WHAT IS MICROMANAGEMENT AND HOW DO YOU AVOID IT

A significant number of employers and managers are prone to the concept of micromanagement. This is seen in the instances when you assign a critical task to a talented employee, and instead of leaving the employee to handle the work, you’re checking in on the person to give instructions now and then.

Does this sound familiar?

Do you consciously or unconsciously do it?

Do you have a boss who behaves in this way?

If you do this, you might be a micromanager, and if you’re a worker with a boss that behaves in this way, you might have a boss who’s a micromanager.

What’s Micromanagement, and who’s a Micromanager?

Micromanagement is a business management term that refers to a management style where a manager closely observes and/or controls and/or reminds the work of his/her subordinates or employees. This management concept is generally regarded as having a negative connotation, primarily because it shows a lack of work freedom in the workplace.

A micromanager is a boss or manager who gives excessive supervision to employees. Typically, in a micromanagement scenario, the manager, rather than telling the employee what needs to be done and when, will prefer to give the employee instructions step by step and closely monitor the employee’s action and provide frequent criticisms of the work and progress. Micromanagers take utterly positive attributes and have extreme attention to detail. They’re usually control-obsessed individuals and feel driven to push everyone around them to success at the same time, risking disempowering their colleagues and employees. This case can be so extreme that they sometimes ruin their colleagues’/employees’ confidence, hurt their performance and ego, and frustrate them to the point of giving up.

Read on as we highlight some ways to identify this management style and how to get rid of it before it does more damage. Firstly, how do you draw the line between being an involved manager and being an over-involved manager who’s impeding the creativity and independence of your team?

How to find out if you’re a Micromanager

There are different ways to find out if you’re a micromanager or a potential micromanager. You might be a micromanager;

• If you immerse yourself in over supervising others’ projects.
• If you resist delegating work to others.
• If you take back delegated projects before it’s finished just because you found a mistake in it.
• If you start a correction process by correcting tiny details instead of looking at the big picture.
• If you discourage others from making decisions without consulting you.

How is Micromanagement Bad for an Organization?

Micromanagement reduces the confidence level of the employees in an organization and puts too many responsibilities on the shoulders of the manager. Under micromanagement, most workers become timid and paralyzed. They believe that no matter what they do, it won’t be good enough for the manager. With this mentality, when the worker is given a task to do, he/she will either ask the manager for guidance before the deadline or continue with the project and come up with a doubtful result.

It’s not supposed to be so!

A good manager is supposed to empower his/her employees to excel by providing opportunities for them to make decisions, handle projects, and excel. With micromanagement, bad managers hoard these capacity development opportunities. When employees are not empowered to excel, they’ll require the manager’s time and energy input in every project, and this both weighs the manager down and reduce the productivity of the organization.

You’ll agree that it’ll be challenging to keep up with your own duties as a manager when you’re busy handling the responsibilities of other members of your team.

How to avoid Micromanagement

One of the most effective ways to avoid/stop micromanaging is by taking the decision and talking to your employees about it. When you speak to your team members, you’ l build a healthier relationship that’ll both you and them.

Ensure you give them the opportunity and encouragement to succeed. Focus on the ones with the most potentials and practice on how to delegate effectively to them. It’ll take time and several attempts to convince them that you’ve turned a new leaf, but with time, you’ll get frank feedbacks from them.

Conclusively, never stop working on yourself. If you see yourself micromanaging, call yourself to order and do the right thing. You can set goals to help you on your way to avoiding micromanagement.

We wish you the best.