Micromanaging means being excessively detailed on tasks to be done and follow-up with your team members, and this over-control could deprive learning opportunities of your team members.
As a manager, you may care a lot about your team members’ performance. But when caring turns to controlling everything that the team member does, then it is extreme and it is now the time to control it.
When one thinks of the controlling boss, it is some kind of a person who is yelling and shouting all the time egging the team along. It may not always be so but it may result in total micromanagement. Here are a few ways to break this vicious cycle.
Discuss the outcome, not the process.
Talk more about the result required rather than how to achieve it. Sometimes detailed steps are required to complete a particular task but keep these things to the minimum.
Give your team members, more autonomy, plan and come up with the process to achieve the desired outcome. Allow team members to experiment, make mistakes, learn from them and grow to become better leaders.
Talk more about the outcome needed, you may paint an imaginary picture to visualise how a successful outcome would look like. You can do a detailed analysis of the problem and once the unknowns have been identified leave it to the team members to achieve the result and let them find an appropriate way. Show them you appreciate their ideas and value their contributions.
Set expectations around feedback.
Sometimes the teams’ output may not meet the required outcome. To protect yourself from this result, discuss with your team members how and when you would be giving constructive feedback to make the required corrections en route. Set boundaries and at the same time give people the freedom to experiment, make mistakes and learn and correct their mistakes within those boundaries.
Discuss the type of feedback you would be sharing. You may give directional feedback on the way things are progressing. Stay objective and stop yourself from micromanaging and offering solutions during these feedback sessions.
Your feedback should match the outcome you desire. When the stakes are low, excessive feedback may make the team member demotivated and may prevent him from further experimentation and finding the solution.
Manage your managers when possible.
Your team’s performance would reflect on the work you do. If the desired result is not achieved then it would seem that you have failed. However, if you can manage your managers and keep them informed on what you are doing it is unlikely to reflect on your performance. Your primary role is to develop your team members as leaders, help them develop their careers and train them to take on the leadership mantle in future,
When you have discussions with your manager talk about your team members and the work they are doing. This would give you an opportunity about what they think about your managing style, and also whether your manager is in sync with your line of thinking and is willing to contribute with his feedback on the way work is being done.
managing teams is not easy. It is hard when you care about your team members and even harder when the performance is not up to expectations. Do not put pressure on someone to work as you do. Celebrate different ways of solving problems and arriving at solutions. Create learning opportunities for your team members to learn from each other. the more the members feel they are appreciated and valued the more they would perform and stay with the company longer.
In short, let go a bit and watch and help your team members rise to the challenge and thrive.
How to Stop Micromanaging and Start Empowering
by Lia Garvin
HBR 2022/10
R2G 