So You’re a Control Freak

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Being a control freak isn’t as bad as it sounds.  Control freaks are the ones who open themselves to scrutiny on a daily basis. They’re very task oriented, successful, and driven, which are really not bad qualities at all. If you want to outsource however, you’ll have to overcome the tendency to control everything so that you can work with others. 

Micromanagement

The problem with control freaks is that they slow outsourcing with micromanagement – that nasty, excessive, detailed control of every part of a project. The very nature of outsourcing requires relinquishing control over some aspect of a business process — so those who can’t imagine themselves allowing a stranger to direct the course of a project should either stay as far away from outsourcing as they can, or tame the tendency to command every thought, feeling, and/or action.

Working with a Control Freak

Recommended Reading: Too Perfect: When Being in Control Gets Out of Control

We once worked for an outsourcer who was apparently so nervous about his project’s outcome, he demanded that we communicate with him every day. This wouldn’t have been much of an issue if once-a-day email was enough. Unfortunately, the guy wanted more. At one point, our work began to suffer because of the constant, lengthy discussions.

When we failed to immediately respond to one of his early morning calls, he brought us into arbitration only to profusely apologize for doing so! When we finally finished the work, the guy asked us to perform another service for him again. Can you guess what we said? (The answer is only two letters long…)

Controlling the Urge to Control

Don’t risk losing a competent service provider by micromanaging her/his every move. Let your service provider do his/her work and don’t pester. You’ll only risk poor job performance and the loss of future service if you insist on being a bug-a-boo! Here’s how you can tame your controlling nature.

• When giving instructions to someone, write them all down.  Write down every last detail so that you feel nothing is or will be missed.
• Make your instructions clear and to the point.  This will give you a piece of mind that whomever you delegate tasks to, understands what you want done and how you want it done.
• Take it one step further and have your service provider repeat those instructions back to you.  This is your assurance that s/he understands what you’re after. It’ll also help you trust him/her more.
• Learn to trust.  You may be uncomfortable trusting someone the first time you outsource, but after a service provider successfully completes a set of delegated tasks, you can start to trust they’ll do the same “correctly” each and every time.
• Write down other stuff too.  In fact, write down everything!  Writing everything down may help you feel as though you’re in control so that freakish side doesn’t bare itself to the outside world.  Take notes on your phone conversations, list out what you need to accomplish, write your instructions out, and so on.