Have you ever stopped to think if you are a micromanager ? A good manager needs to be organized and have planning skills, but some confuse this with the need to control everything, including team activities.
However, this has a negative impact on the team, who lose confidence in their own work and gradually lose initiative, worsening their performance. It also affects their mental health, as they feel that there is always someone watching their work and analyzing them negatively.
Micromanagement also causes professionals to fail to perform their duties well and creates a bad climate, where teams and leaders are not in tune, which can even lead to conflicts.
What is micromanagement leadership?
Micromanagement is when a professional oversees and manages every aspect of everyone’s work. This type of leader often gets involved in even simple processes performed by employees and generally imposes his or her opinion or way of working on all decisions and activities.
In addition to being an impediment for professionals, this type of behavior is negative for the leader himself, who is unable to prioritize his work and ends up busier than necessary.
This behavior is based on the insecurity of these professionals, either because they think they might lose their position, or even to command respect within the team. Thus, by micromanaging all activities, they feel that they are establishing their command and making it clear to the team who is in charge.
Understand the characteristics of micromanagement better and assess whether you identify with any of them:
1 – You think you do better
There is a saying that if someone wants something done right, they should do it. But when you lead a team, it is ideal to be able to count on those professionals to do their own job well. However, a micromanager tends to take on tasks that are the responsibility of other people, believing that they will do it better and faster.
2 – You have to authorize everything
If the team does not have the autonomy to make any decision, no matter how small, it is because of a micromanaging leadership. This excessive need for control causes the leader to demand approval for any activity carried out, which makes things take longer to be done and even leads to unnecessary rework.
3 – Focuses only on failures and errors
This idea that they can do things better than others makes these professionals focus only on what went wrong in other people’s work. Thus, they tend to point fingers and only criticize, without worrying about people’s feelings or the negative consequences for them.
4 – Doesn’t know how to delegate tasks
This leader also has difficulty leaving certain activities in the hands of people and ends up taking on tasks that should be distributed among the team. As a result, they lose autonomy and are always subject to the demands that the leader will make.
How to change this behavior?
Although some professionals think this is the best way to manage a team, in reality it will only make people feel less comfortable and seek other opportunities in the job market.
Many people want to become leaders, but not everyone is prepared for the reality that leadership involves a great deal of people management skills.
As the name suggests, a “leader” is someone who stands in front, setting an example. If this professional wants something to be done well, he or she must provide the tools and knowledge so that his or her team is able to perform the task in the best possible way.
For some, being a boss means giving orders, but the truth is that this role should inspire and motivate people. Otherwise, admiration will turn into conformity, apathy and disaffection. A leader does not need to become great friends with his team, but he can, and should, contribute to a friendly and positive environment. Here’s how:
Trust people
Just as other managers have trusted the leader to take on this responsibility, he or she must convey this feeling to the team. People are capable and, if during the process some attitudes are not in line, this must be discussed in an appropriate and structured manner, allowing the employee to adapt.
Know how to listen
Do you know what really works for your team? Or how each person best performs their role? Talking to employees gives you a real insight into what they expect from leadership, how they behave, and what they need to do their job in the best way possible.
Focus on results
One of the main problems that micromanagement poses to leaders is that they lose focus on what really matters: results that are aligned with the company’s expectations. Therefore, delegating tasks and counting on the team to do their part allows them to spend their time seeking innovation and solutions that will contribute to the development of their area.
