I had a mini epiphany tonight regarding control freaks.  I realized clearly that there are two types of control freaks.  If you think there are more, perhaps put your thoughts into the comments.

Type 1:  The control freak who is such because he/she is insecure.  Insecure control freaks need to control things because they (i) delegate poorly and/or (ii) need to take credit for things all the time and/or (iii) are unsure of their own ideas so need to control how they are executed and spin things at every turn to look favorable.  I have found that insecure control freaks talk a lot resulting in long meetings (way too long).

Type 2:  The control freak who is such because he/she is tired of dealing with others messing things up.  This type of control freak also delegates poorly until they have a team that can execute really well.  This type of control freak is not quick to trust co-workers to get stuff done right (even when there is no reason not to trust).  This type of control freak typically does not lack security.  Just the opposite.  They are often overly confident, and this can come across negatively or even a bit arrogant.

The funny thing is that I am not even sure why these thoughts on control freaks popped into my head tonight.  Often my posts result from current work-related events.  Not this one.

I have personally fallen into the Type 2 bucket, even recently.  Good to pull yourself out if you can.  Maybe better to hire a team that enables you to do so.  But, I actually like working with Type 2 control freaks because they are not afraid to make decisions and execute.  And they have little tolerance for poor execution.

Regarding Type 1s, I just like to avoid them.