For the last couple of weeks I gave you some ideas with accompanying homework to start your year off on solid footing. It was a lot to do and if you're like most people, there were just not enough extra hours to accomplish what you wanted to have in place. So as I mentioned, let's put a week of "no new homework assignments" in the series so those of you who want to implement some of the ideas presented can do so. Next week I'll give you the final piece in the series...and frankly the part that without it you're doomed...how to bring empowerment into the equation.
    
But as a lead in to next week, may I ask you a question? Have you ever been accused of micromanaging? Has anyone ever left your team or employment because you were too hands on? There's a fine line between being an involved manager and an over-involved manager or the dreaded "micromanager".

To see where you fall, it might be helpful to answer these questions and try to be honest: Do you?

1. Resist delegating.
2. Start by correcting tiny details instead of looking at the big picture.
3. Take back delegated work.
4. You believe that you're faster, and more skilled than the people who work for you.
5. Discourage others from making decisions without consulting you.

I don't know about you, but I work on how to be more hands off with my team. It's hard, really hard. I'm not always successful.  As a small business owner, department head or team leader it's easy to fall into the trap of over-managing because you really do see literally everything. I believe the key is to have some metrics that really work for you and then work, work, work on insisting that people hit their marks. Live and die by the metrics and trust that the people you work with are too. And when they don't, it's ok to acknowledge that they might not be a good fit. Of course for metrics to work they have to be realistic and easy to track. Put too many in place, and you're simply doing a different type of over-management. Have too few, and you'll never be able to comfortably delegate.  

Conversations must accompany a review of the metrics. One of the best ways to have a conversation around metrics is to ask this simple question - "You said you would do this. Did you?"

When the answer is often "no" micromanaging should be used as a consequence. It's tool or tactic for those employees that are not meeting expectations or are bad performers. A bad performer does not necessarily mean a bad employee, there are many employees that are not performing well because they are in the wrong job. Not because they are bad people, but because they are not doing what they are passionate about in general, and therefore have no desire to be successful. By micromanaging the details of such an employee for a short period of time both parties and the team they work with are all better off.

So here's your action item. Recognize that all great coaches use micromanagement as a technique but it's not their "character". Be a great coach and in the spirit of the pending 2014 Super Bowl, take your team to a win.

Come join our discussion on our blog, or I welcome your feedback through email.