Are you a Micromanager?
Do you tell your employees exactly how things should be done? If you answered ‘yes’ - you are a micromanager. Telling employees what and how to do things doesn’t leave any room for creativity or initiative. If you regularly tell them what to do, they will stop trying. Your employees want to grow, and if you raise the bar and let go of a little control, you will be surprised by how they respond.
Because this comes up so frequently when coaching leaders, I was curious what others believed the 10 indicators of being a micromanager to be so, instead of asking Google I asked ChatGPT. I posed the question on several different occasions to see if there was consistently in the answers. If you are interested in seeing the actual results, CLICK HERE. When I compared the responses, it presented generally the same concepts.
Here are the Top 10 indicators that you are a micromanager, as identified by ChatGPT:
You have a hard time delegating tasks to others.
You frequently check in on tasks that you've assigned to others.
You often provide detailed instructions on how tasks should be completed.
You have a hard time trusting others to complete tasks to your satisfaction.
You often step in and take over tasks that you've assigned to others.
You are constantly making changes and adjustments to work that has been completed by others.
You are overly involved in the day-to-day work of your team members.
You have a hard time letting go of control over projects.
You frequently give unsolicited advice and direction to your team members.
You find yourself frequently correcting or redoing the work of others.
Who am I to disagree with the chatbot?
Micromanagement leads to low employee morale, a lack of trust, and decreased productivity. I imagine there are at least a few items on this list that you feel you MUST do, that it isn’t an option to stop telling employees how to do things. As a leader, your job is to set clear goals and expectations, not tell them HOW to achieve the goals.
If I were to boil this down and suggest productive behaviors that will help you create empowered employees, it would be to let go of control by effectively delegating, give your employees freedom in deciding how they do their work, create space for autonomy by reducing the frequency of checking in, and trust their skills and abilities. Shift your focus to outcomes. You can provide feedback and guidance along the way, but leave the process and execution to your employees. In other words, stop doing the work for them.
Are You a Micromanager? If so, what are you going to stop doing ?
