delegation and micro-management are not opposites

made w/ midjourney

Bold assertion here: delegation and micromanagement are not opposites of each other. In fact, selective micromanagement can be a great tool for delegation. In a good instance of micro-management, a leader provides vivid clarity about what excellence looks like in a narrow area. The team member can think model their work on that example in that narrow area and possibly translate that standard into other areas as well.

The goal of delegation is that somebody can successfully meet your standard without your assistance. This sometimes requires your reminders of what the standard is. Delivering those reminders (“here, watch me one time” or “not like that, like this”) can often seem like micro-management at the beginning of (and occasionally throughout) a successful delegation process. 

-ben