Do you ever feel the need to transform micromanagers in your company? As managers we face the challenge of ensuring our teams are focused on meeting targets and getting the job done. Unfortunately, most of us levitate towards daily operations and short-term progress which forces us to lose focus on the macro aspects of our role as managers. As a result, we end up spending too much time micromanaging and failing to exploit our team’s full potential. So how do you avoid doing everything yourself and ensure your department objectives and goals are met?
Delegation with Accountability
You’ve probably read enough about the importance of delegation and how you need to stop daily firefighting. But what have you done about it? Delegation is a mindset that helps free up your time and energy to focus on the bigger picture. You let your team focus on achieving what needs to be done today. The best way to do this is through Empowerment with Transformational Leadership, i.e. making your team accountable for their actions and contributions. Engagement is key here by
- Helping them understand what they’re working towards
- How every action they take ties in with organization goals
- How their daily goals add to weekly, month, quarterly and annual goals
The bottom line is that you as a leader must train yourself to let things go – delegate.
Hire For Future Roles
More often than not managers are fixated with the notion that to perform at optimal levels they need a set number of resources on the job. In reality, it’s not the numbers that you need to plan but the quality of hiring that you need to consider. When hiring, the most crucial aspect is not whether the candidate can perform their duties in the role they’re being hired for, rather if they’ll be able to take on the roles their department will need as it matures. They need to complement your existing team. Again, think on a macro level.
Goal Setting
If you’ve been able to delegate tasks and step back to observe your team “from a distance”, your next step is to establish Key Performance Indicators. Everyone’s hard work has to translate to something important – the end results! Whether it’s customer satisfaction, sales numbers, or periodic reports, a goal has to be set which forms the basis of gauging performance.
Keeping a Check on Things
Now ask yourself do you know how your team is achieving their goals? Are they employing best and ethical practices to get to the finish line? This is where macro-management to the other extreme isn’t going to work in the long run. Periodic and frequent engagement meetings with your team will help you ensure they are following the standards and norms that are true to your company’s values. After all, there is a core component of your organization culture that needs to be involved in everything that everyone does in your company.
Whether you continue to micro-manage or adopt a macro-management style, you may have to find a blend that ensures results are met. Your team needs to remain motivated and as their manager, you must continuously adapt your ways to their and your company’s needs, even if that means you must transform micromanagers in your organization.
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