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The Characteristic That Leads Some Leaders to Micromanage
A frequent issue in workplaces is a boss who overly controls every decision, big or small.
Michael Haselhuhn, Elaine M. Wong, and Margaret Ormiston, through two studies at the University of California, Riverside and George Washington University, discovered a key factor: managers who feel powerful are more likely to delegate, while those who feel insecure, despite their powerful positions, tend to micromanage.
The researchers state, “Individuals with constant structural power who feel powerful are more inclined to distribute decision-making authority. Conversely, those feeling powerless tend to centralize decision-making and maintain control.”
Despite the commonality of delegation conflicts in workplaces, there’s limited research on leaders’ delegation choices, note Haselhuhn and colleagues. Prior studies, including one in Psychological Science by Nathanael Fast’s team at Stanford University, show how feeling powerful affects perceived control. Fast’s study revealed that feeling powerful can lead to overestimating control over events.
Leaders must give up some control when delegating, which can be uncomfortable for some. The researchers proposed that a manager’s delegation willingness is linked to their sense of power, regardless of their actual company status.
