How HR Sees Micromanaging

Because all people are different, odds are that, sooner or later, you will encounter a micromanaging supervisor. Martin Moore, a CEO mentor, recently wrote about his own experiences in WIRED.  

He says, “I once worked for a man who was incredibly intelligent, had an insatiable appetite for complexity, and an unimpeachable set of values. The only problem was that he loved details. He would often ask me questions that I couldn’t answer—not because I wasn’t good at my job, but because his questions were about details that only the people working two or three steps below me could know the answers.”

Moore continues, “The ramifications can be incredibly damaging. People need to be given the freedom to challenge themselves and push beyond their limits, if they’re to grow and develop. Micromanaging takes away their autonomy, all but guaranteeing that they’ll never reach peak performance. People quickly become disengaged and demotivated when you remove their power of self-determination.

Moore suggest the following steps when dealing with a micromanager from the employee’s perspective — 

• Start with trust — ALL relationships come back to trust so Moore says it’s very good idea to talk about this core issue.
• Ask the right questions — Moore suggests asking very open-ended questions like  “What would give you confidence that I’m on top of this work?” “Is there anything that you need to see from me that you’re not seeing at the moment?” And “What do you need me to do that I’m not currently doing?”
• Figure out if you can live with the constraint and moke your choice — should you stay or should you go? Can you live with things like this?  

Our very own HR expert, Lorein Brightwell, says this about micromanaging from HR’s perspective.

“And that’s exactly what will happen—you will lose people who are talented, but cannot tolerate micromanaging. While some believe micromanaging a project can be useful, most people who have any viable skills will respond negatively, as described here, to micromanagement. So micromanagement can be a cancer in your company that is already working hard to retain great employees who are looking for autonomy and a clear career path later.

The other consideration you have to face is that if someone is being micromanaged they may be creating exposure to a misclassification of employees. That is, if you have a position/employee classified as exempt but they have no autonomy or their job does not require and reward self-direction, they may be misclassified. This can be a complex phenomenon that requires an HR expert to identify, address and mitigate to minimize risk to the employer while building a staff of motivated and fulfilled employees who will, in turn, create a culture of loyalty and a great place to work!

Dealing with micromanagement the RIGHT way is very important for any employer. The super smartest ones KNOW PLB Resources can HELP them deal with any HR situation effectively and get fully in compliance while building that AMAZING workplace! 

More info for smart employers

https://www.fastcompany.com/90653749/the-strategy-you-need-to-manage-that-micromanager