I was 22 years old and two months out of the Marine Corps when I first started working as a second shift warehouse supervisor for XPO Logistics. I was relatively confident in my leadership skills, even though I was alone as the sole leader from 5 pm to 10 pm every night. I was leading people over twice my age with zero prior experience, and I thought I was doing pretty well because I got everything done that was assigned to my shift to complete.

My shift would need to clear dock space for third shift, so they could focus on unloading new deliveries before the next day begins. I was accountable for opening up as many staging bays as I could before third shift started. We had 72 bays. My shift started, and 60 of the 72 were full. My shift ended, and 12 of the 72 bays were full. Not a bad shift in my mind. The first shift supervisor even thanked me the next day when I came into work. I set him and third shift up very well, according to him.

Then I walked into my boss’s office. It was time for our daily brief before my shift was scheduled to start.

He said, “How many people did you have clearing the dock?”

I said, “four.”

“Who were they?”

“John, Destiny, Jake, and Amanda,” I replied.

“Why wasn’t Luis clearing the dock? He’s the fastest we have.”

The conversation went downhill fast from that point. It ended with me being the good veteran I was and saying, “Yes, sir!” I was frustrated because I did my job. I just didn’t do it the way my boss wanted me to do it. I decided to try a different approach at that point. I wanted to experiment with working in the new civilian world, so I figured I might as well experiment here.

The next time my boss would give me a task, such as clearing the dock for third shift, I would immediately ask him what his intent was. He would tell me. Then I would ask him what he would do. And again, he would tell me. I would then say, thanks, I can ensure we get that done before third shift starts.

The next day at our daily huddle, he said, “I saw the tracking board, nice work.”

That was it. No questions, no checking, no verification. Just a good job. I realized that I needed to show him he could trust me. I needed to ask him questions. I needed to show him that I clearly understood not only his intent but what he would do. It showed him that I understood him, and he could trust me to execute. And it gave me more autonomy to lead my team without his micromanagement.

Sometimes you need to manage up to show your boss that they can trust you. That usually means putting in more effort up front to gain the rewards later—the ever-annoying idea of delayed gratification (something we’re all becoming more and more uncomfortable with today).

For me, it meant showcasing to my boss that I understood his intent and how he would achieve it. He could have driven the conversation and asked me to read it back to him, but he didn’t. I had to take that step, and it allowed him to put more trust and confidence in me. I was showing him that I fully understood what needed to be done, and I would be able to accomplish it just as well as he could.

If you’re dealing with a micromanager, try experimenting with this technique before waving the white flag. It might not work with every micromanager, but it’s always worth a try.

And you can always use this technique and others to build trust with anyone! Trust forms when people clearly understand the situation and motives of all parties. Ask questions to generate clarity.

Until next time,

Rick

P.S. I wanted to give a shoutout to Candice Millard, author of four New York Times bestselling books. I’ve already finished two of her books, and I’m working on number three. You should definitely check her books out if you’re a history buff like me!