Properly delegating is a skill everyone needs to learn. From experienced managers, to brand-new leaders, it’s always an issue at some time or another. Anyone who struggles to delegate and likes to be involved is likely to be dubbed a micromanager. This can cause teams to underperform due to the feelings of being distrusted or watched. Employees don’t like being micromanaged, so, for any leader, it’s always best to avoid this behavior as much as possible. Micromanaging can increase staff turnover rates, cause poor morale, and a distinct lack of motivation in the workplace. So, let’s cover some strategies that can help you put a stop to your micromanaging.
Build trust in the team
For most employees, micromanaging shows a lack of trust. If you don’t trust that someone can do the job well, then this is an issue for you to deal with by yourself. Make sure you take a look at yourself and see why you don’t think they can do the task. If they are doing the task in the same way you would do it, then walk away. For those doing it differently, ask questions to understand their process rather than criticize it. This means being more of a facilitator rather than a taskmaster. You should make sure that the team knows they can come to you with any issues or problems, which helps to build further trust within the team environment. Alongside all this, give them responsibilities, in fact, give them more than you are comfortable with. This is not easy, but it helps to engender a more creative team. Of course, you can sit down with the team members first to discuss strategies and project goals too.
Be transparent with management
A lot of micromanaging problems often stem from a lack of visibility in the project management process. For managers or leaders who do not have the ability to see information, initiatives or tasks in real-time, micromanagement often appears. By using the best project management software out there, complete with tools for tracking progress, making comments, and seeing targets hit, you can reduce the need for micromanaging. Better still, you can check on progress without interfering with the employees or the team as a whole. This can help with removing any overbearing attitude, as you can simply check in without the team actually knowing. Workflow transparency such as this can help the leader relax, knowing everything is on course.
Talk to the employees
It’s also a good idea to take the time to sit down with your employees and team. Confident leaders can avoid micromanaging by simply asking their team for input. You can ask them how often they would like to be checked in on, whether they want more responsibilities or if they want to be held accountable for certain parts of the project. Different team members will have varying preferences and abiding by this not only gives you important information about their work habits, but establishes both autonomy and trust within your staff. Part of this also means managing your work culture within the workplace. You can also discuss your vision and beliefs with the team, so that they know where you stand and what is expected of them when they work there and complete tasks. Ensuring clear goals, targets, or deadlines are in place will also enable staff to know what they are striving to achieve. It removes any ambiguity from their side too, which results in a better flow of work in the office.
Be open
Finally, if you’re a micromanager, you may need to take a step back and take a look at yourself too. Make sure that you understand that failure is a way to learn and is a natural part of this process. If you create a workspace where team members feel comfortable to take risks, they can learn faster and more effectively. You should also encourage the team to share ideas, going back around to building trust. And finally, you don’t need everything to be perfect. It won’t be, but allowing different approaches, and problem-solving as needed, will still ensure goals and deadlines are met, while keeping the team a lot happier for the most part.
