Micromanagement! Chances are you will be familiar with the term and you may even have been unlucky enough to come across a manager who uses it. What exactly does the term mean? Basically, when a manager keeps track of every tiny business step and is requiring constant updates on everything, no matter how small, this can be classed as micromanagement. Usually this kind of manager will not appreciate employees who work on their own initiative and make decisions for themselves as they will want to be consulted on everything and they will consider it to be their right. Employees are there to perform the tasks set precisely as the manager wants them done and will not be included in any decisions.

Micromanagement stems from the need to be in control of everything and a lack of trust over those people you employ. Delegating any responsibilities will make you feel anxious and out of control. Have you ever considered the effect such actions may cause your employees or the results of these actions on performance?

An employee who is micromanaged knows there is a lack of trust. He or she will never be given the chance to prove themselves capable as they will be following orders down to the last detail. In time this will only help them to become demotivated. People want to use their brains and with experience they become excellent workers, well capable of performing tasks to a high standard. If they are not given the chance to show their initiative and be challenged by the work they perform and by the responsibilities they are given, then this demotivation will have a negative impact on performance. This is ironic since by attempting to control everything in detail, this is exactly what the micromanager hopes to avoid.

Capable staff who require job satisfaction in their position will not stay long and the manager may well lose valuable and talented staff without even realising their full potential. Instead the manager is left with no choice but to employ staff who are less capable and talented and can only follow orders. The impact on performance is catastrophic in this instance since the staff are no longer capable of high quality work.

When this situation arises, the manager will be forced to take on even more work and monitor even more closely, creating a vicious circle within the team. How can this cycle be broken? One major step forward is to realise that people are human and they will sometimes make mistakes, especially when made as part of a learning curve for a new position. Mistakes are part of experience and the important thing is to learn from them. Procedures can be put in place when a mistake happens in order to improve things and prevent the same mistakes happening again. Provided the employee is willing to learn from the mistakes they should not find themselves part of a blame game or witch hunt.

Learning to delegate is no bad thing and letting someone else complete a task does not mean you lose control over it. Be clear about what you want and when you want it done by and sit back and see what happens. Obviously make sure that the person you delegate the task to, has time to complete the task and the skills necessary first. Ask the employee to update you on the task progress only once the deadline has passed in order to show your trust. Make sure that when they complete the task well, they are congratulated for it.

So does this mean that monitoring is a bad thing? Not by any means! Do not relinquish overall control, but simply back off a bit and let people work for themselves, they may surprise you. Ask your team for their opinions and include them in the decision making process. You may find that they have experience and ideas that you do not have that can enrich the process. Focus on setting goals, giving positive rewards and motivating staff to do well. Staff are more likely to perform to a high standard if they will be rewarded with something positive than if they have the permanent threat of something negative when they fail.