How To Tell If You Are A Micro-manager

Micromanagement, the dark side of delegation.

Micromanagement is defined as managing with great or excessive control or attention to details. When is micromanagement okay? There are actually some key points when it is. Most managers are going to recognize these, and this will be a review.

If deadlines are missed, the manager obviously needs to step in and get people back on track, find out the cause of the missed deadline and, if necessary, help the individual make a plan to ensure they'll be able to get their work done.

If a project is not going as planned, or they are hitting milestones but the results are not what were expected, again, you'll need to step in and help manage that back to the results that are needed.

If a team member's skills aren't up to the challenge, or if they don't have the time, or the interest, then it's up to the manager to step in to make sure the task is completed. This is crucial for health of the team, but also for the individual as well, since if the delegated role is simply beyond their skills, you might actually cause more damage by letting them fail than by stepping in. Whether you do the work yourself or, better yet, delegate to someone else, keep the original team involved so they can learn from the process.

However, if a team member is not willing to perform, where they have the skills and the time and the ability but they just aren't doing it, then you need to look at it from a personnel aspect. What's going on with this individual? Ask yourself what is causing this problem? Remember, individual issues will cause problems with the team very quickly.

Of course, if a team member is tasked with a particularly sensitive file or job, you may want to stay hands-on since the threat of the information getting out, or the danger of there being a problem with it, is so high that safety and security is more important than ensuring that that person feels they have complete autonomy.

But when is it not okay to micro-manage? This is actually a gray area that managers have trouble managing. When employees are feeling micromanaged, they tend to manifest this by feeling frustrated or even fearful.

Often, this leads individuals to not trusting their own judgment. Remember, whether it's due to your second-guessing them, or to asking too many questions about how they are arriving at a particular end result, a team member who doesn't trust himself will find it much harder to take on any other delegated tasks.

The number one reason most employees leave a workplace is because of bad management. They feel that they don't have the control, the autonomy, or the ability to grow. The good news is that these are all things you can control, as a manager.

Micromanaging is never okay if it negatively influences the mental health of the staff or the efficiency of the organization. If you're constantly undermining an employee's decisions and performance, even unintentionally, that's going to affect their ability to perform, and it's going to hurt the team dynamic as well. Luckily, you can determine if you're a micromanager. Answer the seven questions below and find out where you can fit in the spectrum.

1. Is it hard for you to delegate tasks?

2. Do you believe you can perform most of the tasks of your team and probably better?

3. Is it more efficient to do a job yourself, rather than give the job to a team member?

4. Do you allow your staff to learn from their mistakes?

5. Do you spend a large amount of time overseeing single projects?

6. Are you overworked and your team?

7. Does your team always check with you before doing anything?

Did you answer all the questions above honestly? Remember, it is not all black and white.

Article Source: http://www.search4allinfo.com

While managers delegate tasks 90% of the time, only 5% of those tasks are completed without hands-on support from management. Take this effective delegation quiz at www.delegatesuccess.com to determine what type of delegation style you have. Stop working long hours and get your projects done! Lisa Symons has more than 12 years experience with global IT management.

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