HOW TO LEAD WITHOUT MICROMANAGING

Leaders should be content with taking an occasional back seat and allowing their teams to go about their business, argues LINUS OKORIE

Leadership is integral to business success. It encompasses taking the lead and managing people within a company. Unfortunately, many leaders micromanage their teams in the name of leading them. Gartner defines micromanagement as the excessive supervision of teams, while Forbes describes it as a form of bullying since it’s about taking control of people.

Simply, micromanagement is a management style that seeks to excessively direct and control teams to obtain immediate results through over-involvement, exaggerating details, measuring progress frequently, and obsessing over information gathering. It is one of the quickest ways to shut down productivity, creative minds, and passionate teams.

Micromanagers are not deliberately trying to cause distress in the workplace, even though the outcomes are usually fed-up teams and burnout. In fact, people who micromanage rarely intend to disempower those they supervise. They often mean well and don’t realize the extent of their negative impact on others. Ron Friedman, a psychologist and behavioral change expert specializing in human motivation said, micromanagement is the motivational equivalent of buying on credit. Enjoy a better product now, but pay a hefty price for it later. When you micromanage, what you don’t realize in the moment is the cost you pay. Often, you may not even get a better product or service due to damaged relationships and resentment build-up in teams.

There is a fine line between leadership and micromanagement. Micromanagers are too nervous to give up control because they don’t trust their team’s capabilities, thinking that overseeing every little detail will ensure performance is up to standard. However, micromanagement actually hinders, not helps, performance. The problem is, leaders begin to blur the lines between checking in on their teams regularly and becoming a micromanager.

When you’re constantly checking in on your teams, thinking that you’re moving forward, you might actually be interfering and hindering their performance. Leaders should be content with taking an occasional back seat and allowing their teams to go about their business. Not only will this approach help to establish a workplace that is conducive to success, but it will also create an organizational culture that prioritizes flexibility, autonomy, and creativity.

Micromanagement is more common than many might think. According to a study by Trinity Solutions, 79% of respondents reported experiencing micromanagement in their current or previous job. This management style, where a leader closely observes the work of their subordinates, can lead to a myriad of problems. Warren Bennis summed it up well: “The manager has his eye on the bottom line; the leader has his eye on the horizon.”

Research shows that people have strong negative emotional and physiological reactions to unnecessary or unwanted help. Even U.S. Army General George S. Patton said, never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

Groups that adapt to a micromanagement style are either quietly rebellious or hapless, unable to make any independent decisions. This leaves you, the leader, constantly putting out fires, rather than focusing on the larger tasks that only you can perform. It’s crucial for leaders to understand that their team members are human capital. Not only do they get their jobs done, but they also ensure the smooth execution of daily operations, work directly with customers, and bring revenue to the company. Without them, your business will cease to exist.

Having a leader who looms over you, inspecting and criticizing every minor detail of a project is demotivating. You start to question whether your manager trusts your judgment, skills, or understands the work assigned to you in the first place. Research shows micromanagement is among the top three reasons teams resign. Micromanaging isn’t leading; it’s controlling. It isn’t mentoring; it’s anti-learning. It isn’t supportive; it’s undermining. Your team needs to be granted the time, space, and authority to do their job. Summarily, micromanagement is not a leadership strategy because it is an unempowering and insecure way to lead.

In a recent study conducted by Leadership IQ, the optimal time a team member should engage with their manager is about six hours a week. This includes any email exchanges, group meetings, phone calls, one-on-ones, etc., which all contribute to the team feeling more engaged, inspired, and innovative. Anything more than these causes undue stress, demoralizes your team, and is an executive waste of time. On the other hand, when the hours are less than six, the team feels less engaged and inspired. Steve Jobs rightly said, it doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do. Simon Sinek added, when we tell people to do their jobs, we get workers. When we trust people to get the job done, we raise leaders.

The challenge of balancing oversight with autonomy can be tricky. However, it is understandable that micromanagement is often born from a place of concern and the desire for perfection. By default, it might seem easy to just trust that your teams will do their work and perform at their best, but we all know that isn’t really true, nor would it work. Here’s the dilemma leaders face: being too involved with their teams’ work makes them feel pressured and incapable, but not being involved at all makes them feel dissatisfied and disengaged. How do you find the balance then?

Dear leader, consider this: every person on your team is a crucial part of your organization’s success. Avoiding micromanagement begins with setting clear expectations for your team. This involves defining goals and desired outcomes in a way that is both understandable and achievable for your teams. It’s crucial to communicate these goals effectively and ensure that each team member understands their role in achieving them.

Effective delegation is another key solution to avoiding micromanagement. Leaders need to trust their team members with responsibilities and provide them with the necessary resources and support to complete their tasks. This involves clearly communicating the scope of tasks, expected outcomes, and deadlines, while allowing team members the flexibility to approach their work in their own way.

Providing autonomy to teams is essential for fostering a healthy work environment. Encouraging decision-making at all levels empowers team members to take initiative and make decisions within their areas of responsibility. Creating a safe environment where teams feel free to experiment and learn from their mistakes is vital.

Focusing on results rather than processes. Leaders should evaluate teams based on the outcomes they achieve rather than the exact methods they use. This approach provides teams with the freedom to utilize their unique skills and creativity to achieve the desired results.

Building trust within the team is fundamental to effective leadership. Transparent communication about organizational goals, changes, and decisions helps to build reliability and trust. Leaders should foster a culture where two-way communication is encouraged, allowing teams to feel heard and valued.

Empowering your team through investment in training and development is another essential strategy. Providing opportunities for ongoing learning and development helps teams enhance their skills and confidence, enabling them to handle their responsibilities more effectively.

 Okorie MFR is a leadership development expert spanning 30 years in the research, teaching and coaching of leadership in Africa and across the world. He is the CEO of the GOTNI Leadership Centre