Top Performer? You Might Have This Bad Habit
We all dislike being micromanaged - but while many of us report having been micromanaged, few of us consider ourselves micromanagers.
Why this disconnect?
No manager sets out to do their job poorly. On the contrary, people tend to end up in management because they’re good at something. Unfortunately, that something usually isn’t “management.”
We take on managerial roles not because our passion lies in motivating others, delegating effectively, and giving thoughtful feedback - but because we’re strong at something else or we want to advance upwards. And when we’re charged with leading part of a business, the people leadership element can become an afterthought.
The Role of Culture
This challenge is compounded in some workplace cultures, where the emphasis is on success or failure, with a “blame game” approach to the latter. In such organizations, it can feel particularly uncomfortable to say “Help! Teach me how to manage people,” because the prevailing atmosphere prizes “knowing it all” rather than “learning it all.” These workplaces often lack psychological safety, so few are willing to speak up, ask for help, or show a need or desire to learn.
Much of the time, managers just figure management out as they go, erring towards managing people in the way they personally like to be managed. Sometimes this works out. Often, it leads to challenges with individual employees and/or contributes to a broader culture that can lower morale and raise attrition.
The Empowerment-Micromanagement Continuum
This sounds alarmist, but a person’s relationship with their direct manager has a disproportionately large impact on their experience of work. When a manager is not great at managing others, they might also empower them less and err towards micromanaging. This amounts to a missed opportunity at best and an attrition booster at worst.
But since few of us recognize micromanaging tendencies in ourselves, what do they look like in practice?
“Just keep me cc’d on this.”
“This is a higher-stakes project - I’ll take the lead and you can drive next time.”
“I’ll edit [translation: rewrite] this before it goes out.”
“Here's how I’d handle this kind of thing.”
None of these statements is ill-intentioned. On the contrary, all seek to arrive at a better result - but all amount to micromanaging. Close supervision is sometimes warranted, but it should be the exception rather than the rule.
Why Empower - And How?
People tend to be motivated by autonomy, mastery, and purpose - but how can we feel independent, master a task, or feel connected to its purpose when met with these approaches from our manager?
Like so many aspects of leadership, the first step towards improving is to cultivate self-awareness. Do you recognize any micromanaging tendencies in yourself? Would your direct reports agree? Would they tell you if they didn’t? (And would you have reached this career stage without someone else first empowering you?)
We work with leaders and teams to improve cultures through leveling-up skills, addressing intangibles (trust, accountability, etc), and tackling any elephants in rooms.
—
Ellie Hearne is founder of Pencil or Ink – a leadership-communications practice in New York City. She works with leading organizations to enhance performance through culture and is currently studying Organisational Leadership at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School. She publishes a monthly newsletter on worklife, culture, and leadership - available here.