One of the big dangers of managing or owning a business is that you can be guilty of micro managing. To those of you who are unaware, this means trying to get your hands on every aspect of the business and fully involving yourself in the processes and operations. I learned a long time ago, from the business expert and my mentor David Serna, that micro managing is something which will never work and that it should always be avoided when you head up your own company. If you are one of those managers who can’t leave things alone and feels that they have to get heavily involved in all areas of the business, then here is exactly why you could be doing more harm than good.
Staff Performance
In getting involved in the business in this way you are doing nothing more than unnerving your staff which will push them towards poorer performance. Your presence will make them second guess themselves, it will also cut out the chance for them to make mistakes which they will learn from and ultimately you are going to confuse and bother them. As a manager you will be able to spot poor performance, it is not your job to actually cause that poor performance.
Missing The Big Stuff
If you think of your business as a forest then micromanaging would look like you spending you time inspecting each leaf on every tree. The result of doing this will be that when a fire begins to rage on the far side of the forest, you are not going to have any idea about it until you start to feel heat and see smoke. This is exactly what will happen in your business if you have your head buried in a specific aspect of it. The role of manager or owner, is to gaze upon the business as a whole, in order to spot both danger and opportunity.
Kills Creativity
A great workforce should be one which understands what the business is trying to do and how they can work harder and smarter in order to achieve it. What you really want from the workforce is that they are focused on seeking to be creative, but if you are overbearing in your management then you are going to kill this creativity. In order to get your staff to feel that they can ry new things or aim for different ways of working, you absolutely have to give them the space to breathe. This of course is something which can’t happen if you are involved in everything that they do.
Resentment
Being a strong manager is not about everyone hating you, it is about the staff and the workforce respecting both you and the authority which you have. If you micro manage however then you will discover that it breeds resentment very quickly and that is going to have a big impact on your daily life and how much you can bring out of your staff.