The Micromanagement Challenge

The Micromanagement Challenge – by Arnie Wohlgemut 

Many of us have been told or have experienced the perils of micromanaging an individual or a team. From my experience, it’s not easy to avoid the trap of micromanaging as the Leadership experts say.

Inevitably, as a manager or team leader, you have responsibilities. Often the buck stops with you. 

Here are four challenges that need to be met in order to avoid, wherever possible, micromanaging.

Time pressures. There are many reasons why time pressures are present in the workplace today. It could be lack of planning, or even the unreasonable delivery commitments made by senior management. These can lead to the “perceived need” to keep a close watch over the progress an individual or team is making. 

When time pressures exist, ensure you also put the appropriate resources into place along with the delegated authority to achieve success.

Lack of trust. Micromanaging is the one thing that will make any employee feel that they are not trusted. For plenty of employees this approach proves to them that you believe in them, and therefore will make them feel much more loyal to you and your goals.

Having a workplace culture that allows for questions could open the door for new and quick solutions. 

Inadequate communication. Much like trust, poor communication of your goals will lead you to question an individual or teams competence and ability. Be clear, share all the information you can and remember, no one can read your mind and few can read between the lines. 

Communication, when done right can be a huge helping hand in developing employee loyalty, but when done wrong, it can have a real detrimental affect and harm any other efforts that you are making.

Lack of commitment to employee development. Let’s face the facts, not all managers and supervisors are good at coaching and mentoring. When combined with time pressure and lack of trust noted above, those that have coaching and mentoring skills often feel the only choice is to micromanage. 

“No manager wants to see their best staff members move on to something new and leave them behind. If you want to keep the best talents working for your firm, it is up to you to recognize their abilities and develop it.”

Avoid micromanaging at all costs – it will destroy your office relationships, decrease your employees’ happiness in the workplace, and make them feel like you do not trust them.