Why you should avoid micromanagement: – If you have trouble delegating and you tend to want to control everything, you are likely to be a micro-manager. The micromanagement is a management style that is characterized by excessive control, insufficient delegation and an obsessive attention to detail.
Micromanagement often starts with a good feeling: passionate and totally devoted to his work, the micro-manager wants the tasks to be carried out to perfection, in the smallest details. Because he wants to do a great job, he does not realize the negative impact of his behavior on his team. In the end, his attitude is detrimental to his collaborators and to the success of the project.
Are you a Micro-manager?
You want to be a copy of all emails, you are often dissatisfied with the work of your collaborators and you think that being a perfectionist is a great quality? You seem to be a micro-manager. Micromanagement is easily identifiable by the employees who undergo it, whereas micro-managers seldom consider themselves as such.
The 6 Signs of Micromanagement
- You do not know how to Delegate
Why give this task to one of your collaborators when you know you can do it better yourself? And as you are afraid of being disappointed by the work of your collaborators, you are drowning them in a quantity of instructions so that they can carry out their tasks in the best possible way: yours.
- You check Every Detail
You are constantly behind your team to check the progress of tasks, but also how to do it. Certainly, a project manager must regularly know where his team and project is, but regularly does not mean several times an hour.
- You love the Reviews
You constantly ask your team for reports on everything and everything. Each task must be the subject of a detailed report in order to satisfy your thirst for control. Is this really helpful?
- You have a Communication Problem
You regularly hold (more than necessary) long meetings where your team listens carefully to your instructions but cannot speak. You also practice retention of information in order to retain control.
- You cannot manage Priorities
You spend more time controlling how your team works, rather than the progress of your project. You focus too much on details rather than global vision.
- You are in Denial
No, you’re not a micro-manager. You do this only because your team is not competent and you have to frame it to ensure the success of your project.
The Consequences of Micromanagement
Gone were the days when a strong hierarchy imposed its directives. Today, management has evolved, encouraging employees to take initiative, innovate and solve problems independently. Micromanagement goes against these principles and the consequences are detrimental for your team, but also for your project.
- Loss of Morale
Your employees feel that you do not trust them, which affect the morale of the team and has a negative impact on their productivity. In addition, by preventing creativity and innovation, you get mediocre results.
- Lack of Autonomy and Effectiveness
By monitoring your team’s actions and gestures, it loses its autonomy. And because you focus on details, rather than on more global goals, you are hurting your employees’ effectiveness.
- Loss of Motivation
Micromanagement is often a source of stress and demotivating. Since you do not trust them, your employees are no longer involved in the project. Some will not hesitate to resign to meet new challenges. Micromanagement can cause the loss of skilled employees.
- Work overload
Since your employees have lost all autonomy, they rely on you to advance in their tasks. You end up with a work overload that you cannot manage alone. By continuing this way, you risk burn-out.
- Project failure
You are wasting your time managing details and organizing unnecessary meetings, and you are missing out on the progress of the project. Your behavior affects your team’s performance and productivity. This increases the risk of project failure.
How to remedy Micromanagement?
Do you recognize yourself in this portrait? No worries, it is quite possible to take care of micromanagement by simply taking the foundations of management: mutual trust, encouragement, communication, delegation, etc.
To succeed, you must radically change behavior.
- Learn to trust and listen to your team;
- Learn to delegate and empower your employees;
- Accept not to control everything and step back;
- Stop focusing on details and take a more holistic view;
- Communicate with your team (positive and negative);
- Limit meetings and reporting to the strictest;
- Prioritize your priorities and learn to accept small mistakes from your team.
If you are really difficult to get out of micromanagement, you can get help from a mentor or a coach. Above all, be patient because you will not change overnight. It will take time to (re) earn your team’s confidence. Show him that you are involved and really motivated to change his attitude to start on better bases.
Hello everyone! This is Richard Daniels, a full-time passionate researcher & blogger. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics. He loves to write about economics, e-commerce, and business-related topics for students to assist them in their studies. That's the sole purpose of Business Study Notes.
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