Micromanaging Your Employees Can Be a Threat to Your Business
Micromanaging is not a new thing. It is more common than you might think, especially amongst small business owners.
As a small business owner yourself, have you ever felt like you are better off not delegating tasks because the final result will be better if you do it yourself? Don't worry. No judgment. You're not alone. When you are good —or the best— at something, it is natural to want to take over. The problem is when you feel like you could do everything better yourself, and if you're not doing it yourself, you at least need to be monitoring it at all times. You know, for peace of mind.
Consequences of Micromanaging
Even if micromanaging doesn't seem like such a terrible thing, it can certainly be toxic for your employees, your business, and also for yourself.
Your Employees Will Be Dissatisfied
No one appreciates being hovered over when trying to get things done. That excessive need to control how things are done will impact employee satisfaction, decrease their level of engagement, and bring down their productivity.
Your Business Turnover Rate Will Increase
Unhappy employees don't usually stick around for long.
You Will Feel Burnt Out
Your agenda is already full of lots of essential tasks that do require your attention, and it is unlikely that you will have time to care for everyone else's jobs too. Even if you try, your productivity will not be up to par, and you will end feeling frustrated and burnt out.
Are You Micromanaging?
You might be micromanaging without realizing it. Here are some signs to watch out for:
- You are always on top of everything, asking for reports and progress updates, even for the things that aren't urgent.
- There's a bottleneck of work that gets slowed down until you provide your approval, causing deadlines to be missed and generating dissatisfied customers.
- Even when the outcome is positive, you always feel like it would be better if you took matters into your own hands.
Evaluate yourself and find out whether you are going down the black hole of micromanaging. Catching it early on will prevent potential damages.