Turnout micromanagement is a common issue that requires serious attention. Overlooking this issue can cause a massive loss in terms of quality human capital.

That’s why, in this blog, we’ll talk about what micromanagement is, ways to analyze micromanagement, and, most importantly, solutions to avoid micromanagement.

What Is Micromanagement?

Micromanagement refers to a specific style of management that tends to have excessive control over subordinates to keep the environment focused and targeted.

Micromanagers are the people who keep an eye on their employees, look for even small details in their work, are less flexible with team members, and always keep hovering above people’s heads to monitor their work.

Micromanagers may have the intention to get the most done in the meantime, but unfortunately, their actions have adverse effects on employees’ productivity.

There could be many reasons triggering such behavior, but one sure thing is that micromanagement can never be beneficial for organizations. That’s why it’s crucial to avoid it at any cost.

The first step to deal with micromanagement is to analyze its existence. Let us show you the most optimal ways of analyzing micromanagement in your workplace.

How To Analyze Micromanagement?

Micromanagement isn’t hard to identify in any organization. Just look for a few signs, and you’ll find out if micromanagement exists in a certain organization or a specific team.

Inflexible Work Approach
If the organization has extremely strict rules to complete a certain type of work and doesn’t have room for creative thinking, this is the exact definition of micromanagement. In such organizations or teams, all the tasks follow a pattern with even the smallest details. Such unnecessary details only add more time to the task completion and yield nothing extraordinary.

In alternative situations, where employees are given a sense of anatomy, there are higher chances that they’ll come up with greater solutions and better results and contribute well to the organization’s growth. Such an open culture propels any business to unparalleled growth.

Lack Of Trust
Managers who don’t trust their teammates have higher chances of failure in the long run. When the tasks are complex or of higher priority, the simple solution micromanagers will come up with is “I am doing it myself.”

Lack of trust in the team will only lead to disaster, as with this behavior, managers get a lot of tasks accumulated on their plate. Results? Over time, sittings get frequent, team growth gets neglected, and trust issues start rising within teams.

Continuous Monitoring
Micromanagers need to understand that always keeping an eye on their teammate’s cursor, checking if they are working or not, and frequently asking about the task status will not get the work done any faster. Continuous monitoring is unbearable for most people and should be avoided at any cost.

Monitoring is important to some extent, but it can be done smartly without bothering your subordinates using employee management software like StaffViz. With StaffViz managers can get access to employee activity, current tasks, and time taken for the project completion without causing any disturbance.

Higher Employee Turnover
Higher Employee Turnover in any organization is quite a concerning situation, as the talent acquisition process takes a good amount of time and effort. Employee turnover could be due to many factors, and micromanagement can be a major reason your employees are fleeing to other organizations.

People get fed up with excessive control, no recognition, and fewer learning opportunities, so they switch organizations. Many employees don’t want to switch organizations, but they look for other opportunities because of the micromanagers.

Frequent Criticism
Criticism can either be constructive or destructive.
Constructive Criticism is what drives employees to learn new things and showcases their area of expertise that needs improvement. Destructive Criticism highlights your incompetencies without a solution, which eventually gets a person/team’s morale down, and eventually, they give up on learning and improving their mistakes.

That’s why it’s important for managers to opt for a better approach when sharing a critical analysis of any employee’s work. Managers with good communication skills are more likely to avoid any escalation in such scenarios.

Proven Methods to Avoid Micromanagement

Micromanagement can’t be skipped with a snap but can be avoided or reduced to none using advanced management solutions and techniques. Following are some proven methods to eradicate micromanagement from any organization regardless of the scale.

Employee Management Software
Modern-day employees don’t really like the idea of being monitored all the time. However, managers need to report everything in meetings to highlight what is going on inside.

So, how do you keep track of employees?

Employee management software like StaffViz is quite handy for keeping track of an employee’s activity without even bothering them during work.

Here’s how StaffViz enables managers to monitor employees without causing any inconvenience to employees.

Build Trustful Relationship 
Micromanagement can easily be avoided by creating a trustworthy environment where employees feel comfortable. Open communication, transparency, and consistent support build mutual trust.  

So, how can you earn the trust of your team members?  

Start encouraging your team to share their ideas, concerns, and innovative solutions for the problems you face. Trust your team with the complex tasks, and make sure you guide them so they don’t feel stranded. Normalize open communication so they can always share everything with you. 

Embrace Imperfections 
“Nothing is Perfect.”
The statement is a universal truth, and if you are still persistent in achieving perfection you are going to end up suffering from micromanagement.  

Instead of continuing a wild goose chase, try to let go of small mistakes and focus on these imperfections as a part of the learning process. Make sure to continue constructive Criticism, as it will lead your team to get stronger and better in their skills. 

Start Delegating 
One of the best ways of avoiding micromanagement is to start delegating responsibilities. You might be thinking it inappropriate to delegate the responsibilities to untrained staff. Well, you’ve got to start from some point, so start small.

Start Assigning small responsibilities to prepare the employees and test their abilities. Knowing your team better will help you a lot when assigning responsibilities. 

Delegating crucial tasks to your team will not only train them for the bigger responsibilities but also make them feel confident in their skills.  

Make sure to guide your team, but don’t keep hovering above their heads. Let them do things their own way. 

Take Feedback 
Managers should always keep an eye on their actions and behavior from the other’s perspective, and the best way to do that is to continuously take feedback. 

Now, you must be wondering who the right person to get feedback from is. 

The best feedback you can get from your own team. But to do so, you must foster an open conversation culture among your team members. This way, you can get the right feedback and work on areas that need to be improved. 

Summing Up

Micromanagement is fatal for the organizations and teams within it, so it must be eradicated. It ruins the purpose it stands for; which is achieving higher productivity. The effects of micromanagement are disastrous and lead organizations into the pitfalls of higher employee turnover, suffocating work culture, and limited creativity. Managers should always be in a state of self-analysis to avoid being engulfed by this severe problem. Follow the above methods to effectively avoid or eradicate micromanagement.