There is still a belief in the market that consulting companies are the final solution. The reason for this thinking is the opinion that everyone in their organizations knows exactly what to do. At the same time, they believe that they also have the appropriate competences. Just…. why “it doesn’t work” and the management staff “does not deliver results”? The problem may not only be the lack of a qualified team. The biggest problem organizations are currently struggling with is micro-management. Generation “Z”, which has been talked about so much lately not accept such an employer-employee relationship. Young people demand from their organizations a culture based on trust, respect for privacy. They need space for professional development in parallel with personal development. So how to recognize micromanagement before it becomes a problem affecting turnover and deteriorating organizational performance?
How to recognize micromanagement?
Micromanagement, i.e. excessive control not only of processes, but above all of the subordinate team. The easiest way to recognize this phenomenon is that one member of the group directs his or her actions to gain control and influence over the other people.
Micromanagement leads directly to:
➡️Excessive control of all areas of the team’s functioning:
a) requirements to provide information on where subordinates are, what they are doing and the status of the tasks they perform,
b) requirements to include the superior’s e-mail in a copy, regardless of the importance of the correspondence, or configure the employee’s e-mail in such a way that the superior has access to it at any time,
c) correcting subordinates’ mistakes,
d) taking credit for subordinates’ successes,
e) shifting responsibility for failure to subordinates.
➡️Unjustified lack of satisfaction with the results of the team’s work.
➡️Affirming the organizational culture that destroys trust and cooperation and building the need to consult every aspect of the project with the superior and convincing employees that they are not competent enough to work independently.
The effects of micromanagement
The effects of this management style can be disastrous. When management deals with tasks that should be performed by employees without focusing on more complex responsibilities. It can lead to:
➡️increased employee turnover,
➡️reducing their productivity,
➡️burnout,
➡️improper communication,
➡️various purposes in departments,
➡️lack or inappropriate competences.
What should an organization do if it identifies such phenomena? Of course, the best solution is to eliminate them and replace them with standards for monitoring and reporting results. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. There is a thin line between reporting and micromanagement. Sometimes it is necessary to look at what is happening with the “fresh eyes of an outsider” in order to propose a direction for changes.