The dangers of micro-managing as a leadership style

Does anything good come from micro-managing? Does more work get done? Do employees feel more supported having their managers involved in every step of their to-do list?

Personally, I have never seen it have anything but a negative impact.

Micro-managing is essentially constantly checking in on employees to ensure their work is being done and done to the correct standard. It can also be disguised under the form of being spoken to in a patronizing manner checking that we know how to do basic tasks. Unfortunately, it makes employees feel controlled and does not encourage any independence. Here are 5 dangers of micro-managing and why it should be avoided at all costs:

1. Lack of autonomy and trust

When managers and leaders watch your every move and are asking for regular updates to check on your workload, productivity, or speed of work, it is forcing us to work in exactly the way that the manager wants us to. We do not feel trusted to do the task and meet the deadline, so we feel under constant pressure instead of being left to do our job.

2. Feeling watched and under the microscope

When we start to see leaders popping up everywhere to check on us, we start to feel like we are being watched. When they are checking that we are doing a task or waiting by the door to check we are arriving to work on time, we feel like we are being observed and start worry we are doing things wrong. This creates a culture of feeling we have to do everything right for fear of being pulled up, and we start to question our own ability to do the job.

3. Fear of making mistakes or risk taking

We start to become scared to arrive last to meetings, take a cup of tea or a break when we need one and even become scared of toilet breaks being noticed. We stop using our own methods of working (even if they are more efficient) because we are being told to do things a certain way. We stop thinking creatively or independently and become a follower.

4. Lack of encouragement to manage tasks and time at your own pace

Some people will work to deadlines and others will finish well in advance. When a deadline is given, that is the deadline. To be checking that work is done before this and commenting on the task before the deadline has even passed, creates a culture of distrust because employees start to question why the deadline is put in place if managers want tasks done before.

5. Creates a feeling of not being supported

When we have a manager checking up on us, blaming us for mistakes and giving us less time to focus because they are meddling in our tasks, it does not encourage employees to go to that person when they need support. There is always an implication that it their fault, simply due to the nature of being checked on constantly.

Avoid, avoid, avoid

As much as the temptation may arise to check in on employees and see they are working up to speed or standard, no one ever benefits. In order to ensure employees are supported and trusted, they should know leaders are there if needed and that no question is a silly question. Then, quite simply, they should be left alone. End of story. Professionals are qualified and educated people who are free to ask for help if required and should be trusted to know when they need help. Checking in all the time, asking for updates and disturbing employees’ train of thoughts so that managers can feel more relaxed about how a task is going, only hinders productivity and creates a negative culture in the workplace.

If your leader or manager is a micro-manager, feel free to politely ask for some space to complete the task and ensure them you will come and ask for help if required. If nothing improves even after this polite request, it is clear that micro-management is their style of management and unless you get used to it, it could be very difficult to work under someone like this.