Erin Miller
Chief People Officer
Terra Dotta
Episode 232
Beyond Micromanagement: How Trust and Autonomy Drive High-Performing Teams
Current chapter: Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built By PeopleApril 15, 2025 · 7:49
Thesis
“Empowering employees through trust and autonomy, framed by clear goals and guardrails, is crucial for fostering performance and reducing stress for managers. HR professionals must prioritize self-awareness and self-care to effectively lead and mediate.”
Show notes
Erin Miller didn't plan to become a Chief People Officer. Her path into HR came through a back door at the Motley Fool, when colleagues noticed she was the person everyone wanted to talk through problems with. That origin story — being named a "trusted confidant" before having an official people role — has informed how she thinks about trust, autonomy, and management ever since.
Now CPO at Terra Dotta, Erin has a clear framework for what separates effective leaders from those who unintentionally undermine their teams: it's the presence or absence of trust. First-time managers, when stress increases and performance dips, default to micromanagement. They stop trusting and start controlling. Experienced managers do the opposite — they regulate their own anxiety first, then empower their teams with clear goals and guardrails and get out of the way. The practical application: set expectations precisely, define what "good" looks like, and then give people the room to get there in their own way. Low-stakes situations call for full experimentation. High-stakes situations call for "trust but verify."
Erin is also candid about the internal work required to lead well: HR professionals need to understand their own biases, triggers, and blind spots before they can effectively navigate other people's. She practices journaling and therapy as professional tools, not personal indulgences. Her parting advice for HR practitioners is characteristically direct: take care of yourself first. If you're running on empty, you can't show up steadily for the people who need you most.
- How trust shapes management style under stress — why first-time managers micromanage and what breaks that pattern
- Setting goals and guardrails, then stepping back — the practical approach that builds both autonomy and accountability
- "Start with self" for HR professionals — using journaling, therapy, and assessments to understand your own triggers and biases
- Calibrating oversight by stakes — when to verify, when to let people fully run, and how to tell the difference
- Self-care as a professional practice — why HR leaders who neglect their own well-being can't sustainably support their organizations
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What you'll take away
- 1First-time managers often resort to micromanagement under stress; seasoned managers demonstrate self-regulation and empower their teams through trust.
- 2Effective leadership involves setting clear goals and guardrails, then granting autonomy to allow individuals to achieve those goals in their own ways.
- 3HR professionals must 'start with self' by understanding their biases, blind spots, and triggers through practices like journaling, therapy, and assessments.
- 4Balance trust with accountability: 'trust but verify' in high-stakes situations, but allow for full experimentation and runway when stakes are low.
- 5Self-care, including good sleep, nutrition, and exercise, is essential for HR professionals to show up holistically and steadily in challenging situations.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Instead of 'doubling down' and micromanaging when teams aren't performing, leaders should give people time and get out of their way, trusting them with autonomy.
In Erin's words
“your name has come up as a trusted confidant for our employees and we wanna test having you join our people team. That was my accidental falling into HR and work with people.”
Illustrates how an innate ability to build trust can organically lead into an HR career.
“Encouraging first-time managers and even long-term managers to set goals, set the guardrails, but then give people time and get out of their way and see what they can do when you give that give some of that trust and autonomy to them.”
This quote encapsulates her core philosophy on effective management and empowerment.
“And so I always encourage HR professionals or people managers to really start with self, understand what are their strengths, what are areas where they might feel triggered, and be able to work through those before you go into situations where you might have to mediate.”
Highlights the critical importance of self-awareness for HR leaders in their mediation roles.
“In my experience, a lot of first-time managers, when they start to feel stressed or maybe their team isn't performing in a way that they want them to, their response typically is micromanagement, doubling down, trying to gain control. And I think with more seasoned managers, they self-regulate.”
Clearly contrasts the reactive approach of new managers with the calm, empowered style of experienced leaders.
“I think everyone needs therapy. If you don't have a therapist, get one. The other thing, all kidding aside, I do a lot of journaling.”
A candid and direct recommendation for personal well-being and self-reflection tools.
“trust but verify in the high-stakes moments. And for some of the lower stakes, maybe where there's a couple areas where if something gets messed up, it's not the end of the world, it can be fixed, cart launch, give people that full runway and just see what happens. Experiment when the stakes are low.”
Offers practical, nuanced advice on how to judiciously apply trust and accountability.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Employees' number one concern is covering monthly expenses (addressed by sponsor Previ).
- •First-time managers struggle with stress, leading to ineffective micromanagement tactics.
- •HR professionals need to manage personal biases and blind spots when mediating workplace conflicts.
- •Leaders seek the right balance between team autonomy and necessary oversight/accountability.
- •HR leaders often neglect self-care, impacting their ability to show up holistically and steadily for their organizations.
In this episode
Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built by People
And as a starting question, I always love to ask about your career journey
How My Career Journey Changed
Trust is particularly important for first-time managers
The Power of Praise and Trust for First-Time Managers
How can HR professionals better recognize and manage biases when acting as mediators
Bradley and Erin: Managing Conflict and Bias
When starting with self as an HR professional, what specific practices have you found most valuable
In the Elevator With Self-Reflection
Erin, how do you recommend HR leaders find the right balance between trust and accountability
How to Trust and Verify Your Team's Process
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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