You’ve assigned an important task to a talented employee, and given them a deadline. Now, do you let them do their work and simply touch base with them at predefined points along the way \u2013 or do you keep dropping by their desk and sending emails to check their progress?<\/p>
If it’s the latter, you might be a micromanager. Or, if you’re<\/strong> the harried worker trying to make a deadline with a boss hovering at your shoulder, you might have a micromanager on your hands \u2013 someone who just can’t let go of tiny details.<\/p> Micromanagers take perfectly positive attributes \u2013 an attention to detail and a hands-on attitude \u2013 to the extreme. Either because they’re control-obsessed, or because they feel driven to push everyone around them to succeed, micromanagers risk disempowering their colleagues. They ruin their colleagues’ confidence, hurt their performance, and frustrate them to the point where they quit.<\/p> Luckily, however, there are ways to identify these overzealous tendencies in yourself and get rid of them before they do more damage. And if you work for a micromanager, there are strategies that you can use to convince him or her to accept your independence.<\/p> But how do you spot the signs of micromanagement? Where’s the line between being an involved manager and an over-involved manager who’s driving the rest of the team mad? This article and video will answer these questions and provide you with strategies that you can use to avoid micromanagement.<\/p>\n\n Here are some signs that you might be a micromanager \u2013 or work for one. In general, micromanagers: <\/p> If you’re getting results by micromanaging and keeping your nose in everyone’s business, why not carry on?<\/p> Micromanagers often affirm the value of their approach with a simple experiment: They give an employee an assignment, and then disappear until the deadline. Is this employee likely to excel when given free rein?<\/p> Possibly \u2013 if the worker has exceptional confidence in their abilities. Under micromanagement, however, most workers become timid and tentative \u2013 possibly even paralyzed. “No matter what I do,” such a worker might think, “it won’t be good enough.” Then one of two things will happen: either the worker will ask the manager for guidance before the deadline, or they’ll forge ahead, but come up with an inadequate result.<\/p> In either case, the micromanager will interpret the result of this experiment as proof that, without constant intervention, their people will struggle or fail.<\/p> But do these results verify<\/strong> the value of micromanagement \u2013 or condemn<\/strong> it? A truly effective manager sets up others to succeed. Micromanagers, on the other hand, prevent employees from making \u2013 and taking responsibility for \u2013 their own decisions. But it’s precisely the process of making decisions, and living with the consequences, that causes people to grow and improve.<\/p> <\/p>Signs of Micromanagement<\/h2>\n\n
What’s Wrong With Micromanaging?<\/h2>\n\n