Time Management Tip: Stop Micro-Managing Employees

If I was a fly on the wall what would I hear your employees say? Would it something like this? "They won't allow me to make even the simplest decisions." "The red tape here makes it very difficult for me to do my job." "Management has to sign off on everything; they don't trust me."

A big time waster for managers is micro-managing - paying extreme attention to small details and not giving people the authority to do their job. If it is such a time waster why do so many managers get hooked into micro-managing? Here are some reasons.

Top down mirroring. The CEO or President micro-manages his or her direct staff. The staff then unconsciously adopts the same management style with their direct reports. The practice spreads, or 'mirrors' itself, and becomes part of the culture.

Fear. In today's difficult economy, managers live in perpetual fear that their department better produce or else. This fear drives them to micro-manage, rather than trust their employees to make the appropriate decisions.

A wrong belief. Many managers think success is based on amassing as much power as possible. They therefore do not allow their employees to make decisions by themselves because that would be giving up their own power. However, the more management allows employees to make decisions, the more powerful the entire organization will be.

Here's what can be done to influence managers to focus their time, energy and resources on the important tasks of managing ? getting work down by and through others.

Start at the top. Hire an executive coach to help the CEO learn to trust and delegate to subordinates. Managers will then likely follow suit with their own direct reports.

Ask employees. Use focus groups and individual interviews to learn from employees what decision-making authority they feel they need to do their jobs well. Then communicate this information to their supervisors.

Put yourself in their shoes. It is very easy for managers to lose perspective about what decisions their employees really need to make by themselves. Managers should ask themselves, what decisions would I need to make if I were doing that job?

Train managers. Delegating and trusting employees are all skills that can be taught. During the training, those few managers that ARE doing a good job of delegating should be asked to share their best practices and successes with others.

Many managers often know in their heart of hearts that they are micro managing. Yet they find it difficult to change old habits. Great leaders are consummate learners and are willing to take risks and try new approaches.

Marcia Zidle, the 'people smarts' coach, works with business leaders to quickly solve their people management headaches so they can concentrate on their #1 job ­ to grow and increase profits. She offers free help through Leadership Briefing, a weekly e-newsletter with practical tips on leadership style, employee motivation, recruitment and retention and relationship management. Subscribe by going to http://leadershiphooks.com/ and get the bonus report "61 Leadership Time Savers and Life Savers". Marcia is the author of the What Really Works Handbooks ­ resources for managers on the front line and the Power-by-the-Hour programs ­ fast, convenient, real life, affordable courses for leadership and staff development. She is available for media interviews, conference presentations and panel discussions on the hottest issues affecting the workplace today. Contact Marcia at 800-971-7619.

---

Difficult Staff - It Pays To Get To Know Them Better

It's very easy for a business owner or manager to... Read More

Why Your Company Needs An E-Mail Policy

Everyone at the office thought that using the company e-mail... Read More

Setting Direction Within an Organization

FINDING DIRECTION: An organization can't succeed without direction. Direction means... Read More

Focus on Outcomes to Keep Your Business On-Course

Did you know that an airplane in flight is off... Read More

4 Tips on How to Avoid Communication Lines Breakdown

For example, in a small, two-person company, there is often... Read More

Morale Boosters: Feed the Troops First

When economic conditions turn tough or when the heavy work... Read More

Creativity and Innovation Management ? Motivation and Management Layers

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

The Ivory Tower Syndrome

"His cardinal mistake is that he isolates himself, and allows... Read More

Give Yourself a Boss? Day Gift

Become a better boss and reap the benefitsAnother interesting study... Read More

Allan Kempert Discovers That Truly All You Gotta Do Is Ask

A year or so ago, I met Allan Kempert. Allan... Read More

Great Employees = Passionate Consumers

Companies spend millions of dollars each year identifying their brand,... Read More

Are Your Meetings Smart?

Soon after I finished a brief seminar on how to... Read More

Hire People For What They Do Best

I recently flew from Seattle to Atlanta, I realized, just... Read More

Executive Performance -- Whos to Blame for Incompetent Managers?

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal raised the... Read More

Innovation Management: The Power of Emotional Attachment

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Counseling Interviews for the Marginal Employee

ACTIVE LISTENING: The most frequent cause of failure in therapeutic... Read More

Five Ways to Increase Profitability By Doing The Right Thing

1. Base your business in the Magic Triangle. Honesty, integrity,... Read More

Problem Solving the Problem Solving Meeting

We go to meetings to share information, to report on... Read More

Problem-Solving Success Tip: Measure

Measure.The first key question to answer in starting a problem-solving... Read More

Effective Meetings by Phone - Part 2, How to Hold a Teleconference

Even a well-planned teleconference can go poorly. Some people treat... Read More

How to Coach Your Employees - 5 Simple Steps Anyone Can Do!

Want to get more from your people, but you don't... Read More

Business is About Making Money

Ask most people why they are in business and they... Read More

Hidden Consultants Within Your Organization

You've all heard the old joke about a consultant being... Read More

Leading Meetings: The Top Three Challenges

What do people really find challenging about leading meetings? Here... Read More

Innovation Management ? Raw brainpower versus experience

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Selecting a Business Broker or Intermediary to Help You Sell Your Business

As crazy as it seems, some people spend more time... Read More

Blame Culture Blues - How the Language of Blame Manifests Organisational Underperformance

If you have ever worked within a large organisation then... Read More

Business Innovation ? the Value of Structure

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Tales From the Corporate Frontlines: Team Dynamics and Communication

This article relates to the Team Dynamics competency, which evaluates... Read More

Once Upon a Conflict

Once upon a time there lived an innocent, hardworking manager.... Read More

Business Innovation ? Ignoring Content

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Performance Appraisals: Questions for Smarties and Dummies

In numerous programs I've conducted on performance appraisals, with Human... Read More

Using Employee Opinions Effectively When Designing HR Programs

Using Employee Opinions Effectively When Designing HR ProgramsEmployee opinion is... Read More