Micromanagement, in its basic form, is the need to complete tasks handed over to other members in your team. Some managers can argue that this is down to a desire to get a job completed well or a need to improve their teams performance. However in reality, it’s more often a sign of poor management – which is why it’s so important that you overcome it fast.

Micromanagement highlights your shortcomings

In a need to micromanage everything, you’re often shining a light on your own shortcomings. For many managers who micromanage work, you’re illustrating a need to be in control – but more importantly, you’re also highlighting your anxieties too.

A micromanager needs to be in control. Often, they’re critical of everything their employees do, continually watching them and waiting for mistakes to happen. In its basic form, this comes from a fear of getting things wrong but, it can easily be seen as a form of intimidation and even bullying.

The obsessive tendencies associated with micromanagement serve to reassure the manager, but often have the opposite effect. A micromanager is a constantly stressed manager. Not only does this have a negative effect on your work, it also negatively affects your health too.

One reason for micromanagement is a lack of communication skills. If a manager is unable to effectively communicate their needs in a clear, succinct manner, they’re more likely to feel a need to control not only the outcome, but the individual steps involved too.

This leads to an inability to effectively hand over work, as they fear it won’t get completed to a satisfactory standard. In other words, a micromanager feels that if they want something done, they’re the best person for the job.

If left unchecked, micromanagement can quickly escalate into workplace bullying.

A micromanager demoralises their team

But micromanagement doesn’t only negatively impact on the manager, it affects the team too, as it’s one of the top reasons for clashes at work. (https://www.npr.org/2017/07/17/537750774/is-your-boss-too-controlling-many-employees-clash-with-micromanagers?t=1530691049084)

Team growth can be stunted, if you’re a micromanager. This is due to the lack of freedom and trust between manager and team. Team members are less likely to be motivated in their work, as they feel their best is never good enough.

The levels of stress in your team increase too. Micromanaging a situation warrants constant reassurances and updates from each team member involved in a task. Often, this places an unnecessary burden on the team, as they stress about the constant pressure of being scrutinised at every step, as well as the extra work involved in producing extra updates and reports.

Bottom line, micromanagement clouds goals and objectives, causes unnecessarily delays, affects overall performance, stresses out everyone involved and seriously impairs the flow of communication between manager and team.

If you want to stop negatively impacting on your team and the work they produce, you need to get a handle on your need to micromanage, fast!

Work on your own shortcomings

Understand why you’re micromanaging. What’s the real fear or insecurity around it? If communication is an issue, work on that. If your micromanagement is down to a fear or insecurity, work on your confidence.

A good manager is one that continually works on their own continued growth and development – an essential skill to master, if you want to reap the rewards. (If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of continued growth on yourself and your team, check out this previous article).

Trust your employees

If you want to get a handle on your need to micromanage, you’re going to have to start by trusting your employees. They were employed to do a job, meaning they have the right skills and temperament to carry out that role. Trust that you’ve hired the right people for the job.

Trust yourself

Learn to trust in your communication and delegation skills. If you’ve worked on them to improve them, trust yourself to implement what you’ve learnt. Trust in your abilities to be the manager you want to be – and let your team have the space and freedom to be the team they can be, too. When handing a piece of work over, get clear on the overall objective and goal – and communicate this to the other people involved. Be clear on what you need to happen, when you need it completed by and give them a chance to ask questions and get clarification. Trust in yourself to effectively communicate your needs.

Learn to let it go!

Finally, when you’ve handed over a piece of work, let it go. Give the other person the space and time to complete it to to their best ability. Let them know you’re open to them asking further questions and for help, if needed – and then trust they will do so.

In learning to change your management style from one of micromanagement you’ll become a better manager. You’ll also be allowing both yourself and your team, the space and freedom to grow and become better team players – something that leads to increased loyalty and an improved work ethic.