yourself honestly: Am I holding them accountable or (11:14):
undefined
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?

(11:36):
What obstacles can I remove?
Notice how they respond.
Notice how it feels differentthan asking for status updates.
And if you realize you've beenmicromanaging, have the
conversation.
Be honest.
Say, I realize I have been tooinvolved in the details.

(12:00):
I trust you to handle this.
What support structure wouldactually be helpful to you?
That's leadership.
Okay, that's accountabilitywithout control.
If your organization needs helpdeveloping leaders who know how
to delegate effectively and holdpeople accountable without

(12:22):
micromanaging, I would love tohelp.
I work with leaders and teamsthrough keynote speaking,
executive coaching, andleadership training to build
people-first cultures that drivereal results.
You can connect with me onLinkedIn or you can visit my
website.
Both those links are in the shownotes.

(12:43):
And hey, if this episoderesonated with you, would you do
me a huge favor?
Would you subscribe to the showwherever you listen to podcasts
and leave a review?
Okay, and share this episodewith another leader who's trying
to figure out this balance.
This is how we help otherleaders get better faster.

(13:03):
It's how we spread the word ofthe show and really make an
impact on leadership out therein the workplace.
And remember, keep checking inon your people.
Okay, not checking up on theirwork.
Keep asking how you can helpinstead of how they're doing
every task.
And keep trusting the peopleyou've developed while still

(13:26):
being present to support them.
And you know why?
Because those are the thingsthat leaders do.

SPEAKER_00 (13:37):
Thank you for listening to Things Leaders Do.
If you're looking for more tipson how to be a better leader, be
sure to subscribe to the podcastand listen to next week's
episode.
Until next time, keep working onbeing a better leader by doing
the things that leaders do.