Oh, the life of a manager. You need to give your team space, but you have to make sure they are delivering the project on time and under budget, which means you should pay close attention to details. But what if being detail-oriented negatively affects your management style?
For example, say you make it a habit to immerse yourself in overseeing a project, and you resist delegating to others, because you want to control the fine points of a project.
Hate to break it to you, but that is micromanaging, and those kinds of managers are not the ones that engage their team. Micromanagers are overly involved in the details of projects and are too controlling of those who should be attending to the details. Think about it, if the boss is going to control every detail, why should the employees even bother with it?
In addition, paying too close attention to certain details can cause unnecessary second-guessing, along with potential redundant work.
On the flip side, if you’re scared of becoming a micromanager, and take a ‘hands-of’ approach to your team, you might get blindsided by missed deadlines, and be perceived as being too distant from the details.
This is where you need to understand the fine line between monitoring the details and telling people how to do each task.
Efficient managers monitor performance without being too controlling of the details of how the work is accomplished. Learn how to balance the control of details with worker expertise, clarity of work goals, and frequent performance-based feedback.
Here are some tips:
Now it’s your turn. How do you balance the fine line between paying attention to details and micromanaging?