Are you a micromanager? Three telltale signs

Micromanagement is one of the biggest sins a manager can commit. It kills the creativity of otherwise hard-working and ambitious people, leads to frustration, bad results of the team, and eventually to burnout and high employee turnover. And, what is even worse, many managers are not even aware they are guilty of micromanagement. Therefore, this article describes three signs which may show that you too are practising micromanagement.

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This text draws on an article in Forbes magazine.

You focus merely on numbers and results

A good manager must, of course, keep an eye on the results of both the team and individual employees. On the other hand, they should avoid regarding employees as inanimate machines and looking only at the results of their work. Micromanagement can manifest itself as a form of depersonalisation, in which the manager does not take into account the human side of their subordinates but only forces them to achieve consistently perfect results. Treat your team members as human beings, talk to them and be interested in them also on a personal level.

You are always closely watching your subordinates

This is the most typical form of micromanagement. The manager checks on every step subordinates make, they stand behind their back all the time and keep giving them advice (often in good faith) about everything they are doing. This makes the employee feel they are not trusted, they lack space to work on their own agenda and they cannot breathe. Give employees more freedom and don't breathe down their neck; instead talk to them about long-term goals they will be responsible for achieving without your constant supervision.

You are poor at strategy and planning

A quite surprising, yet logical consequence of micromanagement may be the fact the manager does not set clear goals the employees should reach, and clear plans that they should follow. This is because the manager believes they are the person in charge and therefore the employees do not need to know any individual goals and plans as these are not required for them to do their work under the brilliant supervision of their manager. Every employee must have their goals clearly defined and know what is expected of them and how they can reach the goals. You have to define individual goals for each employee and work with them individually on their personal development.

 

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Article source Forbes.com - prestigious American business magazine and website
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