Delegating tasks to your subordinates will never be as easy as you think, especially if you’re running a startup or a small business. In fact, many of you would have probably decided to start your own venture because of these micromanaging issues. For instance, you may think that you’ll be able to lead better than your boss. Note that it will always be hard to give one’s reins to the hands of another person, particularly if you are best at the task. However, keep in mind that micromanaging can surely hurt your employees as well as your business. Below are some of the in-depth details that every employer must take care of.
The negative results of micromanaging your staffs
Most employers might think that if they are best at something why don’t their employees follow their path and succeed in the same way? Hence, they might not find micromanaging a big issue. Unfortunately, this is not the case. On the contrary, micromanaging can cause a devastating impact on your business. Some of those major downsides of micromanagement are given below.
- When you deal with a startup or a small business, you’ll barely have time to look after your own to-do list; let alone look after the tasks of your employees. If you’ve tried to supervise or look after every task and matter in your business, it is likely to burn you out making you less productive. This can sometimes sink your ship.
- Happy and satisfied employees are one of the major factors of a successful business. This is mainly achieved if they are given control over their tasks. Of course, you can review their work and point out the mistakes if any. On the other hand, if you try to control or lead them every time and make them feel like a robot, they are most likely to disengage from their tasks becoming less productive and enthusiastic. Plus, you will never be able to gain their respect as an employer.
- As mentioned earlier, dissatisfied employees who are brilliant at their work are likely to start their own business or searching for new jobs. Needless to say, this will likely make you suffer from a huge turnover.
How to figure out whether you are micromanaging your employees
Sometimes, employers might be micromanaging their employees without realizing they’re doing so. To figure this out, check out whether you exhibit the following characteristics of a micromanager.
- Asking your staffs for daily progress reports and updates of the tasks even if they are not so urgent
- Always asking your employees to improvise their work or never appreciating their work
- Rather than giving a chance for your employees to take over low-value business tasks, you prefer doing it yourselves since you are much faster or you don’t trust them
- You don’t want your employees to move on with their tasks without your approval. As a result, they are not able to meet the deadlines resulting in customer dissatisfaction.
If you are still not sure whether or not you are micromanaging your employees, follow the tips given below.
Do a one-week self-assessment year
Write down all the business tasks that you do for a week. At the end of the week, analyze the report well. Check whether you spent most of your time minding your own business or trying to interfere with your employees’ task. If you are more focused on doing the tasks that your employees can do, you have got some issues.
Demand feedback from your staff
Another way to figure out your managing skills is by asking your employees for unbiased feedback. You can ask them to avoid mentioning their name so that you can expect honest comments. If you get many negative reviews about your management style, then you’ll have to address the issue as soon as you can.
Tips to tackle your micromanaging habit
So, you have done the tests and figured out that you are, in fact, micromanaging your employees. Do you want to kick this career-ruining habit out? If so, follow these steps listed below.
- Start giving low-value works to your staffs and work your way up slowly with more important works and build trust on them
- Explain the objective or every task and let them decide the way to achieve the goal
- Authorize your employees to make some decisions on their own rather than waiting for your consent every time
- Never ask your employees to CC you on the emails that do not affect your work.
