(Name changed for privacy)
Dr. Peterson had spent a lot of time, money and energy building up the practice of her dreams. After years working as an associate, she struck out on her own and created a dental office that had a steady influx of patients, was aesthetically beautiful and had the latest technology available. Her overhead was manageable and she enjoyed what appeared to the outside world to be a comfortable life filled with travel, a nice home and well-adjusted children.
Face value, however, is often very deceptive. What Dr. Peterson was dealing with during the work day created a level of stress many dentists- and other business owners- feel. The weight of everything fell squarely upon her shoulders, and she was caught in the world of micromanaging: if she didn’t do it, have her “hands on it”, check and double check, it wasn’t going to get done “right”.
When I first sat down with her, she immediately admitted her need to hold on tightly. I confirmed to her that it was perfectly fine, indeed necessary, to know what was going on, as business owners who turn a blind eye are often left debilitated by the failures of their team. As leaders, when someone doesn’t do their job, it’s always your fault.
But.
There’s always a but.
Inherently there’s a difference in keeping your finger on the pulse, overseeing your people and measuring success (and failure) versus the need to do it all. What the outside world couldn’t see was that her personal level of stress found her physically exhausted, yet unable to sleep, made her short with her family and not truly present during their time together…and at the office? She was becoming feared by the employees she needed to keep the practice afloat. Many had lost respect for her as a boss, as a consequence, underperforming – a cycle that perpetuated HER need to continue micromanaging them. They were disengaged, becoming more so as weeks and months turned into years of her management style.
Micromanaging may feel good in the moment: you’re receiving instant feedback on what everyone is doing at any given time, and those little phases of “relief” you experience in the knowing is somewhat like an adrenaline rush..that you become addicted to over time. Considering that, it’s easy to see why some people “give in” to their need to micromanage.
How to know if you’re a micromanager
Take a look at these points, and being honest with yourself, if some resonate with you, consider yourself a micromanager:
- You need to know where everyone is at and what they are doing (physically and figuratively);
- You are rarely satisfied with the work product someone puts out;
- You take pride in showing people what they did wrong as if to “prove your point”;
- You require more updates than actually necessary for routine tasks;
- You feel your way is always the better way;
- You spend too much time reviewing people’s normal, daily tasks;
- You refer to yourself (or others do) as simply a “control freak”.
Dr. Peterson herself felt like both hero and victim at work: on one hand, the hero complex was confirmed by feeling she saved the day, whereas she felt victimized by her perception that she needed to constantly save the day. During one of our coaching sessions, when I pointed this out, I asked her how often any of the “mistakes” she encountered would have impacted patient care, patient retention or the entire bottom line. Thinking quietly, she replied, “None.” At that juncture, she had her “a-ha” moment: She had a good team on her hands, and even now, when they weren’t at their finest having become disenchanted at work, they were still putting out a decent level of work.
Changing Your Methods: Take it Slow but Get Going
The Harvard Business Review is dripping with articles and data on micromanaging and I’ve curated some of the top methods here to help you begin to let go of your micromanaging tendencies:
- Develop an awareness of WHY you micromanage. Karen Dillon, author of the HBR Guide to Office Politics suggests that the need might be tied to insecurity, and the ensuing need to overcompensate. Asking yourself “what excuses am I using to justify micromanaging” will begin to shed light on common excuses (“It will save time”, “too much rides on it happening right and if I do it, it will be done correctly”). Others advise to turn your focus, instead, on reasons why you shouldn’t micromanage: “it’s bad for the team since they don’t learn and grow” as well as the inherent benefits you receive when you stop: namely, more time to do your own job.
- Begin to prioritize. Set out to create a realistic list of the tasks that require your input all the way down to the most mundane. Once you do this, step back and re-evaluate it: is there room to change? Then begin to pull away slowly. Cold-turkey won’t work for a chronic micromanager. Start by letting go of the lower priority tasks and give your employees full control- and accountability- for the outcome. Jennifer Chatman, a professor at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, reminds us that micromanaging displaces the real work of the leader, and also that how your team functions when you’re not involved is a true barometer of your leadership skills. Your job is to train, develop and articulate the vision of the business or project.
- Understand your employees’ limitations and avoid pulling away too quickly. The concept here is called scaffolding and fading. Scaffolding requires that a team member is given robust support at the beginning of a task and as they become more adept, fading back by removing the intricate structure to allow them continued learning and growth. Start by having an honest conversation with the team: you will begin to turn tasks over- and not hover- and that you will be there to help problem solve.
- Begin re-building trust. Let’s face it- they aren’t used to you trusting them. You now have the golden opportunity to truly invest in their development: have one on one conversations, acknowledge your faith in them, support them and trust them. Be candid and express those exact sentiments. Where newer, or junior, employees are concerned it doesn’t make good business sense to automatically disengage from closely managing them, but if coupled with employee development, you can keep a keen eye while growing them in their role. Remember the 70-20-10 rule: 70 percent of knowledge comes from job-related experience, 20 percent from interactions with others and 10 percent from formal education. As a leader, you fall into the 20 percent with your employees.
Still not convinced you’re a micromanager?
If at this point you’re still unconvinced that you micromanage, or that it does, in fact, impact your team negatively, consider having a third party collect blind data from your employees. One of the simplest ways to go about this is to have an electronic survey created that does not require name/email stamps. (SurveyMonkey has this feature.) Statistically, if an employee feels secure knowing that you don’t know who’s reporting what information, they feel freer to be honest. Once collected, you may have your own reckoning with your micromanaging tendencies.
A Few Hard and Fast Rules
Once you’ve made the decision to change, don’t go back on your word. Remember, trust is at stake: you need to lead with trust but you also must not lose their trust in you.
Avoid over-reacting if things don’t go exactly the way you want them. Evaluate if it’s simply not your way but the outcome was just as satisfactory, if the mistakes were large enough to necessitate you stepping in, or if it’s an opportunity to further develop someone’s skills- learning takes place from doing.
Finally, don’t overcompensate by becoming too hands-off. This is still your business, and as stated above, not being in touch with the work and work product can leave you devastated.
The Final Analysis
Once Dr. Peterson was able to see that her need to be involved in the minutiae was the root cause of her stress, we began working her through these steps to allow her to regain her freedom and be the leader her team needed. As her Executive Coach, it was my responsibility to help guide her through the process and hold her accountable to the actions she committed to take. She’s made wonderful progress, has had a set-back or two, but in being transparent with her team, managed to re-engage them and establish a new sense of trust: with her and each other. She happily reports that she’s sleeping better at night and that going into the office every morning is much less stressful than it has been in the past.
I’d call that a win.
Until next time,
Peace, Joy and Success
(photo credits to Intelivate)
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