Being a great manager is tough.

 If you supervise your team too little, you risk

underproducing and not meeting your end goals. But if you supervise too much,
you could end up with a team of overworked and demoralized workers.

Unfortunately, over-supervising -- or micromanaging -- is far more commonplace

amongst managers in today's workplace.

Anyone who has been micromanaged by a boss or co-worker knows that it

doesn't help workflow or morale. Many employees either become so dependent
on micromanaging that they can't produce results without it, or they burn out from
being denied the chance to do work on their own terms.

So, why is micromanaging still the go-to management style for many
managers? It comes down to control: The fear of being accountable for other
people's work can lead managers to take extreme measures to keep track of
their team. Recent reports have alluded to the possibility that 48 percent of
employees worldwide aren't happy in their jobs.

Harvard Business Review blogger Christina Bielaszka-DuVernay notes that

micromanagement is a big factor in those statistics. She writes that "a consistent
pattern of micromanagement tells an employee you don't trust his work or his
judgment."

What's the solution? Instead of micromanaging, try macromanaging.

Macromanagement is a management style that's focused more on the "big
picture" and less on the minute details of day-to-day operations.Macromanagers
give general instructions on smaller tasks while putting in more effort to supervise
larger concerns and instruct other leaders how to work effectively with their
teams.

It's not necessarily a "hands-off" approach but, instead, puts the focus on vision
rather than production. Here's how to be a good macromanager:

 Start with the end goal in mind. Macromangers focus on the final

outcome. They care more about the "why" than the "how."
  Let people figure out how they will get there. Macromanagers give
employees room to impress them, and trust them to come up with the right
solution and processes. They hire people for their skills and creativity.
 Empower employees. Macromanagers encourage their employees to be
proud of their achievements and help them learn skills that produce better
results.
 Know when you need to step up, and when to step
back. Macromanagers don't give people the answers but rather ideate
with them and point out alternate ways of thinking that could lead to better
outcomes.

Ultimately, macromanagement is about cultivating creative thinking and problem-

solving in your teams instead of managing quotidian tasks. But one thing
macromanagers should keep in mind is to not just walk away and leave
employees to fend for themselves.

Companies can often get stuck in ruts because there are underlying issues with
team structures, lack of skills, or a variety of other factors that would cause
teams to fall apart without strong leadership.

If you're switching from micromanagement to macromanagement, you need to

make sure that you've defined what success looks like and that you have
employees with the necessary skills (who don't rely on micromanagement to
succeed), as well as managers who are willing to shift gears into motivational
and encouragement-based roles.

Here are some questions to ask before taking on a macromanagement position:

 How high are the stakes? Does the end goal suffer if macromanagement
isn't successful with our current team?
 Will my team be negatively affected if the roles shift? Are they "burnt out"
or are they too dependent on leadership at this point?
 Do my current leaders have the ability to take on new macromanagement
roles? Do I need to look for or hire additional management positions?
  What are the risks and rewards of making the switch?

If you can confidently answer the above questions, you're more than likely in a
good position to make the switch. While it can be scary to take a step back and
give employees more freedom in the workplace, it can allow workers to produce
higher quality goods and services, improve employee engagement, and make
your business a better place to work.

Council, Y. E. (2016, December 15). Understanding the Role of the Macromanager

(and How to Become One). Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/young-
entrepreneur-council/understanding-the-role-of-the-macromanager-and-how-to-
become-one.html

When we hear the word “micromanagement” we think of it as a negative

behavior. You type micromanager on Google and it gives you definitions like “to
control every part, however small, of (an enterprise or activity)” accompanied by
some images of angry bosses standing with binoculars at the desk of their
employees, topped with dozens of articles on how to quit this toxic management
style. It even feels like you Googled a bad habit like smoking. And yet guess
what some of the greatest leaders on this world have in common? You guessed
it right—micromanagement at its finest. Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates are
only a few examples of outstanding leaders who happen to excel at
micromanagement. Elon Musk even describes himself as a nano-manager. So
how come we only see the negative connotation?

Let's flip that micro coin and look at the other side of it. Let’s apply positive
thinking and try to upgrade our perception of what micromanagement is. When
speaking about micromanagement from a CEO point of view I often joke that “A
micromanager is a person that all CEOs want but most employees probably
hate”.

Yes, being a micromanager is usually connected to being a control-freak, paying

attention to details, being picky. Most authors connect it to distrusting people,
thinking that you can always do it better than the others etc. And if this is the
case how did this trait develop? Is it because all these managers have worked
with people who did not or could not deliver as they were expected? Or is it
because leaders who excel at micromanagement have very high expectations
and are striving for perfection? And is everyone capable of controlling and being
involved in many fields at the same time? Can everyone be or become a
micromanager?

I believe micromanagement is a skill (if done right) not everyone can be good at.
Not everybody has the capacity to watch and control every single step of a
process. Bosses who stick their noses into every single detail because they have
nothing smarter to do are the representative of micromanagement done wrong.
But bosses who closely monitor, provide detailed guidance and corrective
feedback when needed are something totally opposite.

Here are seven reasons why micromanagers can be great for teams and
companies at the same time:

1. They are highly involved and engaged with their teams. They know their
people and the work they do. They have better communication skills as
they communicate with their colleagues to provide guidance and ensure the
result is outstanding.

2. They are able to foresee and prevent. They take care of all the details and
possible drawbacks striving to prevent or mitigate any possible negative
outcome. 

3. They want to get the best out of people. No leader wishes to correct

mistakes but hopes that when they recheck the situation the feedback is rather
positive than negative. Being a micromanager is not about waiting for people to
make mistakes. It's about wanting to reassure that every single detail is being
taken care of.  And it involves teaching, mentoring and pushing people to their
potential on the go, hence constantly improving their skills. Micromanagers want
to control the outcome, not the people involved.

