5 Ways to Lead Your Startup (Without Micromanaging It)

From secretary to CEO: the trajectory does not happen for everyone. While I am exceptionally grateful for it, I’ve also learned quite a bit climbing the proverbial corporate ladder.

Today I lead a fast-growing FinTech startup called Chaser (we recently won a few awards — check us out here!) Since entering into the CEO role, I’ve reflected on leaders I’ve reported to in past companies as a way of understanding what my own leadership style would look like.

Looking back, I realized there was a common thread that made for non-productive relationships with previous bosses:

Over-correction.

Whether this need to locate flaws in my work was done to teach me something or just as a show of superiority, those experiences have taught me a lot about how not to lead as CEO.

Not over-correcting can be difficult — especially if:

• You’ve always been good at what you do
• You are suddenly propelled into a leadership position
• Your startup is in growth mode and things are changing constantly

Over-correcting is a tempting trap to fall into: it can be easy to want others to do a task the same way you’ve mastered it.

Yet with time, I’ve learned that it can be a fine line between leadership and micromanagement. One side of the line could mean incredible startup growth, an amazing culture, and innovative product development.

The other side of the line… well, it could mean the exact opposite.

If you’re veering into that territory as a startup leader, here are 5 ways to avoid micromanaging your team and foster a healthy work environment for all:

1. Focus on the bigger picture

Previous bosses of mine typically zoned in on the small things. If I wrote a blog and they didn’t like the title, they would tell me to re-write it. Sometimes it would go back and forth 15, even 20 times. Even down to the wording of a piece of content, they would tell me to replace “hence” with “therefore.”

You won’t catch me changing those things. I let the minor details slide because in the grand scheme of things they simply aren’t impactful.

What I remain picky about is the strategic direction of the content itself. Not by doing the work myself but by challenging them to delve deeper. I’ll ask questions like:

• What are the customer’s pain points?
• What are they experiencing?
• What is causing them to ask for help and find a solution to their problem?

2. Avoid over-questioning

Some leaders feel the need to constantly question their team’s judgement.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Okay, but did you think about that?”

“Have you done this yet?”

I’ve lived through being over-questioned myself, both as an employee and as a CEO. People will question decisions, strategies, ideas. I have even been questioned on whether I have the company’s and customer’s best interests in mind.

Here’s the thing about over-questioning:

It can lead to insecurities, lack of confidence and even a paralysis of one’s work.

I’ve had team members and colleagues who’ve worked for micromanagers in the past. They were highly educated, talented and great at what they did — but they were fundamentally incapable of moving things forward from fear of making a mistake.

Don’t cause damage to the workflow of your company by asking too many questions. Focus on creating a safe environment so when issues do arise, the team is comfortable enough to approach you themselves.

3. Trust the leadership team

Micromanagement has a trickle-down effect: if you have a leadership team in place, no matter how small that team is, micromanaging them will lead to them micromanaging their teams.

The leaders you choose need to have your full trust. They also need to trust each other.

If not, you’ll have the marketing team questioning the sales team and the sales team questioning the engineering team. Before you know it, you’ve fostered a toxic work environment.

Choose your leadership team carefully — then, put your faith in their experience and expertise and let them do their thing. Know that they are working to achieve the mission of the company on your behalf.

4. Allocate your time

I’ve always been a “busy” professional. But it’s only when I began to lead a fast-growth startup that I realized how much of a premium my time comes at.

Effective time management is not just a habit that the business “gurus” tell us about. As a leader, our job goes beyond leading the daily operations. You likely want to be investing in continuous education, self-development, networking, strategic planning, capital raising, trend analysis, health/wellness (and more). The more time spent investing in yourself, the stronger of a leader you will be.

My solution?

Create a series of systems that structure your time. Whether it’s an amazing support team, a time-blocked calendar, or the infusion of automation for small tasks, find ways of ensuring the things that drain your time are kept to a minimum.

If your startup is growing fast, things are likely changing on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. More than ever, time management and delegation are your new best friends. Give them two seats on the rocketship alongside you — they will be invaluable.

5. Embrace imperfection

Not everybody is going to work the same way as you. They might not get the job done the way you would. Yet as a leader, it’s not your responsibility to replicate how YOU work through other people; it’s your responsibility to inspire people to take the reins and do the best work they didn’t even know they had in them.

Give people a chance to take risks and make decisions. Even though they might not make the same decisions as you, trust that it’s for the good of the company overall. If a code release, a new feature, a piece of content or a campaign goes sideways, remind yourself that the company will recover (quickly) — but the team member might never venture to take a decision again if you mishandle the situation.

Perfection and over-correction are two things that are detrimental to the successful foundation and scalability of a startup. From my view, the only perfection we should strive for is in our relationships with each other and our customers.

When we lead with kindness, I believe our companies get stronger, our team members get happier, and the world as a whole gets a little brighter.

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Sonia Dorais is the CEO of Chaser, one of the UK’s fastest-growing award-winning FinTech companies.