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Jul 2025
29m 4s

You don’t call it micromanaging. Your te...

The Arbinger Institute
About this episode

Feel like you're just being thorough? Focused on quality? Clear about your expectations? You might call it leadership, but to your team, it might feel like control. So what happens when your high standards start getting in the way of growth?


In this raw coaching episode—part one of a two-part series—Daniel, a high school principal with deep experience across every level of school leadership, wrestles with that exact tension. With help from his Arbinger coach, Daniel uncovers how his desire for consistency and excellence is actually limiting his team’s growth and holding him back from the kind of leader he wants to be.  


Ideas we explore: 

01:35 — How to lead well when you’re stretched too thin 

10:55 — When your efforts to help actually cause delays 

14:30 — The difference between shielding your team and stealing their shot 

21:05 — How control quietly strains relationships at work and at home 

27:10 — What it means to delegate a task without delegating responsibility 


Have a leadership challenge or question you’d like us to explore on the show? Submit it here!

Need help developing your leaders or organization? Schedule a complimentary strategy session. 

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