Many managers keep an eye on their employees every step of the way, narrowly defining their duties and then outlining how to get them done.
But that management style not only stifles the ability of your employees, it also takes up time and energy you could be using to focus on your company, says Mark Barber, a shareholder at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC.
“When you define too narrowly which tasks each team member has, then they just do task-based things because they don’t feel like they have any discretion, and that’s self-defeating,” says Barber. “Instead of giving them tasks, give them a series of duties that they are to fulfill, then leave it to their discretion how to do it. Empower them and give them the authority to not have to ask you for permission. That allows them to get the job done without feeling like Big Brother is looking over their shoulder and makes them feel like they have an important job.”
Smart Business learned more from Barber about how to move from a culture of micromanagement to one of empowerment, and how doing so can raise the whole organization to a new level of accomplishment.
How can a manager begin to move toward a culture of empowerment?
It’s a letting-go process. I used to be that micromanager, and I began to get overwhelmed with the minutiae. I was underwhelmed by people because they weren’t doing what I thought they should be doing the last hour. I was getting good results but worrying too much about the details. And finally I said, ‘I’ve got to stop this. I need to let them worry about the details and I’ll worry about the results.’ That was a liberating moment.
It’s an evolutionary process; it doesn’t happen overnight. I began with one employee. I thought, ‘She seems to be able to do much more than her job description requires. If I cut the ties and let her work on her own, I wonder what the result would be.’ I thought the results might be surprising, and they were.
Her happiness and productivity increased, my time was freed up and I was able to go through the day with much less stress because I wasn’t micromanaging one of my main employees. That was when I realized there was a better way to do things.
Once you begin to let go, you’ll discover that employees are more effective and that frees up more of your time. Once you let your employees do their jobs, use their discretion and use the authority that you empower them with, you’ll find it makes your own job much easier.
