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There is a big difference between an attentive leader and someone who is obsessed with the idea of control. The latter is usually called a micromanager – and no one likes him, because he takes one half of the tasks for himself, and rechecks the other half, completed by employees, 33 times. How to understand that you have chosen an unsuccessful management style? And what exactly is its disadvantage?
“No one dreams of becoming a micromanager – or a bad leader in general. Hardly anyone wakes up in the morning and thinks: “What can I do to make it harder for my team to do their job?” says career consultant Gorik Ng, author of The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting a Career. “However, many do just that.”
How and why does the work of the boss turn into obsessive attempts to control the work of others at every stage? The answer is simple: the micromanager is sure that employees will fail if their every step is not monitored. As a result, the latter spend more time and effort on proving their competence than on the work itself.
Here are the traits and patterns of behavior that you should pay attention to.
1. You constantly double-check everything
There are times when micromanagement is necessary — for example, if the employee is inexperienced or not very motivated, says leadership consultant Kimberly B. Cummings. Another thing is when you do not even give employees a chance to prove themselves and show what they are capable of.
“A micromanaged leader keeps asking employees what the status of a particular task is, even if the deadline is still far away. Constantly reminds that something needs to be done, sent or scheduled. In the end, the employee is deprived of the opportunity to independently perform their tasks.
Cummings advises managers to ask themselves often: “Has this employee been able to cope with tasks in the past? Completing them on time? Does he demonstrate a complete understanding of the task, the project as a whole, and his role in it? Can he do it this time too?”
The answers to the questions will help you understand whether careful monitoring of the employee’s actions is really necessary or is it just a remedy for your anxiety.
2. You don’t specify your expectations.
If an employee has just taken a job, then careful monitoring of him may be appropriate. But in this case, the most important thing is not just to control, but to explain what is expected of him – both in the process of work and upon its completion.
You can say directly: “It is important for me that you learn how to do it yourself, but at first I will be there – to explain, give feedback, control somewhere. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes entirely your responsibility.”
Alas, not all managers are aware of what exactly they want from an employee: how, when and why the task should be completed. And they begin to intervene when he does something differently than they imagined. Or does not have time to complete the task on time, even if initially not announced.
3. You focus on small details
Employees expect the boss to concentrate on the big picture and global tasks, and leave the small ones that make up this puzzle to them. And when he starts to find fault with trifles, for example, with one point in a high-quality and timely report, this cannot but irritate the whole team.
4. You are convinced that your decisions are the only right ones.
“Another clear sign of a micromanager is that the leader requires employees to perform tasks exactly like him. After all, this is “the only right way,” explains Gorik Ng. “Such narrowness of thinking kills creativity in the bud — as well as motivation.”
“In the short term, you can get what you want through micromanagement, but employees never learn anything. They will not feel responsible and competent,” Ng concludes. “The more you control everything, the more employees will relax, knowing that you will dictate what to do next anyway.”
So micromanagement is a management strategy that ends up hurting everyone. The boss has a blockage of additional work, and the employees have zero chances to learn something and prove themselves. Maybe it’s time to give it up?