| |
| |
|
Management Information |
|
|
|
Micromanagement and Delegation
Micro-Management and Delegation
Recently I had a long discussion with a friend of mine about Managers and managing. She is a former HR Manager for several major companies and was bemoaning the fact that training for managers has been cut back so significantly in recent years and that managers no longer receive the type of help, guidance and assistance that they received just a few short years ago. My background has been in retail and telecom. Hers was neither. Yet the same problems and issues seem to rise in every industry. Of course, this is exactly the reason that I got into coaching. Coaching allows those managers who want to improve a very personalized venue to do just that. We went on to agree that the common pattern these days seemed to be for the department star performer to be promoted from contributor, to team leader, to manager in seemingly record time. We agreed that new managers have difficulty moving from the contributor to the manager role because no one is willing to spend the time and energy to coach them through the various hurdles that new managers and leaders face. We agreed that this lack of training never seemed to lower the expectations of the manager, just the performance. Then we disagreed, strongly. What caused the disagreement? The concept was micro-management. My friend explained to me that she has "coached" many employees recently and that many of them complained about one particular manager who was micro-managing them. She told me that she helps the employees understand and come to grips with "their problem". "You're not going to be able to change that manager, she explained to me, "so you've got to change the employees". She explains to them that if they are being micro-managed, there's probably a reason for it. They are probably doing something wrong. If they just identify that problem and improve, their manager will stop the micro-management. "The employees need to improve themselves. It's as simple as that." I wish my life was as simple as that. She acknowledges that with that many employees complaining that it's likely the manager is the problem. But changing the manager is too much trouble, she says, so let's tell the employees it's their fault. While it is true that it is sometimes necessary to micro-manage people, her explanation makes little sense to me. You might micro-manage an employee if their performance is lacking. Or because the project they are working on is very high visibility and any chance of error must be minimized. But when a number of employees are complaining about the same manager micro-managing them it implies one of two things. Either this manager: 1. Has a lot of problem employees and needs to start weeding them out, or 2. This manager does not know how to let go and properly delegate to their staff. Excessive micro-management is not the sign of a healthy manager. When someone is constantly micro-managing their staff it's generally their problem, not the employees. If you are micro-managing your staff, refusing to delegate routine, and not so routine tasks to them for completion, then you are setting yourself up for trouble. Have you ever heard yourself say, "I would delegate this to someone else, but it's just as easy to do it myself"? Or maybe you say, "This task is too complicated to delegate. I have to make sure it's done right." If so, I hope you like your job. Because you aren't going anyplace higher. Delegation can be difficult to learn because it looks like a huge risk and a huge leap of faith. But it doesn't have to be that way. There are techniques that you can learn that will help you delegate and get you out of the detail. And you have to get out of the detail if you really want to be an executive. David Meyer, owner of Coaching for Tomorrow, has more than 25 years of management and leadership experience, having worked for companies such as Nobil Shoes, McDonough, Allied Stores, MCI and Nextel Communications. His mantra, "You Win With People" is based on the deep-seated belief that hiring, developing, and promoting the right people can lead to organizational and financial success. As a management and leadership coach, David works to instill that same passion in his clients by helping them understand the importance of strong leadership, strong teamwork, and strong players. David has a Bachelor's in Business Administration from Elmhurst College and has been certified by both ACTION International as a Business Coach and the Coach Training Alliance. He also has received his CTM from Toastmasters. He is an Officer in the Denver Coach Federation and a facilitator/trainer for the Coach Training Alliance and ACTION International of Colorado. He is also a co-author of the book Creating Workplace Community: Motivation. Married with two adult daughters, David is active in his local Kiwanis club and Crossroads Community Church. He enjoys reading, golf, scuba diving, and Civil War reenacting. www.coachingfortomorrow.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Management - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
