Stefano Calvetti-

I must say that I have a long list of outdated habits, strategies, and mindsets that leaders should shed this year. But there’s one that takes the gold medal: micromanagement.

To talk about it, let me take you back to my Navy days.

Imagine you’re the captain of a ship. One minute, you’re up on the bridge, giving orders to the helmsman; the next, you’re racing down to the engineering room to check the pressure valves. Before you know it, you’re sprinting to the operations center to question the radar operator about a blip on the screen.

Maybe you think you have everything under control, but in reality, you’ve lost sight of the mission—and your ship’s destination.

Micromanagement has negative impacts on so many levels.

As you can imagine, your team feels suffocated because they never get the chance to own their work, showcase their ideas, or learn from small mistakes. So, they disengage. I mean… why bother? The boss does everything! That’s when employees lose confidence, motivation, and—worst of all—trust in you. Ouch!

Eventually, they slip into quiet quitting, doing the bare minimum. Or, perhaps, they decide to leave the team or the company altogether.

Meanwhile, you, the leader, are drowning in details, unable to focus on the bigger picture.

Think of it this way: every minute you spend obsessing over the perfect PowerPoint background is a minute not spent on strategy, vision, learning, and your team’s growth.

The price for this fleeting sense of control is very high, isn’t it?

Crew members work best when they’re fueled up and ready to sail—not tethered by tiny to-do’s.

So, make 2025 the year you hand over the reins. Give your brilliant crew the space to innovate, experiment, and occasionally fail forward. Delegate. Trust them. Trust the system that put them in their positions.

Micromanagement? Let’s toss it overboard. There’s a whole ocean of growth and possibilities waiting for you!