3 Ways Micromanagement Kills Productivity, And How To Prevent It

One of the biggest issues you’ll ever face working is having a manager who micromanages their employees. Micromanagement is the bane of free thought. It kills collaboration, makes people feel inferior, and annihilates free thought.

For years I’ve been a student of leadership, and I’ve followed John Maxwell and learned a lot from him. One of the things he teaches is that leadership is influence, nothing more, and nothing less.

However, leadership character matters a lot, because they decide where the group goes, how they’ll get there, and how to treat people. When people start micromanaging others, it’s like a death blow to a department or company.

I know full well that I don’t have all the answers, and when I have a creative team to work with, I understand that we can come up with something better.

Top 3 Reasons Micromanagement Doesn’t Work

As I stated above when people micromanage, they tend to kill a lot of good options that are the natural output of a team.

What Micromanagement Does?

1. It Kills Creativity
2. Cuts Off Options; Giving Tunnel Vision
3. Makes People Feel Inferior

It Kills Creativity:

Micromanagement Kills Productivity Because The Worker Is Constantly Dealing With Being Second Guessed By Their Manager. This Causes A slowdown in efficiency. Instead Of Moving Fast On A Project, They Get Bogged Down In The Weeds Of It. Micromanagement Also Adds Undo Stress And Extra Steps To Most Processes.

It Cuts Off Options; Giving Your Team Tunnel Vision

When creativity is killed many people won’t be able to adapt and see problems that need to be solved, or if they do see it, they won’t like to address them. Many times people just put their heads down and work in this situation.

Makes People Feel Inferior

Micromanagers tend to make people feel inferior, it’s one of the reasons tunnel vision comes into play. They don’t want to admit their flaw to the manager, because the manager will talk down to them expecting more. However, if the manager finds the issue themselves they hear about it.

All in all, micromanaging breaks the spirit of a team, only uniting in a desire for their manager to go away.

3 Reasons People Micromanage?

I don’t have an exhaustive list, but as I think of managers I’ve worked with in the past. I can come up with a few reasons.

Reason People Will Micromanage

1. They Are Insecure About Their Position
2. The Manager Doesn’t Have The Skill To Lead But Did For The Job
3. They Don’t Trust The People Around Them

They Are Insecure About Their Position

Many managers get promoted and excited because they’re earning extra money. However with more money comes more responsibility, and many people lack proper leadership and people skills for their jobs.

They have obtained a sense of authority, but don’t know how to exercise it. So instead of advising they try to fix every little issue. People complain to them about others and they jump on the issues. All problems will fall in their wake.

It’s how a micromanager is born.

The Manager Doesn’t Have The Skill To Lead

This is a common issue in the sales world, many great salesmen have been promoted to a position called Sales Manager (or something like that). However, what makes a good salesman doesn’t necessarily equate to a sales manager.

These people struggle to lead and try to micromanage their team to sell exactly as they did. After all, that’s how they became successful right? Why wouldn’t it work for everyone else? The final blow is when they burn out, and micromanagement takes another victim.

They Don’t Trust The People Around Them

I’ve seen in most of the micro managers I’ve dealt with, and it encompasses the last few reasons. In reality, those micromanagers don’t trust the people around them.

And it shows.

In today’s business world, micromanagement rarely works. It’s something that needs to go away. However, we are broken people living in a fallen world so that’s doubtful.

Can Micromanagement Ever Be Considered Good?

The only place I can see it ever being good is in the military, but I don’t necessarily see it as micromanagement. It’s more discipline. I’ve never been in the military, so hopefully, I’ll get corrected if I’m wrong.

A Few Reasons Why.

1. The Military Is A Different Beast Than An Office.
2. People In The Military Have To Switch Jobs At A Moments Notice
3. The Military Always Needs To Be At The Ready.

I could go into those points, but I think they explain themselves. An office is a place where people go to work and make money. The money is used to live and support their families. Also, remember they only spend 40-50 hours a week there and you’ll understand they have divided loyalties.

I don’t know of any closer example of micromanagement than this one, and it still doesn’t fit as well.

How To Deal With Micromanagement.

There are many ways to help a manager break away from micromanagement. However one of the best things to avoid is challenging them outright. This always ends badly for the challenger, and you might get disciplined or fired. I DON’T recommend that…

Even If I’ve Tried It A Few Times…It Always Ended Badly.

1. Jump Ahead And Tell The Manager About Future Potholes In The Plan
2. Have Solutions Ready For Problems That Could Arise
3. Help Them Brainstorm Ideas

Many of these ideas involve looking ahead and mitigating problems. However, you should tell the manager about them at one point or another. Depending on the project, you’ll have to make that decision.

However, I always tell them before the plan is implemented and ask them for feedback. This shows respect to the manager,

Respect Gets Respect

Anonymous

You need to earn their trust, and by showing them the problems and solutions you’ve come up with, you’re showing initiative. This is a good thing and one of the best ways to get a micro-manager off your back.

Micromanagement; Don’t Forget It’s Only A Job

Don’t forget it’s only a job. If you can’t take it anymore and you’ve tried earning their trust. They might be a jerk in charge. Don’t stay in an unhealthy environment any longer than is necessary.

If all else fails, mitigate the risk. Find a new job, cut, and run. Life is too short to be unhappy, give it a shot, but in the end, do what is needed.