Micromanagement: a term that irks employees everywhere, like the sound of nails on a chalkboard. What if I told you that most micromanagers aren’t setting out to make the workday a nightmare? As someone that has experienced both the frustration of working for micromanagers, and admittedly, exhibited some of these tendencies myself, I recognize its complexity.
A manager’s job is to control the structure to create order and consistency by organizing, arranging, and delegating resources, responsibilities, and other components. This often includes people. But people cannot be controlled in the same way that resources, tools, and money are controlled. People come with nuance, including complex emotions, varying motivators, ethical considerations, and unique needs and abilities. To maximize potential, people can’t be managed; they must be led.
Necessary control helps the business operate efficiently, fairly, safely, sustainably, etc., whereas unnecessary control can hinder growth and performance, decrease morale, and foster stressful workplace environments.
But where is the line between necessary control and unnecessary control?
This balance is a common struggle that people managers, business owners, and leaders face. Let’s explore some of the signs of micromanaging, the implications, and tips to lead happier teams without sacrificing performance.
You hover.
The stereotypical helicopter manager can happen literally or figuratively. Do you literally hover? Or from afar, does your presence linger? Do people live on edge waiting for you to pop into their bubble at any given moment with new demands, questions, and critiques? You’d be surprised how easily you can create a sense of being watched over the shoulder, even when it’s not in person. The nicest managers with the best intentions can unintentionally create stress and pressure by hovering.
Indeed, a lot of positions require varying amounts of control and communication, so every role will look a bit different. A few reflection questions:
- Would the people you work with refer to you as a ‘hoverer’?
- How much of your time is spent observing and critiquing others?
- Do your team members have opportunities for autonomy?
Unnecessary hovering behaviors often stem from the manager’s own need for control or a fear of failure. If you’re a business owner, for example, you’ve likely invested a lot of your money, time, energy, and life into this and you naturally want to control the outcome. Or maybe you’re a mid-senior level manager that gets paid based on how well your team does. There are endless reasons that managers might feel the need to over-control. But the truth is, you’re just wasting time, especially your own.
Try this: Before you communicate, ask yourself two questions. Does this need to be communicated right now? Would the audience want to have this communicated right now? If the answer to both is no, then there may be a better time to communicate it. If everything is urgent, nothing is urgent.
You hate delegating.
Micromanaging isn’t always about being too involved. It can also look quite opposite of that, for example, an unwillingness to involve others. A lack of delegation is another sign of needing to be in control. Look, I get it- because I’ve done it. Maybe you’ve finally gotten that promotion after a lot of hard work, and you’ve got so many great ideas. Or perhaps you simply love doing it and it brings you joy and fulfillment. Or maybe it’ll be faster and better if you do it yourself. And you might be right! But this isn’t sustainable long term.
If you never pass the torch to others, they won’t get better, you’ll risk burning yourself out, and your business and/or team won’t reach their full potential.
Try this: Delegate with purpose. Approach delegated projects as developmental opportunities. What motivates the individuals on your team? What experiences or skillsets do they need or want to have? Ask them.
You monitor actions instead of results.
How much time do you spend worrying about how other people spend their time? In other words, are you monitoring the result, or the means in which they achieved the result? Sometimes, specific actions are the result. For example, in a highly controlled environment that relies on consistency, there are detailed processes and protocols that dictate actions. Similarly, a salesperson might have a script to follow, where success isn’t just about getting a sale, but how well they adhere to the script. Yet oftentimes, there is a lot more ambiguity involved in how results can be achieved. When there is room for creativity and personal initiative, micromanaging the process can slow productivity, stifle development, break trust, and cause frustration.
Your job is to equip and empower people to do their roles to the best of their ability, not to the best of your ability. By unnecessarily monitoring actions instead of results, your team essentially has two jobs. The one they were hired to do- and the job of pleasing you.
Imagine if every day at work, you are forced to always write with your non-dominant hand. It’s slower, stressful, and can be downright torturous. And even though you know you can get the work done faster and better by switching hands (or using a computer), your boss insists this is the way it should be done. You’d get better with practice, but you’ll never do it as fast and as good as you would with your dominant hand. This is what it can feel like when people are arbitrarily forced to perform their work in a way that feels unnatural. Of course, we often must do things that are uncomfortable or that we aren’t good at. But imagine how much more effective people would be if they had more opportunities to switch to their dominant hand.
You request frequent progress updates.
You either have a deadline with clear expectations or you don’t. If you do, requesting too many surprise updates is causing unnecessary distractions, attempting to control the pace and means of completing it, and signaling that you don’t trust your team. Let’s not confuse this with effective communication habits. Consistent check-ins are a crucial part of goal setting and performance management. Great managers are checking in to ensure that there are no barriers stopping employees from succeeding. Micromanagers are checking because they either seek to control how it is done, or they don’t trust that it will get done.
If you feel like nothing would get done without you doing this, your goals and objectives may be too broad or unclear. Or in other cases, accountability is lacking. Consider agreeing to a check-in schedule and communication plan with your team ahead of time to hold both yourself and team accountable.
