Micromanagement is mismanagement
Control freak behavior by bosses leads to disengaged employees
No one knows the business as well as you do, so you might as well retain control over everything, right? If you give someone a task to do, you need to look over his or her shoulder the entire time, making sure the employee is doing it the way you want.
That’s called micromanaging, and it’s one of the worst leadership styles out there.
So, why do employers micromanage? It comes down to trust and confidence. They don’t trust the employees they have hired, and they don’t have confidence in themselves as leaders. They are so afraid to give up control that they look over their employees’ shoulders at every turn.
Micromanagement merely depletes the manager’s confidence and it’s awful for employees too.
Micromanagement leads to disengagement. If you constantly monitor what your employees are doing, they will assume you don’t trust their work. Employees then become disengaged, and that will cost you.
Just how much? Well, the book “12: The Elements of Great Managing” puts the cost at around $600,000 a year for a standard 10,000-person company. That $600,000 comes from days when disengaged employees don’t perform much.
Let’s talk about halting micromanagment so you can become a more effective leader.
You might think, “I’ve been micromanaging for years. It’s just who I am.” Maybe it’s who you were, but it’s not who you are. You can change it right now and become a more effective leader for your employees.
Step 1: Reflect
As with all important changes, you need to start the process with some reflection. Why are you micromanaging your team?
There’s a good chance it’s insecurity, and you might want to push that feeling back down. Let it come up, though. It’s normal to be afraid that your team will make a mistake, and that it will reflect badly on you.
While it’s normal, it’s not healthy. Micromanagement is a form of overcompensation. Once you know the reasons you micromanage, it’s time to counter them. Come up with counterpoints for each of the reasons so you’ll remember why it’s important to avoid micromanagement.
For instance, many managers are unable to let go of their old job or their old ways of doing their job. At higher levels, managers usually need to dial down their operational focus and learn how to be more strategic, Harvard Business Review points out. To do so, managers have to trust their people to manage day-to-day tasks and then coach them as needed, rather than involving themselves in every detail.
Recognize this and restrain yourself when you are tempted to scrutinize your team’s every move. Remember, you hired this team, presumably because you think these people are talented. Trust them to do their jobs.
Step 2: Have a talk
If possible, hire a third party to come in and talk to your team about your management style. Make the process confidential so your subordinates will open up. Have the third party ask the team if you micromanage and what impact it has on them.
This will help you understand your true management style and what you need to fix.
Step 3: Learn to prioritize
Micromanagers tend to be awful at prioritizing. Everything is important so they have to sign off on every little detail before the team can move forward.
In reality, you don’t need to be involved in every little task. Look at the tasks your team handles and how those tasks help you reach your overall goals. Then, determine which ones are the most important.
For instance, strategic planning is critical, and you should be involved. Proofreading a presentation isn’t all that important, and you can leave that to your team.
By prioritizing the tasks, you finally will become a real leader. You will handle what you need to handle, and sit back and let the team take the lead on less important issues. It will empower them without putting your company at risk.
Step 4: Let your team know
Once you have figured out what you need to be involved in and what you’re going to step back on, tell your team about it.
Explain when they need to get approval and when they can take the lead themselves. This will empower your employees. They will be excited about taking ownership of certain aspects of projects. This will engage them, and they will get more work done than ever before.
If employees still come to you for approval on areas you’ve delegated to them, tell them you trust them and back away. This will show them that you’re serious about your new management style.
The takeaway
It’s important to be an engaged leader, but engagement and micromanagement are not the same things. You need to trust your team to take on some of the less important responsibilities. That will free up your time to make sure all projects align with your overall goals.
It also will empower your employees and allow them to take ownership of certain tasks.
That ownership will give them a sense of pride. Also, as you start trusting your employees, they will start trusting you too. That will make it much easier for you to be an effective leader.