Setting clear expectations isn't micromanagement. It's respect.

Here's the distinction: micromanagement is about monitoring behavior. Expectation-setting is about sharing context.

One says: I don't trust you to figure this out.

The other says: Here's what I know, here's what matters, here's what good looks like — now you tell me what you need.

The leaders who set expectations well aren't doing it to control. They're doing it to give their team the conditions to succeed.