What to Do When Trust is Low Trust is essential. You can't run a business without it. Survival of the Fittest: The Road to Human Extinction I was watching a TV program some months ago about a biologist working in Central America who was dedicated to protecting the panther species from extinction. During the program I heard him make a comment that upon reflection I found had embedded in it seeds of wisdom that not even he was aware of. The Punitive Approach to Marginal Performers MANAGING A MARGINAL PERFORMER: Often a marginal performer, even after therapeutic counseling, may not understand that his or her work is seen as substandard. The manager will have to ask the employee directly how the performance could be improved. Why People Resist Us There's a one-word reason most ideas never see the light of day: Resistance.Resistance is often behind the glassy-eyed stares you get following a presentation, the sarcastic put-downs you have to put up with when you describe your vision for a new product or service, and other people's abrupt departure from the water cooler when you approach, enthusiastic and ready to share an idea. Employers - Protect Yourself from Custody Battles that Hold Your Company Hostage Child custody? How'd that get to be an employer's concern?When an employee faces child custody litigation, it will effect their ability to do their job. And it often causes legal consequences for their employers as well. Lack of Operations Manuals Stunting Your Growth? Lack of Operations Manuals stunting your growth?CONTENTS:1. Do you lack functional Operations Manuals? 2. A Sense of Humor in the Workplace ... Is it Me? Or, was that not funny? When I was first initiated into Corporate America, I had a sense of humor that went unmatched by any mortal soul. I was quick-witted, smart, sharp, and knew every gag and joke available to humanity. What is Six Sigma? Six Sigma is a highly disciplined process focused on satisfying customers by delivering nearly perfect products and services. In today's competitive market, consistently maintaining satisfied customers is essential to growth and success. Great Employees = Passionate Consumers Companies spend millions of dollars each year identifying their brand, and then communicating their brand promise through various media.Employees are the primary "media" in the majority of brand contacts. Quick Tip - Effective Meetings Begin With Goals Goals are critically important for the success of a meeting. You must know what you want so you can ask for it. How to Overcome Your Fear of Firing OVERCOMING FEAR OF FIRING "It was obvious that this employee could not relate well to clients. But I could not bring myself to fire him. Creativity and Innovation Management: The Creative State Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. Group Discussion Guidelines DISCUSSION METHODS: There are two basic types of discussion methods; the conference method and the workshop method. The conference method involves meetings of staff members, usually from the same organization, and is convened to pass on information, communicate management policies or decisions, or to solve organizational problems. The Ivory Tower Syndrome "His cardinal mistake is that he isolates himself, and allows nobody to see him; and by which he does not know what is going on in the very matter he is dealing with. - Abraham Lincoln on his reason for relieving Gen. Recognition: A Quick, Low-cost Way to Motivate Employees Recognizing good performance through praise or other positive action is one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to motivate people. It provides three major benefits: It lets people know that their performance was valued, and increases the likelihood that they will continue to perform well. Efficiency Around The Office Nearly every office, be it commercial or home-based, may have areas of inefficiency that can be improved upon. We are not talking sales figures or profit margins or budgets, but inefficient waste and resource management. Why Saying Well Done Works Encouraged by the recognition, Sarah Lewsiton went home from work that day, full of self-belief and wonder that she had made the leap at last. In her last job, she had always felt that she was unsuitable, in fact below par, for the place. Must Project Managers Be Technically Savvy? "Must Project Managers be technically savvy?" This topic always seems to cause quite a stir. While some believe that all you need to manage a project is a PMP certification, others are convinced that you can't successfully manage a software development project unless you truly understand the intricacies of the product. My Companys Leadership Sucks! Maybe it's the season or just a more buoyant job market; but lately I'm sure involved in a lot more discussions about leadership.I'm receiving more requests for help defining the key characteristics which make a great leader; and I'm hearing a lot of negative stuff from clients about their bosses. What Every Manager Should Know About How to Conduct Successful Training Activities Whether you are training preschoolers in the classroom or executives in the board room, here are 15 premises you might want to keep in mind the next time you're designing training activities.1.
|
| home | site map |
| Web Site Development - Search Engine Marketing: Dream Team Media |
