Micromanaging doesn't just negatively impact employees' day-to-day morale — it can even keep them from
When workers are under the thumb of a hovering manager, taking advantage of benefits like time off,
"There's a fine line between supportive management and micromanagement," says Brian Smith, an organizational psychologist and founder of consulting firm IA Business Advisors. "Understanding what that line is is really important to embracing a team dynamic and building an effective culture."
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Micromanaging can take many forms: Requesting constant and unnecessary updates not just in person, but through emails and texts, including when employees are supposed to be
Regardless of how it shows up, it devalues the leadership and their people, he adds. Micromanaging can sabotage workplace culture, make workers feel like they can't be trusted to do their job and affect overall team productivity.
"[Managers] could require a person to stop what they're doing and report on [progress] more frequently than what's really needed for the job to get done, but it satisfies a need for that leader to stay up to speed," he says. "Now, not only are they micromanaging, but they're creating inherent inefficiencies in the workflow process."
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How benefits can create better managers
To address the impact of micromanaging, development offerings such as manager training, internal or external coaching and mentorship programs are a good resource to help managers develop more effective leadership styles, especially for those who are less experienced or in a new position. Having faced the issue of micromanagement in his own company, Smith recommends making the manager a part of the remedy process for best results.
"We included them in developing their own coaching model, because they understand how they learn best and how, contextually, they might be able to have these conversations," he says. "They might be uncomfortable, for example, discussing it with a peer, or they may be uncomfortable discussing it with somebody who's outside of the organization. But if they're part of that process, they tend to lean into the remediation and the coaching opportunity with a lot more attention and a mindset to solve the root problem."
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Managers may decide they can even benefit from further support, such as counseling or therapy, to help them identify and work through the catalyst of their micromanaging tendencies.
Smith notes that managers' commitment to bettering themselves will be fueled by other leaders around them, especially mentors, and encourages all of those in positions of power to look in the mirror often, hold themselves accountable to those they influence, and talk about their own growth process.
"It builds a bridge," he says. "[Good leadership is] generally infectious; when one leader sees another leader having success, oftentimes they'll try to mirror and adopt that."
