Is your boss a micromanager?
These are managers who want to be involved in every step of each assignment they give to their employees. They ask for more frequent reports than are needed, and generally want to exercise as much control as possible over what their subordinates do.
With few exceptions, micromanagement is terrible for the employees as well as the organization.
By controlling everything that an employee does, these managers sap away the confidence of younger employees, who may end up feeling that nothing they can do is right. Older employees may get frustrated if they find their style of working and ideas are not welcome.
While it’s important to guide your team, you should be wary of micromanagement.
“Creativity and discretionary contribution…goes out the window,” says Anuraag Maini, head of human resources and training at Delhi-based DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Co.
Ultimately, the output of the team suffers.
Here are a few tips from human resources experts on how employees can deal with their micromanagers, and a few words of advice for micromanagers.
If you are being micromanaged:
This is a frustrating place to be in, as micromanagers can stymie your growth. Address the reasons why your boss is micromanaging.
Typically, it’s because the manager is insecure or anxious about whether you can do the job right. Of course, he may just be a control freak.
To deal with this, you need to build confidence in your abilities. One approach is to initially give the manager what he or she wants – the control – but on your terms.
“Offer to be micromanaged and then negotiate from a position (where you can) minimize that,” says Manish Sinha, director of human resources at Becton Dickinson India Pvt., a medical technology company in Gurgaon.
For instance, when the manager assigns you a project, ask for a specific deadline and initiate a discussion about how the project will be monitored.
Offer to update the manager at specific intervals, say once a week, or when specific milestones are reached. Give the manager an outline of how you will proceed on the project. Let the manger know that you will come to him or her in case you hit any roadblocks or major problem.
All this will let the manager feel that he or she is very much in control, and thus hopefully get the manager off your back on a day-to-day basis. Hopefully, over time, as you deliver good results on project after project, the manager will trust your ability to do a good job.
“Once you build that confidence, then I think the micromanagement will come down,” says Mrityunjay Srivastava, head of management development group at Wipro Ltd.
Some experts suggest a different approach: Have a frank discussion with the manager explaining that his or her day-to-day interference is hurting your ability to deliver performance. This can be tricky, and may not work if your manager is not open to feedback or has a big ego.
If you decide to try this approach, instead of being angry or aggressive, give the manager a solution. For instance, tell the manager that you need a certain period of time to complete a project, and if the result is not up to the manager’s standards, then you are willing to be reviewed more frequently.
Also, prove to your manager that his or her growth is dependent on how well you do your job.
If you are a micromanager:
In general, you are hurting your team’s growth and ultimately your own career prospects.
To be sure, there are some cases where micromanagement may be warranted. If it’s a high-impact project or an ambiguous situation like crisis-management where the situation changes often, then perhaps you need to be more hands on. Or, if you are dealing with very young or inexperienced employees, they may need a lot of handholding.
Other than that, micromanaging can be suffocating for the employee.
“Suffocation leads to an employee feeling that I’m not trusted or that the manager doesn’t see my capability or my manager is very insecure,” says Mr. Maini of DLF Pramerica.
This affects team morale, output and innovation dries up. That’s a sure way to disaster. In addition, once you’ve built a reputation in the company of being a micromanager, smart employees will not want to work with you.
As soon as you realize that you have been micromanaging, stop. Step back and assess whether everyone in your team needs to be micromanaged. The answer is that they most likely don’t.
If there are employees in whom you don’t have total confidence, start by setting up more frequent progress-review sessions with them for their first few assignments. Maybe team up the inexperienced employee with one that you trust.
With more experienced employees who have done a good job in the past, it’s a good idea to let them know that you plan to be more hands-off. Ask them what resources and help they need from you.
Set up a review mechanism, but at “a frequency which the employee is very comfortable with,” says Mr. Maini of DLF Pramerica.
The review should be of the result or progress, not of each and every thing the employee did to get the results.
Old habits die hard, so watch out for your tendency to check in every so often. If needed, stick a large piece of paper on your notice board as a reminder on this.
