Spotify

You don’t want to be a micromanager. But if every meeting, decision and deadline needs you, could you be getting in your team’s way?

We’ve talked a lot on Loud & Lifted about dealing with bad bosses. This time, we’re flipping the conversation: how do you make sure you aren’t becoming one?

Betsy sits down with team management expert and author of The New Manager Playbook, Lia Garvin, to unpack the habits that can quietly undermine your team—even when you’re trying to be helpful. From sitting in every meeting to holding onto work your best people are ready to take on, Lia shares three signs of micromanaging and what to do instead.

Whether you’re managing people for the first time or have been leading for years, this conversation offers practical ways to delegate, set clear expectations and build trust without being involved in everything. Because being great at your job and helping other people succeed are two different skills.

You’ll learn:

• How to recognize three signs you’re micromanaging without realizing it.
• How to help your team make decisions instead of waiting for your approval.
• How to give high performers meaningful opportunities so they see a future on your team.
• How to create a shared sense of urgency with clear deadlines, context and ownership.
• How to use one-on-ones to understand and develop your people—not just collect updates.

Chapters

00:00 How to Avoid Becoming a Bad Boss

02:16 Why Good Employees Aren’t Automatically Good Managers

08:15 Three Signs You Might Be Micromanaging

10:29 Sign 1: You’re in Every Meeting

12:42 Sign 2: You Make Every Decision

14:25 Sign 3: You’re Holding Back Your High Performers

18:12 How Micromanaging Limits Your Own Career

19:57 What Kind of Manager Do You Want to Be?

23:50 “I Don’t Want to Micromanage, But…”

26:11 How to Create Urgency Without Chasing Your Team

28:42 Who’s Actually Accountable?

29:22 Why Clear Communication Takes More Than an Email

33:08 Are Your One-on-Ones Just Checking a Box?

34:11 Where to Start Becoming a Better Manager

37:28 Connect with Lia Garvin

38:05 One Management Habit to Change This Week

About Lia

Lia Garvin is a team management consultant, speaker and author of The New Manager Playbook. Her experience includes leading team operations at Google, Microsoft and Apple, and she hosts the Managing Made Simple podcast.

Website: https://www.liagarvin.com/

Book: https://www.liagarvin.com/newmanagerplaybook/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liagarvin/

You got the promotion. You earned your seat. So why do you still feel like you have to prove you belong?

In this Quick Lift, I’m sharing key takeaways from my conversation with Shannon Nutter, author of Walking on Broken Glass. We’ll unpack why success doesn’t erase the double standards women face—and what you can do when hard work alone isn’t moving you forward.

From asking better questions about vague feedback to understanding the politics of advancement and backing other women up, this episode turns a frustrating reality into practical steps you can use this week.

Listen to the full conversation with Shannon Nutter on Loud & Lifted.

Links

Full Episode

What happens after a woman breaks through the glass ceiling—and finds herself walking on broken glass?

Shannon Nutter is a longtime financial services executive, board member and co-author of Walking on Broken Glass: Navigating the Aftermath of the Glass Ceiling. After decades of working in male-dominated industries and holding senior leadership roles, Shannon knows firsthand how quickly a successful woman can go from being valued to being viewed as a threat.

In this conversation, we unpack what workplace bias actually looks like, why accomplished women often question their own experiences and how the story around a woman’s leadership can suddenly begin to change.

This isn’t a conversation about blaming, complaining or telling women to fix themselves. It’s about recognizing the warning signs, understanding the dynamics happening around us and being better prepared to respond.

We talk about:

• What happens after women break through the glass ceiling
• How workplace bias and the “takedown playbook” show up
• Why successful women can still be caught completely off guard
• How to recognize when the problem isn’t your performance
• Why relationships and political capital matter
• How to document and protect yourself when things shift
• What meaningful support between women really looks like
• Why organizational change can’t rest solely on women

If you’ve ever felt the narrative around you change at work—or watched it happen to another woman—this conversation will help you better understand what was happening and what to do next.

Chapters

04:55 Why the glass ceiling isn’t the last barrier

06:47 Why great performance isn’t always enough

12:49 Recognizing bias in your workplace

14:45 The Goldilocks syndrome: Too much or not enough

17:26 The invisible org chart and office politics

23:28 The takedown: When high performers get pushed out

29:18 Warning signs you might be overlooking

32:59 Protecting your voice, results and network

36:13 Collaboration over competition: Supporting other women

Links

Purchase Walking On Broken Glass

Connect with Shannon