If You’re Double-Checking Everything, You Have a Trust Problem

Bart has been in ecommerce for over 20 years, and can't imagine a better job to have. He is interested in all things agile, or anything new to learn.

  Leadership  

Let’s be honest: Most project managers aren’t micromanagers by choice. You may find yourself double-checking work, repeatedly following up on decisions and tasks, or sitting in meetings you don’t need to be in—not because you don’t have better things to do, but because something feels off. Your Spidey-sense is tingling. And to a project manager, there are few worse feelings.

It’s usually subtle. Maybe the decision or path forward was unclear, you think someone missed a step, or some critical communication didn’t go out on time (or at all). So, you jump in to make sure it’s right, and sometimes even do it yourself. I’m guessing this sounds familiar to many of you.

This isn’t always a problem, and it can often feel like good project management. But, if it’s happening all the time, it’s not about the process—it’s about trust, or specifically, the lack of trust you have in your team.

Trust isn’t binary, even though it feels that way. You don’t need to distrust someone entirely for it to slow you down. You say things like “I trust them completely” or “I don’t trust them at all,” but that’s not really the case. It’s rare that you literally trust none of someone’s decisions. The difference between trusting someone 98% of the time …

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