How to break the habit of micromanagement at your workplace

In the pursuit of perfection and results, managers tend to develop a habit of micromanagement, which takes a toll on employees. Do you find it hard to delegate tasks, can’t trust your team, or try to control every little thing they do? If yes, then you have a habit of micromanagement, and employees don’t like it when their manager is monitoring every single activity of theirs.

According to a survey by Accountemps, more than 59% of employees stated that they have worked for a micromanager. Out of them, 55% reported a drop in productivity, while around 68% stated a decrease in team morale.

As a manager, you need to be hands-on when training new joinings and helping underperforming employees, but healthy boundaries are essential. You might be keeping a close eye on your team so they perform at a high level, but it can feel suffocating for employees, provoking negativity and frustration in them.

If you believe that your leadership style has micromanagement tendencies, then I’m here to help you out. Right from the signs of micromanagement and its negative effects to tips to break this habit, I’ll discuss everything related to this issue next.

What is micromanagement?

Micromanagement refers to a style of leadership where the manager closely observes everything done by employees and controls their work entirely. Such managers believe that if they control every team operation, then they can be successful. This ‘my way or the highway’ approach is detrimental to the team, and they usually lose faith in their manager.

Sometimes managers have good intentions — they want to achieve targets and objectives — but micromanagement frustrates employees instead of motivating them. Employees feel powerless under excessive supervision, which also limits their creativity. Thus, micromanagement negatively affects the image of a manager and hampers trust among the team.

Why do managers micromanage?

If you are someone who wants to be cc’ed on every team mail, needs details about every little task, and is never satisfied with your team’s performance, then you’re a micromanager.

Professional or personal insecurities may also be the reason why managers want to control the outcomes of their team. Let’s check out possible reasons behind micromanagement.

• Lack of management skills: Usually, when someone becomes a new manager, they don’t have enough knowledge and experience to lead a team. It leads to them being extra concerned about tiny details in order to keep everything running smoothly.
• Vulnerability and personal insecurities: An inexperienced manager is vulnerable, and they feed their lack of confidence by micromanaging employees. By controlling everyone, they portray themselves as an influential leader who runs an obedient team and are successful in their role.
• Old school style of leadership: Some managers tend to micromanage employees because when they were juniors, they experienced the same. They don’t even realize that their style is problematic, and it is hard for them to be collaborative and open with their teammates.
• Perfectionism: Some managers are never satisfied with anything less than perfect. Well, attaining perfectionism is not possible every time, and it has a detrimental effect on the team. Managers tend to double-check every work, which frustrates employees.
• Struggling to adjust to management: Usually, when an employee is promoted to the post of manager, he finds it challenging to adapt instantly. Performing your own duties is one thing, and managing a team under you often leads to micromanagement.

Recognizing the signs of micromanagement

When the leadership follows a micromanagement approach, then its effects are seen in both managers and employees. If you want to stop micromanagement and collaborate better with your employees, then it is crucial to recognize the signs of micromanagement.

• Approval on every small task — If you ask your employees to inform you about every single move of theirs. Whether it is a significant monthly target or a simple daily task like checking emails, needing approval on everything is nothing but a sign of micromanagement that takes away the employees’ sense of responsibility.
• Improper delegation of tasks — One of the leading indicators of micromanagement is improper task delegation, in which managers either keep unnecessary control over little details or fail to distribute responsibilities appropriately among the team. They constantly intervene, demand reports, and lack faith in their team’s ability. As a result, employees feel underappreciated, which depresses morale and hinders productivity.
• Little to no room for flexibility — Do you have a fixed set of instructions and every task must be done according to it? If this sounds familiar, then you are a micromanager who wants all tasks to be completed in a fixed manner. This eliminates creativity as well as new solutions.
• No or minimal learning opportunities — Facing issues and making errors pushes employees to learn something new and come up with innovative solutions. However, in a micromanagement setup, managers don’t let their team tackle difficulties themselves and limit learning opportunities for them.

Micromanagement takes a toll on the entire workplace

A report states that micromanagement is among the top three reasons why employees resign. Micromanagement is only suitable for one thing — your ego. If you are too involved in your team’s daily work routine, it gets both disruptive and dangerous.

Other than ruining relationships, micromanagement jeopardizes the overall success of the entire organization. Here’s why leaders should refrain from micromanaging their team.

