HOW TO IDENTIFY AND AVOID MICROMANAGING
Micromanaging is easy to do and hard to stop… it’s also even harder to acknowledge you do it.
Whether you put it down to being “super particular” or “wanting to make sure everyone is doing the right thing”, it’s usually a poor excuse for being controlling.
But even then, you may argue what’s wrong with it if you’re able to keep track of your employees and produce good results?
First step is to stop thinking about how things benefit you and start to question if they’re benefitting your employees. Simple answer is: it doesn’t.
85% say micromanaging decreases their confidence
55% claim it hurts their productivity
And if that doesn’t persuade you enough, 69% considered changing jobs because of micromanagement and 36% actually did (Slingshot).
So in the end, it doesn’t benefit you because what’s micromanagement when you have no one to manage?
WHAT IS MICROMANAGING?
Before anything, it’s important you know what micromanagement is, why you do it, and how to address it
Micromanagement is a boss who excessively supervises their employees. For example, when a task is given, micromanagers don’t tend to leave their employees to get on with it, but instead watch their actions like a hawk and provide frequent criticism.
In other words – they allow little to no freedom.
In a blog I wrote about becoming a better leader, I mentioned the authoritarian leadership style, which are essentially micromanagers. They’re strongly focused on the command of the leader and the control of the followers (Very Well Mind)
Employees tend to view these leaders as controlling, bossy, and dictatorial.
WHY DO PEOPLE MICROMANAGE EMPLOYEES?
Why? Well, for lots of reasons. The actions above could make you instantly think of an ego problem or an obsessive need to control – which can be true – but there are plenty other reasons such as:
Fear of failure
Insecurities
Inexperience in management
These can lead some to try to control a situation because feeling out of control is scary.
So, addressing micromanagement is more about becoming self-aware of yourself than your management. This means it’s important to be just as nice to yourself as you are with your employees. Self-loathing will only make things worse.
BE SELF-AWARE ABOUT YOUR MANAGING STYLE
Being aware of your emotions and how you behave on a day-to-day basis is essential to leading your team in an empowering and productive way. Some ways you can practice self-awareness at work are:
Evaluate conversations you’ve had with employees. Were you too harsh? Did you come across as condescending? Did you make them feel valued?
Be honest with yourself when you’re feeling stressed or worried, and if necessary, let your team know. It’s better to share how you feel than taking it out on others.
Think about your core values. Do you want to be a caring manager? Do you want your employees to be inspired by you? Do you want your employees to succeed? Try to embody that in all you do
ASK YOUR EMPLOYEES ABOUT YOUR MANAGING STYLE
This is probably the most uncomfortable part – but it’s also the most helpful.
You can do as much psychoanalysis as you want, but unless you see things from another person’s perspective and how you’re making them feel – true change won’t come.
Having catch-ups with each of your team members to see how they feel about your management and what they would benefit from, not only helps you to work on yourself, but it also helps you to get to know each person and their individual needs.
Some may need more validation than others, some struggle understanding what tasks need to be prioritised, and unless you ask, you may be managing them in a way that hurts their confidence and evidently, hurts their performance.
- Written by Oliver Howson
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