Micromanagement
and Delegation
by: David Meye
Micro-Management
and Delegation
Recently I had a long discussion with a friend of mine about
Managers and managing. She is a former HR Manager for several
major companies and was bemoaning the fact that training for
managers has been cut back so significantly in recent years
and that managers no longer receive the type of help, guidance
and assistance that they received just a few short years ago.
My background has been in retail and telecom. Hers was neither.
Yet the same problems and issues seem to rise in every industry.
Of course, this is exactly the reason that I got into coaching.
Coaching allows those managers who want to improve a very
personalized venue to do just that.
We went on to agree that the common pattern these days seemed
to be for the department star performer to be promoted from
contributor, to team leader, to manager in seemingly record
time. We agreed that new managers have difficulty moving from
the contributor to the manager role because no one is willing
to spend the time and energy to coach them through the various
hurdles that new managers and leaders face. We agreed that
this lack of training never seemed to lower the expectations
of the manager, just the performance.
Then we disagreed, strongly. What caused the disagreement?
Theconcept was micro-management. My friend explained to me
that she has "coached" many employees recently and
that many of them complained about one particular manager
who was micro-managing them. She told me that she helps the
employees understand and come to grips with "their problem".
"You're not going to be able to change that manager,
she explained to me, "so you've got to change the employees".
She explains to them that if they are being micro-managed,
there's probably a reason for it. They are probably doing
something wrong. If they just identify that problem and improve,
their manager will stop the micro-management. "The employees
need to improve themselves. It's as simple as that."
I wish my life was as simple as that.
She acknowledges that with that many employees complaining
that it's likely the manager is the problem. But changing
the manager is too much trouble, she says, so let's tell the
employees it's their fault.
While it is true that it is sometimes necessary to micro-manage
people, her explanation makes little sense to me. You might
micro-manage an employee if their performance is lacking.
Or because the project they are working on is very high visibility
and any chance of error must be minimized. But when a number
of employees are complaining about the same manager micro-managing
them it implies one of two things.
Either
this manager:
1.
Has a lot of problem employees and needs to start weeding
them out, or
2.
This manager does not know how to let go and properly
delegate
to their staff.
Excessive
micro-management is not the sign of a healthy manager.
When
someone is constantly micro-managing their staff it's generally
their problem, not the employees.
If
you are micro-managing your staff, refusing to delegate routine,
and not so routine tasks to them for completion, then you
are setting yourself up for trouble. Have you ever heard yourself
say, "I would delegate this to someone else, but it's
just as easy to do it myself"? Or maybe you say, "This
task is too complicated to delegate. I have to make sure it's
done right."
If
so, I hope you like your job. Because you aren't going anyplace
higher. Delegation can be difficult to learn because it looks
like a huge risk and a huge leap of faith. But it doesn't
have to be that way. There are techniques that you can learn
that will help you delegate and get you out of the detail.
And you have to get out of the detail if you really want to
be an executive.
David Meyer, owner
of Coaching for Tomorrow, has more than 25 years of management
and leadership experience, having worked for companies such
as Nobil Shoes, McDonough, Allied Stores, MCI and Nextel Communications.
His mantra, "You Win With People" is based on the
deep-seated belief that hiring, developing, and promoting
the right people can lead to organizational and financial
success. As a management and leadership coach, David works
to instill that same passion in his clients by helping them
understand the importance of strong leadership, strong teamwork,
and strong players.
David has a Bachelor's in Business Administration from Elmhurst
College and has been certified by both ACTION International
as a Business Coach and the Coach Training Alliance. He also
has received his CTM from Toastmasters. He is an Officer in
the Denver Coach Federation and a facilitator/trainer for
the Coach Training Alliance and ACTION International of Colorado.
He is also a co-author of the book Creating Workplace Community:
Motivation.
Married with two adult daughters, David is active in his local
Kiwanis club and Crossroads Community Church. He enjoys reading,
golf, scuba diving, and Civil War reenacting.
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