When the kids are doing well at running their routine, moms are in manager mode. We give them clear goals and a vision for their day /week/ year and let them run with it.
When our kids struggle or misbehave, moms are in founder mode. We dive deep into the issue, work shoulder to shoulder, and are directive when needed.
So really, these leadership styles are as old as humanity. 🤔
Yue, this analogy is particularly apt when you consider that as kids grow, a different mix of styles is needed. My oldest daughter just went into high school and we have to catch ourselves to make sure we are giving her the space, time, and autonomy to learn. This is also true as teammates get more senior and more autonomy is expected and deserved.
Yes completely agree about as the individual gets more mature and experienced, you may go from founder mode to manager mode in more situations or switch where you are focusing.
In my experience, the best case for micromanagement is hyper-fast decision making. Being decisive and putting a final point on any discussion to optimise for progress is a game-changer. Too often teams get stuck on "should we do A or B" and, to be honest, most of the time it doesn't even matter -- as long as a decision is made.
Thanks Alex! I completely agree... teams can get stuck on a decision and often they don't have the strategic context to make at the call. It's often better to keep moving -- Jeff Bezos has a good framework of "one-way" door vs. "two-way" door decisions. A one-way door decision is permanent and needs to be carefully considered. But, most decisions are two-way doors... and in that case it's better just to make the decision and learn from it.
Moms do manager mode and founder mode every day.
When the kids are doing well at running their routine, moms are in manager mode. We give them clear goals and a vision for their day /week/ year and let them run with it.
When our kids struggle or misbehave, moms are in founder mode. We dive deep into the issue, work shoulder to shoulder, and are directive when needed.
So really, these leadership styles are as old as humanity. 🤔
Yue, this analogy is particularly apt when you consider that as kids grow, a different mix of styles is needed. My oldest daughter just went into high school and we have to catch ourselves to make sure we are giving her the space, time, and autonomy to learn. This is also true as teammates get more senior and more autonomy is expected and deserved.
Thank you for weighing in!
Yes completely agree about as the individual gets more mature and experienced, you may go from founder mode to manager mode in more situations or switch where you are focusing.
Good post.
In my experience, the best case for micromanagement is hyper-fast decision making. Being decisive and putting a final point on any discussion to optimise for progress is a game-changer. Too often teams get stuck on "should we do A or B" and, to be honest, most of the time it doesn't even matter -- as long as a decision is made.
Thanks Alex! I completely agree... teams can get stuck on a decision and often they don't have the strategic context to make at the call. It's often better to keep moving -- Jeff Bezos has a good framework of "one-way" door vs. "two-way" door decisions. A one-way door decision is permanent and needs to be carefully considered. But, most decisions are two-way doors... and in that case it's better just to make the decision and learn from it.
Great micromanagement is done in the right doses. It’s great we’re finally willing to speak truth to this in 2024. Thanks for breaking it down for us!
Looking forward to the next collab 🍻
100%! I'm looking forward to the next collab as well, :)