I was recently interviewed by a writer for Impact Magazine in Phoenix on the topic of micromanagement. Christia asked me a very thought provoking question..."What causes some leaders to micromanage?"
After thinking about this topic overnight, I wrote some things down so that I would be prepared for the interview that was occurring the next day.
It occurred to me that at the base of cause for micromanagement is the issue of trust.
If you don't trust your employees (or yourself), you will pay much closer attention to details and the play by play than if you did have trust and faith in both yourself and your team.
A lack of trust telegraphs to those around you that you don't believe in the other person and that you don't believe they can or will get the job done correctly or on time. As a result you over manage the person or situation, which perpetuates this sense that you have no confidence in their abilities. The employee becomes disengaged and eventually stops communicating to you and stops making decisions in order to avoid being micromanaged even more. Of course the opposite happens.
Reasons for a lack of trust could include the following:
- History - the employee has proven in the past that they are not trustworthy.
- Poor Hires - you have the wrong employee on the bus, or in the wrong seat (job).
- Poor Skills - The employee does not have the necessary skills to do a good job.
- Your Attitude - You do not trust yourself or others and plan to "maintain tight control" so that you are not made to look bad in front of your superiors.
What can you do to increase trust and decrease micromanagement?
- Measure the soft skills of the job (job benchmarking). It is well documented that 85% of success on a job is related to attitudinal issues and not basic skills and knowledge (that is not to say that skills and knowledge aren't important). However, it is critical to understand what type of soft skills (such as empathy, practical thinking, role awareness, sense of self, etc.) are needed and to what level for a specific type of position.
- Assess the person to fill the job (job/talent comparison). You need to have an objective way to compare the soft skills, behaviors and motivators of an individual who will fill a specific job function.
- Clarify expectations on mutually developed goals. Be sure that the employee clearly understands the expectations and how they will be measured and reached.
- Let go! The leader must pave the way to trust, by trusting! Expect that there could be mistakes made and hold the employee accountable to clean up his/her own mess.
- Ask for and give feedback about the project underway to be sure communications remain wide open. This needs to be done in a non-threatening way by focusing on the issue and not the person.
- Provide resources. You are the leader and you have the resources. Be sure you place resources in reach of your employees to help them accomplish the objectives that have been outlined.
- Advocate. Sometimes other departments, other staffers, managers and even customers throw roadblocks in the path of your employees when they are trying to achieve what you have asked. You need to show your employees that you will defend them and advocate for cooperation from others to get things accomplished.
If you follow these suggestions, over time your employees will increase their trust level of you and feel valued in their roles. The vast majority will engage and they will become part of the team, rowing in the same direction.
If you would like to know more about the science of job benchmarking and job/talent matching, don't hesitate to contact us at info@houstonpartnersinternational.com.
Have a Great Week!
Jerry
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