Content from:blog.wsj.com
Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan
These are managers who want to be involved in every step of each assignment they give to their employees. They ask for more frequent reports than are needed, and generally want to exercise as much control as possible over what their subordinates do.
With few exceptions, micromanagement is terrible for the employees as well as the organization.
By controlling everything that an employee does, these managers sap away the confidence of younger employees, who may end up feeling that nothing they can do is right. Older employees may get frustrated if they find their style of working and ideas are not welcome.
While it’s important to guide your team, you should be wary of micromanagement.
“Creativity and discretionary contribution…goes out the window,” says Anuraag Maini, head of human resources and training at Delhi-based DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Co.
Ultimately, the output of the team suffers.
Here are a few tips from human resources experts on how employees can deal with their micromanagers, and a few words of advice for micromanagers.
This is a frustrating place to be in, as micromanagers can stymie your growth. Address the reasons why your boss is micromanaging.
Typically, it’s because the manager is insecure or anxious about whether you can do the job right. Of course, he may just be a control freak.
To deal with this, you need to build confidence in your abilities. One approach is to initially give the manager what he or she wants – the control – but on your terms.
“Offer to be micromanaged and then negotiate from a position (where you can) minimize that,” says Manish Sinha, director of human resources at Becton Dickinson India Pvt., a medical technology company in Gurgaon.
For instance, when the manager assigns you a project, ask for a specific deadline and initiate a discussion about how the project will be monitored.
Offer to update the manager at specific intervals, say once a week, or when specific milestones are reached. Give the manager an outline of how you will proceed on the project. Let the manger know that you will come to him or her in case you hit any roadblocks or major problem.
All this will let the manager feel that he or she is very much in control, and thus hopefully get the manager off your back on a day-to-day basis. Hopefully, over time, as you deliver good results on project after project, the manager will trust your ability to do a good job.
“Once you build that confidence, then I think the micromanagement will come down,” says Mrityunjay Srivastava, head of management development group at Wipro Ltd.
Some experts suggest a different approach: Have a frank discussion with the manager explaining that his or her day-to-day interference is hurting your ability to deliver performance. This can be tricky, and may not work if your manager is not open to feedback or has a big ego.
If you decide to try this approach, instead of being angry or aggressive, give the manager a solution. For instance, tell the manager that you need a certain period of time to complete a project, and if the result is not up to the manager’s standards, then you are willing to be reviewed more frequently.
Also, prove to your manager that his or her growth is dependent on how well you do your job.
If you are a micromanager:
In general, you are hurting your team’s growth and ultimately your own career prospects.
To be sure, there are some cases where micromanagement may be warranted. If it’s a high-impact project or an ambiguous situation like crisis-management where the situation changes often, then perhaps you need to be more hands on. Or, if you are dealing with very young or inexperienced employees, they may need a lot of handholding.
Other than that, micromanaging can be suffocating for the employee.
“Suffocation leads to an employee feeling that I’m not trusted or that the manager doesn’t see my capability or my manager is very insecure,” says Mr. Maini of DLF Pramerica.
This affects team morale, output and innovation dries up. That’s a sure way to disaster. In addition, once you’ve built a reputation in the company of being a micromanager, smart employees will not want to work with you.
As soon as you realize that you have been micromanaging, stop. Step back and assess whether everyone in your team needs to be micromanaged. The answer is that they most likely don’t.
If there are employees in whom you don’t have total confidence, start by setting up more frequent progress-review sessions with them for their first few assignments. Maybe team up the inexperienced employee with one that you trust.
With more experienced employees who have done a good job in the past, it’s a good idea to let them know that you plan to be more hands-off. Ask them what resources and help they need from you.
Set up a review mechanism, but at “a frequency which the employee is very comfortable with,” says Mr. Maini of DLF Pramerica.
The review should be of the result or progress, not of each and every thing the employee did to get the results.
Old habits die hard, so watch out for your tendency to check in every so often. If needed, stick a large piece of paper on your notice board as a reminder on this.
Content from:blog.wsj.com
Thanks & Regards,
S.Grace Paul Regan
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