#389: A Guide for the Recovering Micromanager
Navigating the Shift from Overseeing to Overseeing Success. The Journey from Micromanager to Visionary Leader
Coach: What is our highest priority issue to deal with today?
Client: You won’t believe what I had to do. Nobody knows how to finish anything around here. I had to fix dozens of projects. If I hadn’t, they wouldn’t have been done on time.
Coach: Wait, did you fix them before they were broke? How do you know the team wouldn’t have made the proper decisions and corrections before the due date?
Client: Oh, I know. It is like this on every project. If it wasn’t for me, nothing would get done around here.
Coach: Okay, we’ll come back to that. Did you update the weekly numbers for us to review today?
Client: I didn’t have time; I’ll get to it this week. (Said for the 4th week in a row)
Diagnosis: Micromanager, Martyr complex, Control freak
Micromanagement is a common pitfall for many CEOs and business owners, often stemming from a desire for perfection, control, or fear of failure. While the intention might be to ensure high-quality work, micromanagement can stifle creativity, reduce employee morale, and hinder company growth. Here’s a guide on how leaders can recognize and overcome these tendencies:
Understanding Micromanagement
First, it's crucial to understand what micromanagement looks like. Ask yourself the following questions:
Are you constantly checking in on tasks?
Do you insist on doing things yourself because you believe you can do them better?
Do you feel anxious when not directly overseeing work?
If you said yes to any of these answers, you might be micromanaging.
The Impact of Micromanagement
Before we get into the corrections, let’s use Simon Sinek’s famous starting point, “Start with Why,” and discuss how you negatively affect your organization. Each of these areas has emotional and financial costs.
Employee Disengagement: When employees feel they are not trusted to do their jobs, they disengage. This lack of autonomy can lead to high turnover rates.
Not only do we lose money retraining lost employees, but we also lose financially because of lost productivity. Some estimates for small—to medium-sized companies are that as high as 34% of payroll expenses are lost due to employee disengagement.
Remember, 70% of employees would rather have their bosses fired than get raises.
Inefficiency: You might be bogged down in minutiae, preventing you from focusing on strategic decisions.
This is a no-brainer. As the leader or manager of your team, you are most likely the highest-paid individual. Thus, if you complete others’ tasks, you are paying yourself and the employee. In addition, you are not working on the larger issues that should be your priority.
Stifled Innovation: Teams need room to experiment and fail. Micromanagement can prevent this, leading to a lack of innovation.
Why should your team look for better ways to do things when you are going to jump in and do them anyway or be told that it’s not the way you would like it completed? Who cares how it’s done, as long as it’s done accurately and within budget?
Steps to Overcome Micromanagement
1. Self-Awareness
Reflect: Start by reflecting on why you micromanage. Is it due to past failures, lack of trust, or a need for control? Understanding the root cause is the first step to change.
Feedback: Seek feedback from trusted colleagues or a coach. They might see patterns you overlook. This is an important point: seek an objective point of view. Let someone else interview your team and get a 360-degree review from your team, vendors, and other stakeholders. If you are a micromanager, and your team fears you, do you think they will tell you the truth?
2. Trust Building
Hire Well: Ensure you have competent team members. Trust starts with hiring people you believe in.
Delegate Effectively: Assign tasks with clear expectations but allow for autonomy in execution. Start small if necessary. As you delegate tasks, ask permission of the team member when it is okay for you to check up on them. Be transparent with them, and tell them you are anxious and that it is not their performance that is under scrutiny.
3. Set Clear Goals and Expectations
Define Success: Clearly outline what success looks like for each project or task. This gives your team a goalpost without dictating every move. How many times have I written about goals, objectives, and the need to quantify what success looks like?
Regular Check-ins: Instead of constant oversight, schedule regular updates where progress is discussed, not micromanaged. Again, ask permission for when it’s appropriate if this is a multi-stage project.
4. Develop Your Team
Training: Invest in training and development. A skilled team requires less oversight. Hire professionals to ensure that the training is delivered objectively. Acknowledge your bias, and accept that yours is not the only way to get things done.
Empowerment: Encourage decision-making at all levels. This not only builds confidence but also capability. Delegation begets empowerment. At some point, you will turn over a project and ask the team to get it done, and you won’t care how and only focus on the when and the quality of output.
5. Focus on High-Level Tasks
Prioritize: Shift your focus to strategic tasks that you can do alone. This might mean letting go of operational details that steal your productivity, efficiency, and profitability. Where are you going next? What big rocks are you working on?
Use Technology: Implement tools that provide data and insights without needing to delve into the details yourself. So many tools are available that you can have an overview of any project in process. If you need to see where people are in a process, use technology instead of interrupting.
6. Practice Patience
Allow Mistakes: Understand that mistakes are part of learning. Use them as opportunities for growth rather than as reasons to tighten control. As you catch mistakes, bring them up only during the scheduled check-ins.
Gradual Release: If stepping back feels daunting, do it incrementally. Start with less critical tasks and gradually increase autonomy. As I mentioned, delegation begets empowerment.
7. Seek External Perspectives
Mentorship: Engage with a mentor or coach who can offer an outside perspective and strategies for managing your tendencies. Counseling is also appropriate if micromanaging stems from something deep in your subconscious.
Peer Groups: Join or form a CEO roundtable where sharing experiences can offer new insights and solutions.
Creating a Culture of Trust and Autonomy
Developing a business culture that everyone is committed to is key to an organization's long-term success.
“Culture eats strategy for Breakfast” - Peter Drucker
Nearly 100% of the companies I have worked with to implement a business culture have chosen Trust as a core value. If you trust your team, you won’t micromanage. If you micromanage, you show your team that you don’t trust them, therefore not living up to a core value.
Overcoming micromanagement is not just about changing your behavior but also about transforming your leadership style and company culture. It requires trust, patience, and a willingness to evolve. By focusing on empowering your team, setting clear goals, and engaging in strategic rather than operational tasks, you can lead more effectively, allowing your business to thrive with a motivated, trusted, and autonomous team. Remember, the goal is not just to manage better but to lead in a way that inspires and grows both your business and your people.
If you recognize that you have this problem but don’t know what to do, connect with us at the Kole Performance Group. Schedule a 30-minute complimentary session to see what steps we can take to transform you and your organization!