• Destroys trust — When you don’t give freedom or autonomy to your employees, dictating to them everything they need to do, it’s a clear signal that you don’t trust them. The team will get demoralized and won’t be able to work at its full potential. It becomes impossible for them to win the manager’s respect as they aren’t considered good enough. Trust works both ways, and when the manager doesn’t trust his team, they don’t trust the manager, either.
• Kills innovation — Without the authority to make any decisions, the team cannot show their creativity and lose enthusiasm to find productive solutions to problems. Managers give strict instructions, and employees don’t put in any extra effort. They get discouraged and stop thinking out of the box, killing creativity.
• High employee turnover — If the employees are under excessive pressure from the manager, they are unlikely to perform at their best. Micromanagement doesn’t give employees the chance to express themselves, offer value, and make a difference in their organization. As a result, talented and skilled employees leave the company to join competitors.
• Burns out the manager — Similar to employees, managers also suffer from health issues due to micromanagement. When you constantly try to control everything, give orders to everyone, and work with vast amounts of information, you will definitely burn out. Micromanagers usually fall victim to insomnia, burnout, stress-related issues, heart diseases, etc.

Tips to break the habit of micromanagement

Would you like to work for a manager who is always standing on your head and monitoring every single move you make? Obviously, you won’t, and as a manager, you have to consider your employees’ welfare as well.

A big issue with micromanagement is that sometimes managers don’t realize that they are practicing it. If your leadership style shows signs of micromanagement, then the following tips will help you break this habit and work in harmony with your team.

Reflect on why you micromanage

First and foremost, you need to understand why you micromanage if you genuinely want to stop it. You may be insecure that it will reflect poorly on you that your team doesn’t function the way you want it to. Most micromanagers justify their actions by saying that they are saving time through it or the objective is too vital for the team to handle on their own.

Instead of this, you should focus on reasons for not micromanaging your team. It will give ample opportunities for your team to learn new things and grow professionally. When you understand how your team and your organization improve, you’ll likely stop micromanagement.

Start trusting your team

Most team members come to the manager for approvals when working on a project as they are used to not being trusted by their manager. Building an environment of trust in the workplace goes a long way in stopping micromanagement.

When you hire the right, talented people, believe that they’re good enough to do their job. Tell your team members that you know they can tackle challenges and achieve positive results. This instills confidence and shows them that their manager trusts them.

Delegate tasks effectively

As a manager, you don’t just have to offload tasks to your team members and then stand on their heads as they work on them. You can avoid micromanagement by appropriately delegating tasks among the team. Understand your team and assign responsibilities to members based on their strengths and knowledge.

If you don’t delegate tasks effectively, there will be an imbalance, and some team members won’t even know what to do. With proper delegation, the right team members will handle tasks, and you won’t need to micromanage them.

Prioritize results instead of processes

Employees feel frustrated when managers keep an eye on every single step they take during the work process. Instead of micromanaging the entire process, managers should focus more on assessing the end results.

The ‘my way or the highway’ mentality by managers is detrimental to the team, and an employee may know of a more efficient approach. Give your team the freedom to operate in a way that is comfortable for them. This is undoubtedly going to boost their productivity and improve your end results.

Let go of perfectionism

The sooner you realize that it is not possible to achieve perfectionism every time, the easier it gets to stop micromanagement. Instead of chasing perfection, push your employees to experiment with new approaches and test out new ideas to achieve their goals.

In the pursuit of perfection, you interfere with each and every move of the employees, which can be frustrating for them. Embrace mistakes and be ready to deal with potential problems that may arise from trying out new things. Employees love working for managers who offer them creative freedom and don’t micromanage them in a bid to achieve perfect results.

Provide transparency to the entire team

When team members are not on the same page and not clear about their responsibilities, you feel the urge to step in and micromanage them. You can break this habit by clearly communicating goals, expectations, and decision-making processes to employees.

Using a project management tool like ProofHub allows managers to stay on top of projects conveniently. This transparency ensures every team member is aware of ongoing projects and their tasks, tracks everything and works within deadlines, communicates openly with team members, and identifies bottlenecks before they turn into big problems.

Take control without micromanaging! Try ProofHub today to streamline teamwork, improve transparency, and keep projects on track. Start now!

Take feedback from your employees

Individually ask every team member of yours how they wish to be managed if you want to maintain a strong, trustworthy relationship with them. Every individual will have their own opinion, but most of them will surely prefer autonomy and freedom when doing their work.

Having this conversation with your employees also shows them that you care for their needs and are willing to listen to them. They’ll also let you know if you are micromanaging them and if it is proving to be an issue for them. You’ll get a clear review of how you are performing as a manager and can adapt your leadership style based on what the employees demand.

Conclusion

Breaking the habit of micromanagement isn’t just about giving up control — it’s about becoming a more effective leader. Trusting your team, delegating tasks wisely, and focusing on results rather than obsessing over every step will create a healthier, more productive workplace.

Employees thrive when they feel valued and empowered instead of being micromanaged, and in turn, they deliver better results. By fostering transparency, encouraging innovation, and embracing flexibility, you’ll build a motivated team that respects your leadership. So, step back, trust your team, and see them shine towards success.