In business management, when we refer to micro-management, we mean the management style in which the manager tightly controls and/or tightly supervises the work of subordinates, in a way that causes problems.
The “micro-manager” usually dictates to the subordinate the way the job should be done regardless of whether that is the most effective or efficient way or not, getting involved in minute details and demanding continuous reporting - challenging every “atomic” activities/tasks and every sub-ordinate's decision!
Micro-management is admittedly a bad practice and it has, therefore, a negative connotation in the non-business world too. It relates to an obsession to control every detail, causing, as a consequence, failure to focus on larger and more important issues.
What are the most usual causes of this phenomenon?
> It is common for people not possessing management skills, as we have seen in our previous newsletter, to find themselves in managerial positions, with no assistance on how to adapt. This factor, among many others, may result in the manager experiencing emotional insecurity over his ability to perform in the new role. This leads the person to resort to a task better-known to him: implementation.
> Micro-management may also occur due to an obsession with detail, something that may be inherited from the previous position(s) the individual had held.
> Another cause may be a strong possessive attitude dictating not only the content of the resulting work but also the form in which it should be presented.
> Unwillingness to trust the competence of his/her subordinates, may also lead a manager to micro-management practices.
Micro-management is, therefore, a combination of the manager’s personality, his/her lack of awareness and understanding of his/her role and the failure to acquire new management skills.
How do we diagnose the problem?
> The easiest way to diagnose the problem is to observe whether managers themselves perform activities/ tasks that should have been carried out by their subordinates instead.
> Another observation would be that the micro-manager’s department is carrying out activities with no added value to the organization, simply because the manager perceives that their execution will be beneficial to her/his image and her/his department’s rating.
> In other instances, the micro-manager may act defensively or become over-protective of her/his own or her/his department's interests.
> In extreme cases, an individual may revert to micro-management in order to make life for a subordinate difficult by raising obstacles and consuming time and energy in sabotaging him.
> In many case, the micro-manager makes miserable even the life of her/his superior, delaying many decisions and the the flow of opeartions, hiding her/himself behind the excuse of "risk management" and/or legalistic and/or auditing excuses.
What are the Effects of micromanagement?
Micromanagement is an unwanted management style.
Regardless of its causes and of the manager’s intentions, its effects are harmful to the organization.
They include:
> Breach of trust between manager and subordinates.
> Employee disengagement.
> Cultivation of a control-driven, fear-based, suspicion-promoting culture.
> Hostility between the department and other departments of the organization.
> Damaged relationships between the department and the organization’s hierarchy.
> Misalignment of the department from the corporate mission.
> Drop in the department’s performance.
> Low productivity.
In any case, time and energy is consumed, by more than one person, in useless or even damaging activity.
> In practical terms, an organization may even lose its best employees due to a micro-manager’s behaviour, either because they will seek employment elsewhere or because they become so disengaged that they no longer contribute to the organization’s performance and growth.
> If the problem is not rectified, it eventually becomes visible to the outside world such as clients, suppliers, associates and visitors. The organization’s reputation is at risk.
The adverse effects of micro-management, as described here, may create an ever worsening vicious circle, where attributing the blame to the micro-manager, may cause her to simply make her micromanagement more acute.
What to do?
> Induction to good management practices, coaching and mentoring of fresh managers -irrespective of whether they are recruited from outside or promote or elected- and continuous monitoring of their performance as managers and helping them develop themselves, are all required to prevent or at least identify the problem early.
> If incidents of micromanagement are observed, the manager needs to be alerted and supported by her mentor in an effective manner.
Do remember:
If the manager does not cooperate, assess what is worse for the organization: to lose an individual or to damage an entire team, department or ...more.
27.5.2016