Micromanagement has long been a dirty word in business. Micromanagement is the perceived over-involvement of a manager defined by excessive details and minutiae, numerous rules and corrections — a desire to control the minds and actions of a staff, or as perception would challenge: the inability for a manager to surrender that control. Micromanagement is bad for the development of a team, bad for morale and is a detriment to any organization that wishes to nurture free thinkers.
But, the cry of micromanagement is too often the retort verbalized by subordinates who are being repeatedly, if not dutifully, shown how to improve upon their job performance. The truth of the matter is that some staff members need more direction than others and it is understandable that they might respond to this extra attention and instruction with a negative response. To deny their own fears of deficiencies it is not uncommon to hear the situation described by using the hated “M-word” as a way to counter these feelings in their own eyes or, regrettably, in the eyes of their co-workers. “My boss keeps correcting me … he’s such a micromanager.”
The fear of the Micromanager label is actually preventing many leaders from fulfilling their roles as teachers and evaluators, which is also a detriment to your company. Although, it is your responsibility to provide training and address what many times can be seen as the “smaller things” — such as spelling and grammatical errors, thorough communication with fellow staff or being fully accurate with all accounting procedures.
While without context these items seem less significant than the larger goals of their job, if you allow these “smaller things” to continue uncorrected, it can result in such avoidable catastrophes as mistakes in your expensive marketing materials seen by your entire market, the continuing response of “I don’t know” by your staff and inaccurate pay to your loyal employees. What could have been identified as “micromanagement,” were vital lessons and the avoidance of serious mistakes. The preservation of your high expectations must be performed at all levels of your business. Therefore, you must never allow the “smaller things” to negatively define you and prevent you from being the manager you strive to be.
The real question is, when does valuable and positive training end and destructive micromanagement begin? To avoid an actual case of micromanagement, consider the following important tips:
• Give praise twice as much as criticism
Keep track of your team’s accomplishments and praise them for good work. If you find it hard to identify good work in an employee then it is time to begin an employee performance plan.
• Have the majority of your criticism focus on mission-critical functions
Identify your team’s key functions and focus on those macro issues.
• Keep real-time management to a minimum
Regular criticism on the fly is a defining characteristic of micromanagement. Stay in touch with your team and correct when truly necessary. Otherwise, leave your team to do their jobs.
• Clearly state your expectations
When there is a clear understanding of the job, the task of maintaining expectations is less open to being interpreted as micromanaging.
The threat of the micromanagement label can become a fear-based excuse to not fully oversee your staff and thus, not do your job. You are to give your staff all of the tools to be great at what they do and you should give proper direction and advice. While micromanagement is a very real problem and can negatively affect the very progress that you’re trying to build, do not shy away from your responsibility as a leader for threat of a misguided label. While you do not want to be a micromanager, you must be more fearful of the opposite of micromanagement, which is “neglect.”
John Oei is an operations and strategy consultant and columnist for Club Solutions Magazine. He can be reached through our editor via e-mail at tyler@clubsolutionsmagazine.com.