Try this: Break long-term goals, projects, and objectives into milestones or smaller tasks that promote ongoing progress. For example, a monthly performance goal can be broken into weekly objectives that help promote timely action, set clear expectations, and provide organic progress updates.
You require the final approval on all decisions.
Is this not the ultimate control? To control every decision? Many of us have worked in an environment where internal & external customer service is hindered, projects are held back, or opportunities are missed due to excessive administrative and hierarchical barriers.
Not only that, but when you control every decision, your team no longer has a reason to make their own decisions, including practicing problem solving and critical thinking. Some people on your team may like this, because not everyone enjoys having these types of responsibilities. Others that are naturally skilled and energized by these experiences will either become frustrated or leave for a company where they can better utilize these strengths.
Also consider that if decisions are limited to the knowledge, experience, perspectives, and opinions of one person, then the success of the team or business is limited to that one person’s capacity. Spoiler alert: multiple minds are better than one.
Try this: Start by making more decisions together. This allows people to develop these skills in a safe environment where mistakes can be made, and risk can be discussed. It also increases engagement, makes people feel heard, and helps generate a sense of ownership.
Your team struggles to meet deadlines or achieve performance goals.
The more you dictate actions, distract people, and limit autonomy, the less time and energy they have to complete their work, and do it well. In my experience, this is particularly relevant for people managers that manage other people managers.
Management of teams and people require the manager to build effective relationships. This is something that cannot be controlled from the outside. While there should be a supporting structure with development opportunities to help managers develop these skillsets, each person is unique, and one size does not fit all. Not to mention, if you’re 1-2 levels of management removed, you won’t understand the context the same way. While your perspective is helpful, it shouldn’t be the only perspective. Act as a coach and mentor to help them build authentic skills rather than giving them a list of behaviors to mimic.
Try this: Instead of asking for an update, ask supportive questions like, “what’s going well?”, “what’s not going well?”, and “what can I do to best support you?”. These types of questions will help you better understand the challenges or barriers in reaching their objectives and goals.
Your team has low morale.
Certainly, there’s plenty of reasons your team could have low morale, but a quick and easy way to make someone miserable at work is to micromanage them. In my experience, you can split these into at least two buckets:
- A stressful environment. There was a time in my career that I cried on my way to work every morning because I dreaded having to be in an environment that made me feel stressed, critiqued, anxious, and just plain awful due to a micromanagement culture. This not only drove me out of the company very quickly, but negatively impacted my performance and the way I spoke about the business to others.
- A lack of fulfillment. There was also a time in my career that I admittedly shot down the dreams and excitement of others by gatekeeping decisions and strategic control. This left some people feeling discouraged and unfulfilled in their roles by stifling their creativity and autonomy.
Give your team a reason to like what they do.
Your team lacks critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Micromanagers hinder change and innovation. As mentioned, people won’t develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills without opportunities to practice them. If you’re feeling frustrated that your team can’t solve problems on their own, consider these reflection questions:
- Do they feel empowered to act? In other words, do they have your permission? And do they know this? And do they believe it? (sometimes we give people verbal or literal permission, but our actions contradict this by showing dissatisfaction or disappointment).
- Are they equipped to act? They can’t do it if they don’t know how. What opportunities are available for them to develop these skills? (this is a great time to be collaborative and work through problems and objectives together).
Try this: Allow people to make mistakes without fearing losing their job and/or respect from their boss. Encourage them to reflect on what went well, and what they would do differently in the future. This will empower people to take risks when necessary and help them reframe ‘failure’ into ‘learning’.
OKAY, I have some micromanager tendencies, now what?
Self-development is a continuous process. But for now, here’s your crash course in how to begin giving your team a little more breathing room and empowering them to achieve success.
- Acknowledgement. The first step is self-awareness! This isn’t a time to judge yourself, but to acknowledge. Seek to understand how your natural strengths, core values, aspirations, and company objectives influence your leadership style. What motivates you? How do you motivate others? What beliefs do you hold that influence the expectations you have of yourself and others?
- Assessment. Take time to observe and reflect on your communication and managerial habits. Ask your team for feedback. Are there any areas in which your team or business can benefit from adapting behaviors and/or processes?
- Set SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound). For personal goals, this will help you hold yourself accountable and maintain realistic expectations. For your team, effective goal setting will allow you to better manage and monitor progress without micromanaging. Include team members in the goal-creation process. This helps create ownership and motivation for the agreed-upon objectives.
- Foster trust and creativity. Show people that you trust them by practicing letting go of unnecessary control. Ask for more feedback. Gather more ideas and perspectives. Empower people to grow and equip them with tools to do so.
Let your team spend their time working instead of worrying about how you want them to be working. With clear expectations and SMART goals, it can allow for a better employee experience that leads to better outcomes for everyone. Be the boss that people like to work for!
If you’re interested in developing your self-awareness and exploring your natural leadership style, I’d love to help you! View strengths-based leadership development services.