Hi Mike,

What a great article!
I believe that micro-managment never works.  When the leader is operating from a position of weakness and the individual/team sees his management attempts as "meddling and unsolicited" how much hope is there for them to attain any long-term goals together (although this dysfunctional relationship may work in a short-term situation).  I also firmly believe that you simply cannot control the actions of others successfully over the long-term.

Your article really made me think about the difference between control and direction.  Direction would be more about setting very specific goals (this is what we need to accomplish) and boundaries (this is how we need to do it).  Of course in this situation too the leader would also need to have credibility for others to accept his direction.

I really love your definition of micro-management, "meddling, unsolicited direction"  According to this definition every teenager I know would consider themselves as being micro-managed by their parents!