PERSONAL / MANAGEMENT SPECIAL ....ARE YOU A CLOSET MICRO-MANAGER

 ARE YOU A CLOSET MICRO-MANAGER? 

Why micro-management today is equivalent to mismanagement in India Inc

    Do you like being in control? Do you have a problem delegating work? Do you watch over every detail of the work your subordinates do? Do you like being the sole decision-maker? If yes, then you probably are a closet micro-manager.
    Azim Jamal, founder, Corporate Sufi and best-selling author explains that the desire to micro-manage usually stems from a feeling of insecurity about the outcome and a lack of trust in the team at hand. “There are three fundamental traits of micromanagers. One, they generally prefer to exert excessive control over situations right down to the point of trying to define and regulate every outcome, irrespective of its relevance to the big picture. Secondly, they are usually very detail-oriented and will describe or lay down specific guidelines. Thirdly, delegation of authority is highly restricted or even absent,” he states.
    Micro-managers usually exhibit a central chain of command with all decisions and assessments being made by them, no matter how small. Rajas Jain, managing director, Kumar Properties avers, “Bureaucratic set-ups are typical examples of a very micro-managed form of functioning. The micro-manager will usually hover over his/her team-members, thus making them overly conscious of their behaviour. Generally, the boss’ decision is all encompassing and he/she does not
encourage any advice, recommendation or suggestion contrary to his prescribed practices.”
    Experts say that micromanagement could have a huge long and short-term negative impact on your ability to be effective as a manager. “Every team can only be as strong as its weakest link. And if employees are constantly controlled or monitored, there is very little room for individual creativity and ability to flourish. Hence, you have a team of automatons who are de-motivated and extremely limited in their scale of functioning. Additionally, the manager’s own capability too is restricted as he/she is busy spending time on monitoring employees instead of creating new ideas and facilitating processes,” Jamal explains.
    Micro-management is damaging to employees and eventually to the manager. The interplay of team dynamics, creativity and productivity are usually the first casualties of micro-management, according to Jain. He explains, “Repeated control eventually denies the employee the sense of accomplishment. This can cause stress levels to skyrocket and morale to plummet. Leading a team of uninspired, disempowered and disinterested members can drive away promising people from the organisation.” So, how can one let go and learn the art of delegating and sharing work? Naveen Narayanan, global head, talent acquisition, HCL Technologies suggests the following ways: Build trust in the team: Accept the fact that the job can be taken up by your team, so that you as a manager can focus on the bigger picture; Learn to delegate: Delegating responsibility is an important facet of transforming to a macromanager; Leverage rewards and recognition: Reward and recognise team members/subordinates who have done their job efficiently and effectively; Build capability in the team: Learn to transfer skills to team-members who can then take the task forward from you. Jamal feels that acknowledgment of a behaviour pattern is usually the most powerful precursor to any change. “There is a perceptible difference between adding value and just being a perfectionist. Also, the manager has to be continually cognizant of the fact that every individual harbours within himself/herself a significant and unique potential and a major role of any successful manager is to draw out this potential. Only then can a team be collectively effective in achieving the set objectives,” he suggests.
    According to Jain, the balance between directing, delegating and doing, must be constantly monitored and amended. “There are a few vital questions that every manager can ask himself/herself to evaluate his/her behaviour and correct course if required. First, are you creating value with your input and adding significant value to the outcome? If your input is not making any consequential improvement above and beyond the employee’s effort, then there is an urgent need to drop that activity. Secondly, have you recently spent time trying to observe the team and identify individual areas of strength and required areas of attention? This will help the micro-manager to prevent adopting a blanket approach to management and attune his/her behaviour and inputs to the needs of the team.”
    So, it is advisable to step back and let go at times, so that team-members can lead one’s goals to fruition.

Yasmin Taj ETHF130709