4. They can develop empathy naturally. Micromanagers can put themselves

easier in the shoes of the others cause they know what it takes to get the tasks
done. They know the skills, strengths and weaknesses of their people, and can
understand them pretty naturally. And understanding sets the bases for knowing
when to push and when to step back and give them some space.

5. They know what, when and to whom they can delegate.   It is better to
have a micromanager who knows the job his team is doing than a macro
manager who delegates without knowing what it takes to get a certain task
done. I personally know many of the later ones and I call them "the forward
managers" cause most of the day they forward emails to their team without even
reading them. A micromanager has probably done the tasks he is delegating and
can make the right decisions when delegating. 

6. They can adapt their style to different characters. Since their goal is a

perfect end-result they have to find ways to get all involved people on board who
call for different ways of guidance, feedback and motivation.

7. They can add value to almost any given department. If there is a customer
complaint that can damage your company’s reputation and your head of
Customer Care is a micromanager he will go over every detail, investigate the
situation, try to locate the root of the problem and try to handle the situation in the
best possible way. Same applies to other departments and internal processes
such as during onboarding new employees, updating systems, implementing
changes etc. Good micromanagers can be the safety net that any department
needs.

Therefore micromanagement done right can have positive effects not only on the
overall outcome but on the morale, productivity and culture.

Every leader dreams of having people who he can trust and rely on, people who
have an eye for details, who can pay extreme attention to what others are doing
and who can get things done perfectly. If this is the case that it would be
logical to assume that every leader or CEO would love to have
micromanagers in their teams.

At the end of the day there are things that are very important and should be
micromanaged and there are things that are not the most important thing for the
company and should just be delegated. As Gary Vee says, it is important to have
a good radar for deciding what is important and what is not.

So far I haven’t been proud to admit or tried to push back when people would tell
me that I am a micromanager. But every coin has two sides and if positive
psychology says that we can regard stress as a positive thing why can’t we look
at the bright side of micromanagement. I am a positive micromanager who is
happy to hire and work with micromanagers. As far as I am concerned if I
was looking for a job I would put micromanagement as a skill in my job
application.

Angelovska, N. (2018, November 06). 7 Reasons Why Micromanagers Are Good

For Teams And Companies. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ninaangelovska/2018/11/05/why-you-should-add-
micromanagement-as-a-skill-in-your-job-application/#6e1c1f6368bc

Micromanagement is a management style characterized by excessive control

and attention to details to the works of subordinates or employees. It is a
state where the manager closely observes and controls everything a subordinate
or an employee does in the organization.

Usually, micromanagement is said to be a characteristic of a directive manager

and considered to have a negative connotation. Nevertheless, it is one of the
most common management style found in organizations all over the world.

Who Is A Micromanager?

A micromanager is someone who lacks trust and micromanages every activity of

his subordinate/employee. He is an autocratic manager who:
 Strongly believes in a top-down decision-making process
 Gets too involved in the work of his subordinates
 Is hardly satisfied with the subordinates’ outputs
 Wants the subordinates to follow “do it as I say approach”
 Asks for frequent updates on the task
 Give a lot of attention to the details
 Finds correcting others fun
Signs Of Micromanagement

Checking that the subordinates and employees are doing the right thing and
making sure that the work is getting done is an important task of every manager.
But paying attention to even irrelevant details and making sure the work is getting
done every time and at every place is one of the signs of micromanagement. The
other signs of micromanagement are:

 Focusing more on details rather than the end product

 Pushing aside the qualification and experience of others
 Failing to delegate most of the work
 Getting too involved in the work of the subordinates or employees
 Demotivating the team over petty issues
 Finding it fun to correct others
Effects Of Micromanagement

Applying the same level of scrutiny, intensity and forcing the subordinates to

follow do-as-I-say approach harms the productivity and demotivates the
employees. In fact, micromanagement is one of the key reasons why employee
resigns from the organization. There are many negative effects of
micromanagement:

 Low employee morale

 High employee turnover
 Employees tend to depend more on the manager
 Less productivity
 Less creativity in the organisation
 Employees lose the trust in the manager
 Job dissatisfaction among employees
 Low scope of learning for employees
Examples Of Micromanagement

There are many situations in the life of a manager where he has to

micromanage. However, an excess of micromanagement leads to its negative
effects. Here are the following examples of micromanagement:
Asking employees to take his permission for everything

It’s important for the manager to know what’s going on in the organization but
asking the employees to take his permission before every step is a sign of
micromanagement.

Constantly asking for updates on work even when the deadline isn’t near

Micromanagers pay too much attention to detail and give very less autonomy to
the subordinates. They want the work to be done in a way they would have done
it.

Overseeing every work

Micromanagers make themselves the beginning, centre, and end of every

interaction. They want every work to be overseen by them which, most of the
times, hamper the productivity of the team as they have to wait for hours to get
the manager’s approval.

How To Avoid Micromanagement?

Even though it is hard for many but there are ways to avoid micromanaging.
These include:

 Proper delegation of tasks

 Focusing on the end result rather than the minute details
 Believing in the qualification and experience of the team
 Develop a solid line of communication with the team
 Ignore some minor employee errors
 Develop a work policy or work procedure manual
Industries Where Micromanagement Is Suited

Micromanagement is advantageous in some short-term situations like crisis and

emergencies, and also in many industries like mining, manufacturing plants,
military, etc. where close supervision is important for the well-being of the
organization and the employees.

Pahwa, A. (2019, March 24). What Is Micromanagement? Who Is A

Micromanager? Retrieved from https://www.feedough.com/micromanagement/