Many of us read the word “micromanaging” and immediately think of a former supervisor, coworker, or classmate that we’ve had in years past that drove us up the wall.
Micromanagement is not only annoying, but it can be disruptive and destroy the efficiency of group projects or office morale. So, how do you manage without micromanaging your staff or co-workers? Read on to learn more!
Learn to Lead Well
Learning effective leadership tactics and continuing to educate yourself on this subject throughout your career is immensely beneficial. You are able to glean different pieces of information during unique experiences and while working with your teammates.
A lot of people think managing and being in control is the same thing, but in reality, being a good manager means having good leadership skills, and good leadership skills take practice – not control,” says Lance Herrington, Founder, CEO, and Head of Design for UNICO NUTRITION. “We, as leaders, need to know how to listen, how to delegate, how to step back and let others do their jobs, and so much more.”
I think the first step in managing without micromanaging is studying leadership and putting principles into practice,” says Amanda E. Johnson, Chief Marketing Officer for Nailboo. “There are so many things to learn about leading others that managers sometimes aren’t aware of.
Especially if they’ve progressed from a lower position and haven’t studied organizational leadership or been trained on how to lead others well. It really is an art. Because managers set the tone for the organization, they really need to do their jobs well.
Set Goals as a Team
Goal setting can look different for each situation, but setting goals as a team is a surefire way to make sure everyone is on the same page and that you are managing the group well.
If only one person is aware of all goals that are trying to be achieved, then there is going to be a lot of frustration and misunderstandings within a team,” says Nathalie Walton, Co-founder, and CEO of Expectful.
Micromanagers often keep goals and information secret so that they can maintain control over the project or workplace, but an effective manager will work with their team to create open communication about goals and progress.
Set goals. By setting goals for your team you are able to set a benchmark of success for your team members. This gives them the freedom to achieve these goals in any way that they see fit,” says John Wu, Co-Founder, and CEO of Gryphon Connect.
If employees are failing to reach these goals, then you can have meetings with them to proactively learn ways that they can improve their processes and techniques. This allows you to manage your employees effectively without micro-managing them.
Stop Managing
This might sound counterproductive, but sometimes a manager needs to let go and trust their team to do their jobs. Allowing freedom to work through the tasks on their own can allow for professional and personal growth as well as more creativity.
Remember that the reason you’re on a team is so you don’t have to do all the work yourself,” says Daniel Osman, Head of Sales for Balance Homes. “Knowing when to manage and when to let your people do the things that you brought them onto the team to do is a fine line. Learn where that line is and your team will run much more efficiently.
We’ve all had that manager that stood over us the entire time we worked on a project – don’t be that type of manager,” says Michael Jankie, Founder of The Natural Patch Co. “Instead, learn how you can help your team.
Ask them what they need and make sure they know that you’re available, but don’t hover while waiting for them to reach out. Find other things to do so you’re not tempted to keep track of every move someone makes. Let them work.”
Show Trust
Trusting others is something that can be difficult in a work environment, especially if you haven’t worked together very long. However, it is an important part of being an effective leader.
Extending an olive branch to your staff by giving them more responsibility is a great way to manage while also showing trust to your employees,” says Sarah Pirrie, Brand Director of Healist Naturals.
Micromanagers are often reluctant to let big pieces of a project out of their hands, but if your staff sees that you’re trusting them with this part of the project or with a big piece of information, they will start to respond to the trust you’ve extended.
Trusting your team is more than just sending out assignments and due dates,” says Lindsay McCormick, Founder, and CEO of Bite. Trusting your team means that you’re willing to let them make mistakes and learn from them. You know how to take calculated risks and become a person that helps your staff grow.
Managing a staff requires you to trust others, if you can’t do this, you’ll have a difficult time as a manager,” says Jean Gregoire, Founder, and CEO of lovebox “Make sure your staff are aware of their tasks and responsibilities and then let them go.
Let them come to you if they need help but trust them to be able to complete something on their own otherwise. In doing this, you’ll also learn how your staff works together and learn to play to their strengths with future assignments.
Conclusion
Overall, it seems like managers have to take a look at the bigger picture and evaluate their own approach to managing a team before they can be effective managers and avoid micromanaging.
They should study leadership to learn to effectively apply those principles to the workplace. They should also learn to communicate well with their team so they can set goals and work together to reach them.
While doing this, they’ll also need to know when to stop managing their team and extend trust to them so they can do their jobs efficiently.
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