A forceful personality can provide certain advantages in a competitive workplace, helping you work your way up the ladder more quickly than you otherwise might. But fair warning: if your favorite management slogan is "my way or the highway," expect a few delays in your drive to the top. 

Granted, you can survive with this attitude, especially if you're a genius or use less-than-scrupulous tactics to advance. But nobody loves a control freak. Your subordinates will never you give you 100% if you disempower them, hover over their shoulders, or constantly disparage their abilities or judgment. They'll either resent you or will get so nervous they won't be able to do their jobs right. And if you're always in their business, you won't get your own job done, either.

Perhaps you, like me, have suffered under a micromanager in the past. I've known others who have left jobs because of them (they quit the manager, not the organization). They're inescapable-and you certainly don't want be one. Control freaks in leadership positions constrain creativity, drive depression, and kill camaraderie. 

But perhaps there's a part of all of us with micromanager tendencies. Do you:

• Resist delegation.
• Obsess over details instead of monitoring the big picture.
• Retain all decision-making power.
• Feel compelled to constantly check in with your workers.
• Leave your own work undone while "fixing" everyone else's.

If you recognize these characteristics in yourself, you can't let your inner control freak out, or you'll just drag down your team's productivity. Start with these pointers: