No, Micromanagers are Not Good Bosses

This headline got me... 

This week, I saw this headline on CNBC "Airbnb CEO says the best bosses can be mistaken for micromanagers: ‘Great leadership is presence, not absence.'" That headline achieved the goal. I clicked on it and read the whole article, not just the headline. Then, I went down the rabbit hole, watching the full 35-minute video on Fortune. 

Since I am vehemently against micromanagement and a strong proponent of autonomy in the workplace, I took offense to the headline. It turns out, the headline is just an attention grab. Brian Chesky is Airbnb's CEO. He certainly has some interesting ideas for leading his company and makes a compelling argument for his leadership style. However, the headline is misleading because he never once promoted micromanagement in the interview, often saying that his style is not micromanagement.

The headline conflates presence with micromanagement. Brian is certainly in favor of presence - and he has a very detailed description of what he considers presence, but it is not micromanagement. Instead, Brian practices "Founder Mode." Founder Mode is a term coined by Paul Graham of Y Combinator, inspired by the actions and behaviors of Brian and other Silicon Valley CEOs. 

Founder Mode vs. Manager Mode

In short, Founder Mode differs from Manager Mode, which is the more traditional way of managing a business that most people think about. You can read about it on Paul's blog. 

In Manager Mode, an executive provides guidance on outcomes and allows their downtrace managers to figure out how to do the job. They will be less "in the details." At least, that is the theory. 

By contrast, Brian describes his leadership as very hands-on. He is "in the details" when it comes to products and decisions. Other successful Silicon Valley CEOs conduct themselves similarly (Elon Musk and Steve Jobs are examples). 

Paul points out in his blog post that Founder Mode is not well defined. There isn't a defined set of behaviors that you can check off to achieve Founder Mode.

While Brian and others are proponents of this type of leadership, there are successful companies that promote extreme autonomy between units and for employees. Google is one example. They famously allow employees to work 20% of their time on pet projects, which have borne products like Gmail. I consider myself in the Manager Mode camp in my current role, but I can see how Founder Mode might be beneficial in certain circumstances. 

I believe that Founder Mode is a result of the leader's personality, expertise, and company culture rather than something that can just be switched on or off.

Let's compare Brian's and my leadership styles to clarify what I mean. 

Brian's Management

Brian is a product person, and according to him, Airbnb is undergoing a major overhaul, which will be unveiled in May of 2025. He has opinions on how the site should look, what it should do, and how it should be presented to customers. He got his degree in design, and so has opinions about these things. Because it is undergoing a significant redesign, this is understandably his focus. I imagine he is less interested in the details of other things, like the payroll software or their current building lease. His presence is in the details of the product they deliver to customers.

Because he has a very specific vision of the product, he needs to communicate it to those implementing it. This takes a lot of time and a lot of conversations with a lot of people. He talks to his direct reports and their direct reports. He says that he might talk regularly to 100 people in the company.

My Management

By contrast, the organization that I'm currently leading is not going through any major product launches or reorganization. I did not major in design, and I consider myself a poor designer. 

I still talk to my direct reports on a weekly basis, and I do "skip meetings" with their direct reports fairly regularly, but from the sounds of it, I spend far less time in these meetings than Brian. Instead, I feel comfortable allowing the other members of my team the space to work and produce based on the well-defined processes and procedures that have made our team successful.

Like Brian, I am very customer-focused. So, I spend a lot of my time currently talking to customers and getting feedback on our team's performance and products. If and when there are any major changes needed in our operations, I will probably increase my presence and internal communication in certain areas, but probably not in design. 

Be Present, Don't Micromanage

People don't like to be micromanaged. Overwhelmingly so. It's one of the worst things you can do if you're trying to retain talent. This 2023 study by The Harris Poll indicates that the second most prevalent toxic boss behavior is: "Gets too involved in the details of my job when it isn't necessary." This is micromanagement. When you combine those findings with this survey from GoodHire, which shows that 82% of employees would leave their jobs because of a bad boss, you will most definitely have a retention problem.

But Airbnb doesn't have that problem. According to GlassDoor, 82% of employees would recommend working there to a friend, and Brian enjoys a 91% approval rating. Their company culture is working fine.

It's good to be present as a manager or a leader. You need to focus your presence on your expertise and the main friction points you see. Trust your team to do the things outside your areas of expertise. Communicate frequently with your team and drill as far down the chain of command as you need to understand the finer details of what you perceive to be the most important problems you are facing.  

If you're not investing the time to understand the problems facing your organization, you are being negligent in your duties. If, on the other hand, you are trying to know everything about everything, you will spread yourself too thin and lose effectiveness. It is critical to communicate to your team the things that you will focus on and what you will leave in their capable hands.

This is presence. It is not micromanagement. Be present. Do not be a micromanager.