In a fast-paced corporate environment, it can be tempting for a manager to try to micromanage all the moving parts. But as the number of teams and complexity of the company grows, this course of action is likely to overwhelm an individual. To this end, a manager must realize when he or she should trust their subordinates to deliver and when it’s appropriate to take an active part in a project.
Offering employees autonomy requires them to understand their position when it comes to the success of the business. Below, 15 members of Forbes Coaches Council explore different methodologies that managers can use to find a balance between control of their staff and letting them make their own decisions.
1. Ask How They’d Like To Be Managed
There are two key elements of striking the right balance between micromanaging and trusting blindly: 1) In terms of approach, the best way to figure out what’s right for someone is to ask them. Do they prefer a hands-on approach or one less so? 2) Whatever the answer, trust but verify. Mutually agree on milestones and deliverables and then set up check-ins to assess progress. – Precious Williams Owodunni, Mountaintop Consulting
2. Define People’s Boundaries Of Responsibility
Every employee needs to be clear on what they have authority on and can decide by themselves. Also, be clear about what they need to inform you or consult you. Taking time to clarify where those boundaries lie will help your employees feel they have the independence they need. It will also help you rest assured that you will be consulted or informed on the issues you care about. – Caterina Kostoula, The Leaderpath
3. Lead People And Manage Tasks
Lead people. Manage tasks. Don’t control but inspire with purpose. The right actions will follow. Your team will communicate freely with you. Resist this: “If it goes wrong, I will fail. If I fail, I am not relevant. If I am irrelevant, the company doesn’t need me.” Develop a team that is willing to fight for the same thing, a common cause. They will run to you with their status. – Steve Wakeen, Playbook Coaching, LLC
4. Delegate, Don’t Abdicate
“Delegating” doesn’t mean abdicating responsibility. Identify clear and unambiguous “indicators of success” with your team. Agree on incremental indicators for how you will know if things are going well or sideways. By focusing your attention on these indicators, you empower your team with freedom in how they get the job done, and yourself with awareness — including whether or when to intervene. – April Armstrong, AHA Insight
5. Trust Your Gut And Get Curious
When managers trust their gut to alert them to cues at the tip of the iceberg, they can get curious and then coach. Our gut has the capability of picking up cues like stressed behavior, missed deadlines and lack of progress. When these cues appear, it’s time to get curious and ask, “How might we make progress?” This question will engage the employee in overcoming their own hurdle to success. – Susan K. Wehrley, BIZremedies
6. Schedule Biweekly Team Debriefs
Staying connected with your employees, building trust and giving them independence means empowering your employees to excel in their current role. As a manager, setting clear expectations by creating a channel for open feedback and support through biweekly team debriefs allows the employees to share their work progress updates and discuss ideas, which creates synergy among the team and builds buy-in. – Nadidah Coveney, CTM Consulting Group LLC
7. Manage Outcomes, Not Processes
Micromanagers equal some level of control freaks. “If I know everything going on, I can manage effectively” seems to be their mantra. Trouble is, there is simply no way to know everything. Instead, manage outcomes and objectives, as they will reveal who is doing well, who needs help and where gaps exist in the team. If each manager requires a top three daily and weekly, management becomes simple. – John Hittler, Evoking Genius
8. Reimagine The One-On-One
Re-imagine how you use one-on-one time by asking the employee to design and prioritize an agenda that advances their work forward and empowers them to think about the work differently. This gives you an opportunity to ask “how can I help” more often, develop their capability and confidence in effective problem-solving, mitigating risk, communicating more clearly and making quality decisions. – Cyndee Blockinger Lake, Blank Page
9. Trust, Verify And Coach
Let your team know how much you trust them, releasing in them the upward potential to do amazing work. Implement and track KPIs to keep an eye on the objective, outcome-based measures. Then spend your time coaching, mentoring and developing each team member to be his or her best. – Mark Nation, Nation Leadership
10. Use Peer-To-Peer Empowerment
Put the power of positive peer pressure to work for your team by setting up a peer-based accountability reporting system, whereby each team member has an accountability partner who they must be accountable for, and vice versa, while still reporting to the manager. Utilizing this approach, each team member will understand the nuances of how their part affects the whole, igniting engagement. – Debbie Ince, Executive Talent Finders, Inc
11. Set Specific, Measurable Goals
In order to keep the balance between micromanaging and blindly trusting, start with your goals. You have to have specific and measurable goals for your team to ensure that they are hitting the mark they need to hit. Activities need an owner and a deadline, so everyone knows the expectations and trust can be built. – Jon Dwoskin, The Jon Dwoskin Experience
12. Implement Transparency Via Collaborative Tools
Most of the time, micromanaging comes from not understanding activities taking place. Employees are working but don’t often communicate all the tasks. On the offset, tools like One2Team, Asana, Trello or Monday are all designed to give everyone insight into what is happening and when. A simple tool can help set and manage expectations and make meetings productive because of transparency. – Maresa Friedman, Executive Cat Herder
13. Trust In Your Chain Of Command
Create a chain of command. If the question is a general how-to or new idea, talk to a peer. If it’s a larger issue, talk to a supervisor. If there’s an account in jeopardy, talk to the head honcho. Assuming you’ve hired a great leadership team, trust that they can manage their hierarchical domains. This empowers them to take ownership and frees your time to work on the business, rather than in it. – Andy Bailey, Petra Coach
14. Establish Consistent Updates
One simple but impactful action managers can take to ensure they’re holding their team accountable, without appearing distrustful, is to establish consistent opportunities to gain updates. Ask your team to send brief project updates at the end of each day and give them the opportunity to ask for any information or direction they may need to accomplish their goals. – Kathi Graham-Leviss, XBInsight, Inc.
15. Ask Powerful Questions
As a leader, your questions are more powerful than your statements. So walk around and ask questions like: “What are your working on,” “How can I help” or the most powerful question of all, “If you were me, what would you do differently to make sure the team can perform at its best?” – Eric Beaudan, Eric Beaudan Consulting—
As Seen On Forbes Coaches Council –
Debbie Kassebaum-Ince
Founder & President of Executive Talent Finders
