Management Matters—How to Avoid Micromanaging at Work

Want to know how to avoid micromanaging so you can focus on the development of managerial skills instead? There are a few signs of micromanagement that you might be able to identify and address early, to ensure it does not disrupt your role as a leader.

It’s true that managers need to be involved in the work done by employees but it is also essential to avoid micromanaging and disrupting their work by mistake. Micromanaging at work can take on many forms as managers try to gain control over work assignments and strategies and keep everything on track. However, this can become overwhelming for the manager as well as the employees who feel constantly watched. Employees cannot perform to the best of their ability if they are constantly overwhelmed by a manager’s presence, which is why it is essential to give them some space.

Once you learn how to stop micromanaging, you’ll find yourself in a much calmer headspace to execute your managerial tasks more effectively instead of missing out on key details by doing too much. 

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How to Avoid Micromanaging And Overwhelming Your Workers

Before we get to discussing how to stop micromanaging, we must first be able to answer the question, “What is micromanaging?” Micromanagement refers to a managerial style that promotes excessive involvement in every aspect of work that others are responsible for. A micromanager takes charge of every element of a task and requires frequent updates on work being done, even before any substantial progress can be made. 

This leads to a stressful and toxic work environment where employees do not have the freedom to work on the tasks they were hired to do. Micromanaging at work shows a lack of faith in the employees’ abilities to execute the tasks and further stifles their creativity and innovation.

At first glance, you might feel like it’s a good thing to be extremely involved in every assignment at work. It does sound like it would allow you to make corrections immediately and provide guidance to anyone who needs it, but that can become tiring very quickly. Employees get frustrated because they can no longer focus on a task without their managers in their ears. Managers are similarly annoyed at having to point out so many errors, further losing their faith in the employee rather than giving the employee a chance to show them a finished product or update.

Reasons to Avoid Micromanaging

There are many reasons to avoid micromanaging in any setting:

• Employees can no longer work in the ways that they know best and are constantly stressed about being watched
• It blurs the boundaries between an employee’s role and a manager’s role
• Delegation of work suffers and employees begin to have multiple overlapping tasks
• Employees do not have room to share their ideas, explore alternate paths, make suggestions to improve the workflow, etc.
• Employees are no longer free to make decisions and have to frequently put tasks on hold to get feedback on every minor aspect before they can proceed
• Employees feel stressed at work and are unable to concentrate. Low morale becomes a constant element of the work environment
• Employees feel a lack of confidence in their work and lose their faith in their ability to handle things on their own
• Work starts to pile up and projects remain incomplete as managers and employees both get stuck on getting through a single task
• It prevents employees from learning how to assess their own work and spot mistakes because their managers are waiting to point them out 
• Managers who tend to micromanage might find themselves constantly burnt out after having to take on too many responsibilities and spreading themselves too thin
• Employee retention suffers as workers who do not enjoy a stifling work environment choose to change roles to find something that suits them better

Signs of Micromanagement at Work

Once you understand what micromanagement is and why it’s important to avoid it, you might then start to worry if you’ve been making the mistake yourself. There are some signs of micromanagement that you could look out for, but it is essential to remember that they might overlap with the essential functions of a manager. The only difference is that they’re done in excess, which is the factor that leads to the conflict. 

• You’re unable to delegate work and let employees take on tasks
• Your own responsibilities begin to suffer as you get involved in your employees’ assignments
• Employees appear afraid to enter into conversations with you or provide updates on their work
• You are unable to wait for scheduled project updates and rush to check in on tasks
• You need to be involved in every minor decision at work even when employees are qualified to make the decision on their own
• You feel slighted when employees do not seek your approval, even if they have executed the task correctly
• You do not give employees a chance to share their inputs or explain their thought process behind making a suggestion

How to Avoid Micromanaging Employees at Work

The signs of micromanagement are always quite evident if you are willing to look for them. Learning how to stop engaging in such behavior can take you from being an average manager to an exceptional one, and it is always well worth the effort to invest in resolving such an approach to keep your career headed in the right direction. 

Understand Your Role At Work to Stop Micromanaging

A manager’s job description does not involve handling all of the employees’ responsibilities. Managers only function as overseers who keep the work moving forward, ensuring employees have the support they need to get their job done. Managers may need to be involved at the beginning of a task to ensure all the planning and preparations are in place, but following the initial investment of time and energy, managers need to create space for the employee to execute their assignments. 

Understand the Strengths and Weaknesses of Your Employees

If you want to avoid micromanaging, then you may want to look into why you feel unsure about leaving your employees to handle tasks themselves. Understanding who your employees are and what they can do can go a long way in making it easier to manage from a distance instead of breathing over their shoulders. Work with your employees to understand what areas they will handle themselves and where they might need more support, and this should give you room to stay involved where necessary. Trusting your team is a big part of the delegation process.

Take a Step Back and Reassess Where You Are Needed

Micromanaging at work occurs when managers get too involved in specific areas of work. When learning how to stop micromanaging, you could benefit from taking a step back and assessing how work is progressing within your team. Look at your organization’s long-term and short-term goals and determine whether your team is on track to achieve them. Check-in on where you are needed and how you can contribute towards achieving the overall goals.

Work on Your Time Management Skills—How to Stop Micromanaging

Micromanaging tasks make you lose focus on the bigger picture and you might find yourself struggling to handle all of your responsibilities. Working on your time management skills can help you create space for all of your tasks without overwhelmingly focusing on just one assignment. You could also benefit from creating fixed appointments with employees where you receive status updates on tasks so you’re still in the loop without chasing them for updates. 

Don’t spread yourself too thin and prioritize tasks in their order of importance so you can divide your time and attention between them fairly. 

Look at Other Management Styles—Collaboration Goes a Long Way

If you’ve been taught to micromanage and that is the approach you’ve observed from your mentors, it’s quite natural to follow the same path yourself. You can benefit greatly from exploring other management and leadership styles to see if there is an alternate approach that better appeals to you. A collaborative approach to management might even create space for you to gain insight into what your employees need and how best you can work with them to achieve mutual goals. 

Create a Space for Employees to Communicate with You

When employees feel comfortable communicating with you, they will be more likely to reach out and ask for help instead of blundering through the task themselves. This way, you can give them more room to work without worrying that they’re making too many mistakes. Improving your relationship with employees, encouraging their creativity, listening to their ideas, and motivating independent decision-making are just some of the ways to avoid micromanaging.

Micromanaging at work often goes unnoticed when you’re caught up in the chaos of work, but it’s a good idea to take a step back and evaluate whether you’ve been overcrowding your employees. Identifying the signs of micromanagement early can help you fix your managerial strategies and become a leader who is a reliable force within the workplace.

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