Micromanaging: Can It Work? (Sometimes?)

One of the best learning experiences in my career was when I was micromanaged.

I don’t say it lightly. And there are some experiences at this company where I know they could have had better ideas, processes, and more relational equity.

But micromanaging worked in one key aspect:

On repeatable processes that are still part of what I do for content marketing today.

One weird part…

What made it weird was that they let me ride on the big picture strategy. I chose what topics to focus on, and the schedule. But were very much a stickler on the tiny details and follow-ups.

We ran a scorecard approach where we took very specific actions in a few key channels every week. I was chastised if I didn’t do a few of those tasks, while I was trying to keep the whole content marketing operation in the balance.

What I Learned

I don’t think that works for everyone or for every situation, but looking back — it was what I needed at the time.

Details matter, but specifically the right details. I also learned the value of process, especially within content marketing and regularly publishing.

I’m not much of a details person (or I wasn’t) but I’ve become an advocate of clear, repeatable processes.

How does that translate to a team?

I think a team is more willing to dive into processes and new strategies, and maybe even put up with a little micromanaging if they see the big picture.

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