New managers who are still building confidence and exploring the best way to lead can unintentionally develop controlling behaviors, hoping to live up to the expectations of their roles. Unfortunately, these behaviors usually have opposite effect by negatively impacting employee morale and performance. To avoid micromanagement behaviors, check in with yourself by asking these three questions:

• Are you always giving your team “advice”? While there’s nothing wrong with giving your team members advice in situations that truly require it — high-stakes projects, urgent issues, or new processes that require more hands-on guidance — your goal should be to help people develop solutions on their own.
• Do you need to approve every decision your team members make? If you’re on every email thread and in every Slack channel just to give your nod of approval, you likely need a better process. Try figuring out which stage you need to weigh in, instead of weighing in at every stage.
• Do you consider feedback a one-way street? Feedback should be a two-way conversation. Recognize people’s strengths, treat mistakes like learning opportunities, and seek out opinions from your team to show them you value their perspectives.