Is Micromanaging Hurting your Company?
As a business owner/leader, you’ve got a lot to stay on top of. Meetings, sales, KPIs, finances, planning—some days it seems as if you have everything on your plate.
But wait…isn’t that just the way it’s supposed to be? Isn’t it simply the status quo of what every business owner goes through?
Well, maybe not. Maybe there’s a better way, a way you haven’t yet perfected.
We meet a lot of business owners in our Bootcamps, and one very common thread among them is that they find they are just too busy. They spend so much time on the day-to-day tasks—fixing problems, addressing issues, running around—that they are left exhausted, with little time or energy to do the things they thought they would be doing as a business owner when they first started.
And so, one of the conversations we often have with them is about that taboo word: micromanaging.
That’s because, in reality, it’s what we often see business leaders doing. And that’s a problem, because it’s usually not healthy for them, their employees, or their organization.
So lets take a closer look at micromanaging. What is it exactly? Do you do it? How does it hurt your business? And how can you stop doing it?
Characteristics of a Micromanager
The term micromanaging has been around for decades now. It’s when a manager interferes is heavily involved in the day-to-day details of an too much with employees’ tasks, instead of trusting them to workdo it properly on their own.
Now, when we think of a micromanager, we might envision a The term “micro-manager” also has negative connotations. We imagine a Darth Vader or Cruella De Vil type boss who hoversing over an employee’s every task or decision. But we have found that this is typically far from the truth.
In fact, many business leaders we’ve worked with who were micromanagers were, in fact, very nice people. It’s just that they felt Their primary motivation is a need to control and exert dominance. However in our experience the “micro-“managers we worked with were very nice people, and their main motivation was a type of anxiety.
They tend to be individuals who feel they wereeir responsibility keenly, and feel they are responsible for everything. They worried that are anxious that a mistakes mightwill be made and, if so, they would often blame themselves.that they will blame themselves. They felt that keeping a tight watch on everything was the best way to ensure their customers, and employees, weren’t let down.don’t want to let people down.
So, just what does a micromanager look like? Here are some of the common Let’s look at some of the characteristics of a typical micro-manager we encounter. Do you see yourself in any of the following?
You worry that delegating don’t like to delegateleaves you vulnerable to someone else’s mistakes.
You want feel you need to be the one who makes every decision.
You believe that you spend too much time more time focussing on small operational details than and not enough on developing bigger, bigger strategic ideas.
You ask for want frequent, ad hoc updates on projects (sometimes several times a day or week).
You find yourself resent that you “have to” are doinging things that you feel your managers should be doing instead.
You want even the most insignificant task to meet your exacting standards.are a perfectionist
You believe that your corrective feedback to employees is simply “critiquing” (when in fact it might be criticizing). But you are also aware feel that you critique rather than criticize, and are aware that you don’t more than compliment your employees nearly enough.
You frequently tell employees not just what tasks to do, but to do a task, but also how to do them.perform that taskdo tasks
You find yourself redoing some of your employees’ work because it isn’t “good enough”.
Do you recognize yourself in any of those? If so, you’re not alone. These are traits that we see in many business leaders. After all, you’re in charge, so you feel responsible for everything that goes on in your company.
But micromanaging can take its toll on you, and your company. Let’s take a look at how.
The Cons of Micromanaging
Many leaders who micromanage feel it is the best way for them to ensure their organization produces the best quality work most efficiently. However, the truth is usually the opposite. Here are some ways micro-managing can cost you time and money.
It consumes too much of your time
Your time is finite. There are only so many waking hours in a day, and only so many days in a lifetime. We frequently hear our clients saying complaining that they don’t have enough time to work on the development of their business, and certainly not enough to spend with their families. And this is oftenall because they are too busy dealing with the constant flow of day-to-day issues that arise. So it is especially important to make sure you are spending your time on what you really need to, not on other people’s tasks. So one of the key things we focus on with them is being very clear on what things they do need to be doing, and what things they don’t. Micromanaging just takes up way too much of your valuable time. You need to spend your time on the big picture items, and let your managers and employees do what they do best. After all, that’s what you hired them for.
It builds frustration, mistrust, and demotivation in employees
This is a biggie. You hire people because of their abilitypersonality and skill, but then you tell them to do everything your way. Employees start to feel like something between an under-appreciated servant at best, or a distrusted human robot at worst. This can lead to You can create an environment where people are not happy in theirto work, and are constantly on the lookout for better opportunities in to leaveEmployees hate micromanagers. They feel like someone is constantly looking over their shoulder (unnecessarily). They feel they aren’t being trusted, and that their expertise is not valued. All this can, and often does, lead to less productive employees, or ones who leave your company for greener pastures.
It stifles excellence and creativity
When employees are micromanaged, they often stop thinking for themselves, and that means your company loses the benefits of their talents.for the benefit of your company!. After all, what’s the point in thinking when someone is just going to come along and tell you that you are incorrect, or that you did something the wrong way? Whyof cominge up with creative solutions when you know they are just going to be stomped on? All the employee brainpower that could be helping you is, instead, …is lost.
