Micromanagement might be one of the most toxic habits a team leader or business owner can have. It could cause you great amounts of stress, dissatisfaction, and burnout. And not only that, as your staff members will also suffer from a loss of motivation and might even end up quitting. However, the signs of a micromanager aren’t that difficult to spot, and we should be aware of them.
There are many different aspects of micromanagement that we can learn to notice before they hurt our work environment. That being said, the signs of a micromanager we will discuss include being obsessed with control, unable to delegate work, asking for reports too often, and a high rate of employee turnover.
You’re Obsessed with Control
As a manager, team leader, or business owner, it is only natural you want to make sure everything is going as planned. However, we should also know how to establish a healthy limit before we become obsessed with controlling every situation. If we find ourselves constantly checking on our staff after we delegated a task, regardless of complexity or urgency, we should take it down a notch. This might be one of the most obvious signs of a micromanager, but the most difficult to control. Trust your team and their skills, and they will take care of your business in return.
It’s Hard for You to Delegate Work
Another characteristic of a micromanager is finding it difficult to properly delegate tasks and duties. Wanting to take care of every aspect of a business might turn out to be more damaging than beneficial. Ending up in your office after hours finishing the work that corresponded to another department will eventually burn you out. We must remember we put together our team for a reason and trusting them and their skills are part of our job as managers.
You Ask for Detailed Updates and Reports Too Often
As we mentioned, it might make sense for us to want to stay informed about projects and operations in general. But asking for updates and reports more often than necessary will have the opposite effect. Our employees will eventually get tired of reporting even the slightest change or progress. As a result, their productivity might decrease, and even worse, communication between them and you might suffer too. Therefore, we must learn to be patient, and expect updates and reports only when completely necessary.
There’s A High Rate of Employee Turnover
This might be more difficult to see at first, but it is one of the most common signs of a micromanager there are. If we are seeing high rates of employee turnover, it might not be because of the parking places, or the quality of the coffee. More often than not, staff members eventually lose motivation and opt to quit the company instead. For us, it might seem like they didn’t belong, or were not giving their best at the job. However, when we see the most qualified and productive employees leaving, we might want to look deeper into it. We might be the reason and not even be aware of it until too late.