Micromanagement is the accusation that no leader wants to hear, especially when it has become so popular by leadership theorists to empower people and not hold them to any sort of standard of accountability.
AND…let me be the first to say that I am ALL FOR empowering leaders. I am all for casting a clear and compelling vision and allowing people to experiment with ideas that I may not like but may be totally necessary in accomplishing things that are beyond anything I could have ever imagined.
(If we want to lead to our maximum capacities we cannot allow our personal preferences to dictate every decision.)
I feel that if a leader is doing his job that there will always be things going on that he isn’t aware of…and he will find himself saying, “I don’t know” quite often whenever he is asked about the specifics to what is happening in a particular area of ministry.
(Craig Groeschel wrote a GREAT ARTICLE on that here…check it out.) AND…I can say this is true here at NewSpring Church as well, I do not know A lot about what happens around here because we’ve worked hard to get the right people in the right places.
Leaders…like it or not it is our job to micromanage certain situations…unfortunately because some leaders are lazy and refuse to dive into what God has clearly called them to lead certain things don’t get done.
Before I get into this topic too much…let me be very clear…I am all about what Jethro told Moses in Exodus 18…that he was trying to do all of the work and that doing so was eventually going to kill him AND hinder the progress of Israel. If you are a leader who has to know everything about everything then nothing is probably happening in your ministry.
BUT…stay with me here…there are clearly quite a few instances in the Scriptures where “micromanagement” is a divine deal…
- God “micromanaged” Adam when he told him what trees he could and could not eat from…yes, He did “empower” Adam…but empowerment comes with direction and accountability.
- God “micromanaged” the vision of the tabernacle when He told Moses what to build and how to build it…down to the exact measurements and colors and so on. AND Moses found the right people to make the vision happen….but never backed down for fear of being accused of being a “micromanager.”
- God “micromanaged’ the battle plan when Joshua came up to Jericho…it didn’t make sense, but…it worked.
- Nehemiah was a micromanager…and was one of the most effective leaders in the Bible. He shared a strong, compelling vision, empowered leaders, shared his authority and accomplished things far greater than anyone could have ever imagined. AND…
- He left and went back to Babylon…and when he returned in chapter 13 the vision God had given had fallen completely apart…it was in complete chaos and disorder.
- Why? He empowered people! He had great leaders in place. The answer is simple…when a vision gets too far from the person God originally shared the vision with then it will always become diluted (taken away from) and/or polluted (added to!)
- Jesus was a micromanager…sure, He called people to follow Him. He gifted and empowered them…He sent them out and they did incredible ministry. BUT…take a look at the Gospels and see how many times He corrected and instructed them. He didn’t just let them do their own thing…He took ownership of His leadership and LED people!
- THEN…before He went back to heaven He sent the ULTIMATE micromanager…we call Him the HOLY SPIRIT. He didn’t just “empower us” to do stuff…He made sure we had HIM IN US to make sure we got it right.
- Paul was a micromanager…and I’m happy because if he had not been then we would not have the majority of the New Testament. Think about it…Paul’s writings were to the church and church leaders about what and what not to do…aka, micromanagement.
- Then Jesus in Revelation 2 and 3 specifically calls out seven churches and lists the good and the bad and the things to correct. He didn’t leave these churches to themselves…I guess you could say He was micromanaging them.
I could go on…but you see the point…micromanagement in leadership isn’t always a sin; in fact, I would argue quite the opposite and say that at times it is essential.
More on that tomorrow…