Micromanagement

"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity." This is General Patton's ultimate anti-micromanagement quote. Although it's often easier to tell your subordinates exactly how do to a particular task, who says you know the smartest way to do it? Micromanagement stifles initiative and kills motivation. The folks in the trenches know the best way, so practice "centralized control and decentralized execution" and get out of the way."

This is so true.