Micromanaging mania
Freedom from this tempting and destructive approach
Fred Mael
What is the managerial practice that all managers claim to detest,harms and drives away the best of employees, hurts productivity and morale, yet remains a favored, almost addictively practiced technique even among those claiming to want to stop? Answer: Micromanaging, defined by Webster as “to manage especially with excessive control or attention to details” and elsewhere as “to manage or control very closely, as by making decisions about even the smallest details, often so as to be regarded as acting inefficiently or counterproductively”.
This practice afflicts managers at all levels. I have worked with first-line managers and senior executives, and virtually everyone is susceptible to micromanaging or being micromanaged. Before you can address how to stop, you need to know why you micromanage, as each reason has a different potential remedy.
Why people micromanage
Is There Any Help?
Micromanaging can be a thorny and persistent problem, though sometimes alleviated by mentoring, concerted effort, or attitude change. Here are some general principles:
Clarify your role
Stop trying to be “first among equals”
Deal with the anxiety
Fred Mael, PhD, helps organizations and their employees work more effectively, and coaches executives and managers.
Fred Mael, PhD, helps organizations and their employees work more effectively, and coaches executives and managers. www.maelconsulting.com. (www.smartceo.com). This article appeared originally in the February 2013 issues of Washington SmartCEO magazine and Baltimore SmartCEO magazine.