How To Quickly Calculate The Level Of Control An Employee Requires

I’m a recovering control freak.

After years of counting pennies, fixing periods, and trying to correct every tiny mistake, I burnt out. I can’t control everything.

I learned that I needed to focus my limited mental resources on what needed my control.

David Finkel calls it the Calculus of Control.

It’s a simple micro process to help you determine how much control a person or task needs. It helps you differentiate low stake versus high stake situations.

Ask yourself these questions to determine the level of control you need to exercise:

• How big are the consequences of the task/project?
• Is the task/project a known, solved equation? Or is it a new field to be figured out?
• How capable is this person with this task/project/responsibility on the Capability Spectrum?
• What is the appropriate level of autonomy for this team member on this responsibility?

With these answers, you can determine what level of control the task or person needs.

For example, suppose it’s a million-dollar project (higher consequences of failure) that has a detailed standard…