Have you ever been trapped in a Board meeting that has totally lost its focus? Do you dread Board or staff meetings that achieve little or nothing?
Are you ever tempted to pull out your phone to check your emails under the table during a talk-fest Board meeting… Maybe you let your mind drift off to that important email waiting for you at your desk...?
Sometimes, without even knowing it, any Director can waste the time of the Board by leaning into operations rather than strategic governance.
So how do you handle the toxic trap of micromanagement?
Micromanagement can derail meetings at all levels of your organization. For the Board of Directors, it can be especially insidious because it absorbs the time which could have been spent on more far-reaching and strategic discussion topics.
For many Directors, micromanaging is often thought of as inconsequential; a little bit of fine tuning here and an extended discussion there. It has all the hallmarks of a thorough and prudent Board member securing down the fact and details.
But this tendency to lean into operations can be distracting for the rest of the Board and symptomatic of a lack of separation between governance and management.
How do you stop micromanagement in its tracks?
How do you ensure you don't fall into micromanagement yourself?
How do you direct the Board’s discussion back to what is most important?
Here are some pointers that we have found make a difference…
1. Identifying micromanagement
Micromanagement appears in various guises in most Boardrooms. If we understand what micromanagement is, then we can identify when we do it ourselves, or change the dynamics of the Boardroom so that others are less likely to micromanage. Our definition of micromanagement is: when there is a lot of operational detail being discussed without any strategic or visionary focus behind it.
2. Refocusing your Board
Micromanagement is the single biggest distraction that prevents the Board from delivering high performance. It distracts the Board from its real purpose. The first step in minimizing any drift toward micromanagement is refocusing Directors on the vision, strategy and always looking at creating the future for their communities so they don’t get sidetracked on pet projects, immediate issues or inconsequential minutae.
3. Act as if you were the Chair
If you are willing to emulate the behaviors and mindset of a great Chair, you will find the behavior in your Boardroom will begin to change. Even if you aren't the Chair. Refocus everyone towards the vision and strategy, call out behaviour that is disruptive, ensure everyone has their point of view expressed, summarise key discussions, explore other possibilities and all the other hallmarks of a great chair.
4. Powerful questions to transform Boardroom discussions
Incredibly powerful questions can be used to minimise micromanagement tendencies, and open up Boardroom conversations so they focus on strategy and vision. These questions can be as simple as: “What is the strategic issue for us behind this event/comment/story…” and “What would be the 2 key metrics here that would show us what we need to know as Directors?”
5. Agenda management techniques: The Consent agenda
Structure your Board agenda using a consent agenda technique that will minimise extraneous and micromanagement-type conversations. Structure your agenda so it is clear which are the items for information only, for discussion and for decision, and “consent” at the start of the meeting that the Board note all the items for noting.
6. Agenda management techniques: Structuring Board SubCommittee Reports
Use your Vision statement on agendas to refocus conversations so they are strategic. Structure Board subcommittee reports to focus on strategic issues and minimize any tendencies toward micromanagement reporting.
7. Agenda management techniques: Reporting against the strategic plan
Structure your agenda so that it reflects your key strategies. Report against your strategic plan with an emphasis on timeframes and outcome measures, not activity.
8. Ensuring any report provides strategic insight
There are some simple yet highly effective techniques to maximize strategic information and minimize distracting micromanaging. This should include direct reference to vision and strategy, and can be as simple as adding headings to your reports such as “Strategic implications for discussion”, or “Strategic Questions for the Board to consider”.