The Dangers of Micromanagement

What exactly does it mean? Micromanagement is whereby a manager observes and controls the work of their employees. Most people see it as management’s attempt at digging its fingers deep into the pie of those actually doing the work. Problem is, this isn’t the right – or most productive – way of doing things.

Here are some of the other dangers that come along with micromanagement and why you should avoid it at all costs.

1. Dependent employees

After being micromanaged, your staff will begin to depend on you, rather than having the confidence to perform tasks on their own. Micromanagement makes your team feel like they can no longer handle the work without your constant guidance. You have to remember that those employees were initially hired because they brought something to the table; skills, talents and insights all unique to each and every staff member. When your employees aren’t dependent upon you, they’ll continue to think on their own – and when employees have the freedom to think on their own, great things can happen. Takeaway: If you micromanage, you will end up with a team that only knows how to do what it’s told. You must allow your employees the freedom to think and act on their own.

2. Loss of trust

Micromanagement will eventually lead to a massive breakdown of trust. Your staff will no longer see you as a manager, but a dictator. This breaks what little trust already exists between employee and manager. When trust is gone, a serious loss of productivity along with a loss of employees will start to occur. Remember, trust is a two-way street: Your staff must be able to trust you as much as you trust them.

3. High turnover of staff

Most people don’t take well to being micromanaged. When employees are micromanaged, they often do one thing; quit. Considering the reasons why managers micromanage (ego, insecurity, inexperience, perfectionism, arrogance), it’s simply not worth the high turnover rate. Having to constantly train and re-train staff not only robs your department of momentum, it destroys the company morale. Friendships are made and destroyed, and eventually this will crush the spirit of your staff.

4. Lack of independence

When you micromanage, your employees begin to feel like they’re losing their independence. When this happens, they’ll slowly lose the desire to do anything but that which you demand, and little more. No one will step outside the proverbial box or go the extra mile for a task. You hand those same people a certain level of autonomy and they will take pride in what they do and how they do it.