One of the biggest frustrations among employees is a manager who engages in micromanagement. This is a management style in which the manager closely monitors the work of his employees, with an excessive amount of attention to detail.
Furthermore, the underlying rationale behind this management style is often that the manager believes they are improving the efficiency, quality, and productivity of the employees.
Moreover, in practice, however, this often turns out to have the exact opposite effect. It not only reduces employee productivity but also causes a drastic drop in morale when they feel they are being monitored every step of the way.
Furthermore, micromanagement can in some cases lead to short-term results, but on the other hand, you signal that you do not trust your employees' work, often hinder your team's potential and creativity in the process, and in all likelihood work yourself towards burnout by wanting to micromanage everyone's work.
So, as a manager, how do you ensure you avoid micromanagement and let your employees work to their full potential? Read the 5 tips below:
1. The big picture
Therefore, ensure that your employees understand how the work they deliver contributes to the overarching goals of the company. By making these goals clear to the employees, they can see for themselves the importance of the smaller tasks they perform.
This reduces the need for daily micromanagement, as it is up to the specialists themselves to steer towards the overarching goal.
Subsequently, in an ideal scenario, every employee remains focused and asks themselves whether the work they deliver contributes to the success and stated goals of the company.
2. Clear instructions and expectations
Also, be as clear as possible when briefing on a new assignment or project. Explain what, why, and when things need to be done for this new project. You can test whether the employee understands the project objectives by asking him or her questions directly.
In short, it is even better to set clear, measurable goals together with the employees. Do not impose these on the employee, but involve him or her in this process to give them a sense of inclusion and responsibility. The SMART principle lends itself well to this.
3. Evaluation moments
For example, set deadlines together with the employees that you can use as evaluation moments. In this way, you agree on a time together to receive updates on the work.
After all, the employee can of course always turn to you with any questions or requests for help, but this way you can focus on other tasks that have higher priority. This also gives the employee a sense of responsibility.
4. Feedback on final results
By setting clear expectations and goals, you ensure that you, as a manager, no longer need to monitor the process. Everyone knows what the overarching objectives are and is free to experiment and try out new things, as long as the results can be measured.
Moreover, that is how you measure whether these efforts have yielded something positive or not; therefore, focus only on the end result and not on the “how.” Similarly, in the workplace, it is not the manager’s will that dictates how the work is done, but rather the end results.
5. Two-way communication
This is how you remain open to feedback and suggestions from your employees. There are multiple ways to get things done; the specialists within your team likely know the best way to do something.
Additionally, ultimately, make sure they know they can always come to you with ideas or opinions.
