You have a lot of responsibility as a manager.
It’s a major duty to make sure your team meets deadlines and delivers high-quality work while working in a fast-paced, competitive atmosphere.
You want to provide all the resources your direct reports need for success, including the advantage of your knowledge and counsel.
But sometimes, assistance and direction go too far. Your managerial approach may become overbearing and invasive, lowering morale and hindering output.
When that occurs, you should learn how to let go of micromanaging so that your team members know you have faith in their talents.
Being micromanaged is not something that most workers like, thus as a leader, it is better to stop this behavior before it causes problems like low morale, de-motivation, and employee turnover.
We’ve compiled a list on how to help you avoid micromanaging in the workplace, here’s how:
Find Out How Your Team Would Want To Be Managed
Harrison Tang, owner of Spokeo who believes in servant leadership tells us: “Your team will be greatly impacted by micromanaging. Consider this: would you want to work in a setting where others always tamper with or criticize your work?
And you undoubtedly have opinions to share if you’ve ever been in a situation like that.
Because of this, as a leader, getting to know your team members’ true feelings is a wonderful method to prevent micromanaging.
In order to increase the likelihood that you will have a complete and accurate picture, you might encourage them to provide anonymous comments on your management style to find out how they would like to be managed.
Your team will value your act of trust and responsibility in responding to this input.”
Create A Climate Of Trust
To increase productivity and free up everyone’s time, cultivate trust among your team.
Employees will feel empowered to forward initiatives without your approval, and you won’t have to continuously approve everything.
When it comes time to evaluate their work, employees will appreciate your helpful criticism because they understand it comes from a place of wanting to see them succeed rather than controlling them.
Carefully Micromanage
Rarely will you need to micromanage—for example, to assist a colleague who isn’t performing up to par or train a new hire.
Yet there are very few instances in which micromanagement is required. Keep in mind that this is a stopgap solution.
After things settle down, you’ll go back to your pre-problem bounds.
Physically Remove Yourself From The Group
Leaders never really quit; instead, they assign tasks and strategies to their people.
For example, one worker scheduled her monthly trip to fit in with a certain task. Delegation, traveling to another team, and assignments were all developed as a result.
The team was in a better position since the leader wasn’t hovering over them in the next room. More freedom and productivity resulted from this.
Obtain Input
There is often a big difference between what leaders want and what the team is really going through.
Your teammates may already be getting tired of you lingering about, so you could just be suspecting that something is wrong. In order to determine the issue’s significance, feedback is necessary.
You should do a cross-evaluation assessment to find out what your direct reports really believe and if it aligns with your aims.
Collect private information from your workers, or better yet, have a third party collect it for you, then compile the findings to let staff members know that it is impossible to pinpoint precisely who said what.
Although what you hear may be depressing, it’s important to comprehend the larger patterns and responses as well as how [your micromanaging has] affected your team.
Decide What Is Important And What Is Not
No matter how big the work is, you can’t teach and delegate as a smart manager can if you’re doing everything yourself.
To begin with, decide which tasks—like strategy planning—require your whole attention and which are less crucial (like editing the presentation).
Supervisors should review their to-do list to identify the low-hanging fruit that may be delegated to a team member.
The priority on your list—that is, the big ticket items where you truly add value should also be highlighted, and you should make sure you are spending most of your energy on them.
Keep in mind that micromanaging takes the place of leaders’ actual task, which is creating and communicating a compelling and strategically relevant vision for your group.
Recognize Your Workers’ Limits
Carl Jensen, owner of Compare Banks recommends knowing your employees and only giving employees what they can handle.
He says: “Some may overcorrect by retraction, but it’s wise to provide the right kind of support.
Even if you’re not really active in a certain project or activity, talk about how you will assist them and how you will help them overcome problems.
However, there are instances when it’s necessary to maintain a tighter check on certain initiatives or personnel.
For example, if your report is junior or “not yet ready to be trusted,” you will need to monitor their progress closely.
Similarly, it could be appropriate to step in or request frequent updates when the delivery is urgent and has significant consequences.
It’s beneficial in this situation to let the individual know why you are taking such a hands-on approach.
Over time, the employee should be able to do the assignment alone with your guidance and input.”
Select A small Number Of Indicators And Goals (and just a few)
Restricting your possibilities for engagement is an excellent strategy to prevent being too immersed in the work of your team.
This entails limiting the project’s KPIs and goals to a small number. You should only provide comments on these measurements and goals.
Consider these measurements as the limits for your team members. Why would you break boundaries with your team if you wouldn’t with your friends and family?
Let’s take an example where your head of R&D is working diligently to perfect adjustments that will double the speed at which your product operates.
Relevant measures include user-friendliness, completion speed, and a safety rating of some kind.
Don’t provide feedback on the employee’s methods for achieving these objectives, and don’t snoop around while the process is still in progress.
After the delivery is finished, wait, evaluate just these metrics, and plan your future actions based on them.
