Keep in mind that micro-management is more about the Leader than anyone else. The behaviour of always needing to be involved is a product of being afraid of failing. These people live in the "if you want it done right do it yourself" camp. The lack of trust stems from the fear of what will happen if someone's "failure" is pinned on them. Two plans of attack: 1. If you want to help them get past this then it needs to be dealt with at the root level and that means coaching them through their own fear to understand that the world won't end if something fails. 2. Second plan of attack is to raise their own self-awareness around what impact they have on their team because of their micro-managing ways. This can be done simply through a "check-in". It goes something like this: You: Bob, you got a minute? I want to check in with you about something. Bob: Sure. What is it? You: I know the project we're working on is really important to you but the number of times you make me review it with you (or whatever the situation is) makes me feel like you don't trust me or my ability to do it properly. Is that how you really feel? This will open the door to negotiate new terms to the relationship.

There's no single "magic bullet" answer to this problem so, instead, there some questions I'd like you to consider: 1. What skills does he have that got him the position in the first place? How can those be leveraged? 2. What can you do to help him navigate through the transition (I'm assuming he's not feeling comfortable, either) and become his ally 3. Would you consider having a heart-to-heart and share with him the affects his decisions have on "the moral of the staff"? 4. What feedback have you given him and what still needs to be said? Sometimes these situations can feel like an us-against-him and leads to bad feelings and animosity. What would it take for the team to take him under their wing and help him settle into his role? I specialize in these situations so I understand the frustration they cause but also know they can be resolved with some effort on everyone's part. Let me know how you make out. Todd.

The early symptoms of a team breaking down are subtle - not unlike cracks in a dam. It usually starts with erosion in Trust which shows up in communication break downs, seeking out who to blame, looking out for #1 or being too busy to help each other out. What I look for is when someone comes to me as the Leader looking to share information about another team mate. If the information gets their team mate "out of trouble" they're working as a team; if the information gets their team mate "in to trouble" then the dam is starting to break.