Do You Micromanage?

If you do, here’s why you should stop

I recently wrote a short piece outlining a few ideas about coping with a micro-managing boss.

https://readmedium.com/is-your-boss-grinding-you-down-b83c1d95826b

The flip side of that coin is, of course, are you a micro-manager yourself? And if so, should you try to change?

What is micromanaging?

According to Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary, it’s:

“Manage(ment), especially with excessive control or attention on details.”

So, if you obsess over tiny details of your team’s work, insist they run every decision past you, and refuse to delegate tasks or responsibility, you might be a micromanager.

Other micromanager traits manifest themselves in similar ways. You might delegate tasks but watch every little detail over their shoulders. You’ll explain a job down to the last dot on the ‘I’s’ or cross on the ‘t’s’. You might also place blame for failure at the feet of your staff if they haven’t carried out your instructions to the letter.

Do you work more hours than you’re supposed to because ‘I can’t trust them’? I’ve seen many people do this, working their days off or staying late to keep an eye on their team. It says a lot about your leadership ability when you’re terrified of letting someone work without direct supervision.

You might fly off the handle in a fit of rage, or bully and dominate others until they do things ‘your way’.

Do you get annoyed when someone in your team gets a job elsewhere? Do you consider it a personal insult? Perhaps you’ll criticise them behind their back, calling them useless or un-committed, or similar.

Some of it comes from your desire to meet high standards, no doubt you were superb at your job before you were promoted to management. Other people may not be able or willing to work to the same standards, which upsets you. Hence why you focus so much on the details.

It might be well-intentioned, but there are a couple of problems.

First, by being so involved with the day to day tasks, you’re not giving yourself time to work on the strategic ‘big picture’ elements of the job that come with being a manager. You’re actually hindering your ability to gain further promotion.

Second, it’s terrible for the morale of your team. They’ll dislike the interference and will come to hate you sooner or later. You’ll find the turnover of people on your team is high, with tenure only lasting a few months or a year or two at best.

It’s expensive and time-consuming to bring new members into a team, so it’s in your and the company’s best interests to encourage people to stay for the long term.

From an employee’s perspective, being micromanaged is a horrible experience. It makes them feel demoralised, under-valued, useless, depressed even. I could carry on, the list is long, but suffice to say, people feeling this way are not giving their best. Indeed, they’re probably doing the bare minimum to get through the day.

Why would they do anything else? If you don’t make them feel valued, they won’t put in the effort.

A few years back, I worked for a guy who was a bit of a micromanager, then I moved departments to work for someone who was the complete opposite. The micromanager would rant and rage and shout detailed instructions to everyone. The team were cowed and miserable, hating their jobs and bolting out the door the second their shifts ended.

The other boss, though, was fantastic. He would give general advice and leave us to get on with the job, only stepping in if we asked for help. He worked on strategy and conceptual plans and ideas, allowing us to run the department as we saw fit. Most of us loved working for him, and every last one of us did far more than we should. Started early, stayed late, did extra stuff as needed, all with little complaint.

If you’ve now recognised yourself as being a micromanager how, then, do you step back and relinquish control?

If you’ve made it to management, then you’re at least a little ambitious. You’ve got your eye on the next level, and might be trying to impress your boss or their boss.

To move up, you need to let your team take control. Let them make decisions. By all means share the big picture with them, the end goal, but let them decide how to get there.

And support them, advise if you need to, but be mindful that advice is not the same as instruction. Your team don’t need intricate details of how to do their jobs, they already know. But you can tell and gently steer them without being overbearing.

Your team needs space to exercise their talents and learn new skills, so give it to them, stand back and watch them fly. They may do it differently to you, but it’s ok, different is not wrong when it achieves the same goal.

Stand back and let them receive the applause for a job well done. Few things motivate a team more than a boss who pushes them into the limelight and says, “this success is all down to these guys.” You don’t need to take the credit, everyone knows you’re the leader, it’s your team.

Take your days off, if you must leave your phone on, do so, but do not ‘check-in’ with your team. If they have a problem, they’ll let you know, but empower them to find solutions without you.

At first, your team will come running to you for answers, they’ll expect you to instruct them. Resist the temptation. They know what to do, usually, they just need reassurance so tell them you trust them.

Leadership is about coaching and support, setting your team up to succeed, not about giving them detailed instructions.

And if they fail, look at yourself first, ask yourself how you could have helped create a better outcome. What could you do next time to make things work better?

It’s your responsibility to give your team everything they need to succeed.

To sum up, if you’re managing all or most aspects of your team’s work, giving them detailed instructions, and working way beyond your scheduled hours, you’re a micromanager.

It’s in everyone’s best interests for you to recognise this and step back. When you let go, only then will you be able to fly.