Benign Neglect

Most managers, at best, are a form of benign neglect. Continual attention (micro management) usually results in the opposite of what a manager hopes for—less motivation from employees, learned helplessness, and worse performance. Benign neglect leaves room for employees to have agency to do their work but it’s kind of like the placebo effect, maybe most managers are better off doing nothing at all.

If that’s good, that’s an awfully low bar. When I first heard about this, I agreed it’s not such a bad outcome but surely it can be better.

I like to ask new hires who the best manager they’ve ever had in their career. No one described benign neglect.

See also:

• The line between micro management and leadership
• Delegation not abdication
• Principal-agent problem

Links to this note

• When to Be Directive

  I was at a high-end clothing store the other day. I saw one of the workers on an iPad. Curious, I looked over his shoulder to see what he was doing.