It costs money
All that time you spend on other people’s tasks means less time spent on what really counts: leading and growing your business. That can lead to lost revenue, and lost opportunities. In addition, demotivated employees may produce lower quality goods and services, which can cause you to lose customers. Attrition is another cost, and the salary you pay to employees is partly wasted if you’re not letting them give you their best.
How to Stop Micromanaging even if you want to be overseeing every task and make every decision, you know that is not humanly possible. So what happens? You make the ones you are aware of, and the others are made by demotivated people who now don’t care so much about you and your company. What could possibly go wrong? You get burned out and still provide your products or services that aren’t as good as they could be. Are you making all of the money you could be? Very likely not. can cause you to lose money through lost customers. Those customers can cost you even more customers through word of mouth that your work isn’t what it could be. Processes that aren’t as efficient as they could be (because your employees aren’t motivated enough to care) cost you money. Attrition costs you money. And all the salary you pay to employees is partly wasted if you’re not getting the best out of them.
The Pros of micro-managing
Now that you understand what’s at stake, let’s talk about what causes micromanaging, and how to stop doing it.
We find micromanaging often occurs when leaders have read what you can lose, and if you are looking forward to losing all of that, here is the bidon’t g reveal: understand that they you are accountable for almost all things, everything, but responsible for very only a fewer things.
Let’s talk about what we mean by that. But first, a quick, working definition.
Accountable means you are Someone accountable is answerable for ccountable for outcomes—y. ou are That person is “on the hook” for results. You are the one who makes sure the necessary things are in place (equipment, staff) to accomplish tasks, but you aren’t the one who actually performs the tasks themselves. Accountability cannot be delegated. It Accountability is usually owned by only one person, and it is rarely shared.
Responsible Someone responsibmeans you are the one who must complete the task. le is responsible for completing a task and making relevant decisions. Responsibility can, and usually is, delegated. More than one person can be responsible.
Here’ is how understanding the difference between these two terms translatesd into positive change for our clients, their businesses, and their families – and how you can benefit too.
As they realized that although you they are accountable for all everythings in your their business, your they are responsible for only a few things. These tend to be managing the strategic direction, developing key business development relationships, and managing the financial growth of the company.
It’s important for you to realize that you are nThey also realized they were noot responsible for most of the areas of yourthe business. Manufacturing processes? No. Sales? No. Finance and Accounting? Nope again.
Accepting tThis allows you to see that ed them to gradually pthe ut people you have put in various positionslace are the ones who are who were responsibresponsible le for for results in theirat areas, not you. You, instead, are responsible for the leadership activities of your company.
Understanding the difference can help you , and allowed them to get out of the micromanagement weeds, and have more time for your own leadership (and personal) responsibilitiesthemselves.
Now that we’ve explored the down side of micromanaging, the question arises: is there a positive?
As it turns out, yes, there can be.
It can help guide new employees
Micro-managing, done right, can help guide new employees who are still learning the ropes. They (rightly) can’t yet be fully trusted to do their new job perfectly, so some more-than-usual amount of supervision is prudent. Regular “extra” supervision gives you the opportunity for early intervention in the case of errors or misunderstanding. (But just remember to ease up once the employee starts getting the hang of it!)
It can help existing employee when learning new task
As with new employees, extra supervision is warranted when employees are learning new procedures. But don’t over do it, and back off once they have learned what they need to.
It keeps employees accountable
If you are too hands-off, there is the chance that some employees may take advantage of that and ease up on their quantity or quality of work. After all, it’s easier to get away with poor or missing work when no-one is checking on you.
It can keep you in the loop
Because you are checking in frequently, you may be more likely to know what is going on. But you need to ask yourself if you are the one who needs to do this. Isn’t there a manager whose job it is? And if you do have to do it, do it in a supportive way, not a destructive one.
You may be thinking “Well, all of that’s not micromanaging, it’s training or coaching.”
Bingo!
Micromanaging, done right, becomes a type of coaching or mentoring.
Who should micromanage?
So, if a certain amount of supervision is necessary at certain times, who should be doing it? The simple and firm answer is almost always “Not the leader”.
If you do micromanage anyone, it should be your senior leaders, not general managers or employees (with the possible exception of your administrative assistant), and then only when they are new, or learning new tasks.
Summary
If you find you are continually running out of time to do things, take a close look at whether you micromanage. If so, make a conscious effort to stop assign responsibility to people on your management team, and give yourself permission to only be responsible for those things you are best suited for.
Yes, you want to ensure that your employees are doing their jobs. But the key is balance. You want to balance the amount of control you exert with the amount of freedom you give. Usually that means instead of taking away their autonomy, you give them more of it.
Think of what you hired an employee for—to handle the day-to-day tasks independently. So let them do it, and turn your own time and energy towards leading.
Cheers,
Peter
[ This article is intended as general information only, and is not meant as professional advice. ]