Micromanagers make people feel worthless and slow organizational growth. Entrepreneurs, who cling to micromanaging styles, sabotage success.
Entrepreneurs are micromanagers. They start out with small organizations and make all decisions. But, they fail when companies outgrow their capacity. They micromanage until a major “screw-up” or event occurs and they are forced to delegate.
5 dangers of micromanaging:
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Paralyzed employees
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High turnover
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Slow growth
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Missed deadlines
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Missed opportunities
Reasons leaders micromanage:
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Ego
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Insecurity
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Inexperience
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Perfectionism
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Arrogance – No one is as smart as they are
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Ownership – The business is their baby
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Deadlines
What causes leaders to stop micromanaging?
Crisis or necessity causes leaders to stop micromanaging, but health problems can be a deciding factor. Organizations can lose important personnel. In extreme cases, leaders can be terminated.
How I learned to stop micromanaging:
When my company, American Sports, was founded, I made all decisions. But, the Dominican Republic was 1500 miles away. I could only make all decisions if I lived in the Dominican. It was a real dilemma.
The crisis event for me was my family’s unwillingness to move to the Dominican Republic. I had a wife and two young children. Our children needed to be educated in the United States.
I was a serial and parallel entrepreneur. My other businesses needed to be run from the USA. I was forced to find a manager.
Finding someone I could trust helped me overcome my tendency to micromanage. Read how I found that manager in my article: Vetoing a Team Decision Saved My Company
Keys to success:
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Trust others
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Delegate as much as possible
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Set decisions that can be made without consultation.
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Expect mistakes to happen
What are the dangers of micromanaging?
How can leaders overcome the dangers of micromanaging?
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The amount of micromanagement depends on the experience and maturity of the employee. The more mature and the more experienced the employee the less detailed management required. The less experience or the less mature employee required more detailed management.
Larry, this is a well laid out and clear statement of fundamental principles forgotten in the pressures of daily action. Your message is consistent with my experience and resonates with me. I hope others read it and then use it. Franklin
Leadership also micromanages because of anxiety and fear. I’ve seen more than one business owner who was completely overwhelmed by anxiety. That anxiety leads to anxious employees who become afraid to step up and do their jobs. They walk around on eggshells either keeping their head down or killing themselves to keep the boss happy. Some survive that and stay but most employees eventually quit, one by one, from the stress of that work environment. Worse case scenario, I watched an entire department of 130 people micromanaged and belittled over the course of 2 years. It finally got so out of control that upper management began hearing complaints. They fired the micromanager’s supervisor first. Then the micromanager. Then laid off the entire department of highly experienced talent.
If this is you and you are making your employees miserable, take a breath, go to your doc for anxiety meds, get a hold on yourself, take a vacation, and re-evaluate your leadership approach. The guy had plenty of people mention to him that he was overdoing it. He didn’t listen. When long-time employees started quitting one by one, the writing was on the wall. What a nightmare.
Donna, Thank you for your insightful reply.