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Under Armour’s chief executive Kevin Plank, has defended the use of micromanagement, describing it as a tool to deliver speed and efficiency in decision-making.
In a recent interview released on YouTube, Plank said he believes micromanagement works “at certain levels,” challenging the perception that the approach is outdated.
“I think it’s totally underestimated,” said Plank, who founded the company in 1996. “I think there’s too much loss on pretense or structure or process. Like, that’s great, but the right answer will save us a lot of time.”
Plank, who returned to the leadership role earlier this year after stepping back in 2020, said his philosophy balances structure with creativity. “We do need structure in place, but we also need to build in the fact that the market is not going to wait 18 months for all of our products,” he said. “We need to be able to get things to market in 12 months, nine months, six months.”
According to Plank, about 80% to 90% of the business is tightly planned, leaving 10% to 20% free for teams to “just be able to think a little bit.” He added that he aims to “model the behavior” he expects from staff, noting that he holds his employees accountable and expects the same in return.
Mixed record for micromanagers
Micromanagement has often been the subject of debate in management research. A study in the Journal of Management Research and Analysis found that while it can dampen innovation and reduce employee autonomy, it may also deliver gains in short-term productivity and organizational discipline.
Some of the world’s most high-profile leaders have been associated with the approach. Steve Jobs, Apple’s much-vaunted late co-founder, was described as a leader who “makes every critical decision, and oodles of seemingly noncritical calls too,” according to Fortune magazine. Tesla’s Elon Musk has also been labeled as a micromanager, although a CNBC investigation reporting his approach sometimes slowed production and led to costly missteps.
Office mandates tighten
Plank’s comments come as Under Armour staff return to the office nearly full-time. The company confirmed that employees are now required to be on site four days per week at its Baltimore Peninsula headquarters.
