Warm up
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- What industry do you work in and what is your role?
- What are your responses in your role / position?
- Can you describe to the function of your workplace / company?
- How many departments, how many offices. National or International?
- What is the Minimum requirements for employment ie Education or Experience?
- How many opportunities are there to ‘move up the ladder’?
- What is the process for changing job roles ie Interview? Test?
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General discussion about your workweek:
- Current projects? Deadlines? Opportunities?
- Anything of interest happening?
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What is micromanagement
“In business management, micromanagement is a management style whereby a manager closely observes and/or controls and/or reminds the work of his/her subordinates or employees. Micromanagement is generally considered to have a negative connotation, mainly due to the fact that it shows a lack of freedom in the workplace.”
LISTENING QUESTIONS
- How is trust built?
- What are 2 examples of one-way communication?
- Describe the line between micromanaging and staying in touch
SCRIPT
one of the terms that we hear a lot in our work at remote leadership institute is micromanaging. nobody wants to be a micro manager, nobody wants to be micro managed and frequently that word gets thrown around when it comes to how much communication is going on.
So how do you stay in touch and get what you need as the manager without coming across as the dreaded micro manager, well there are a few things; the first is to know that micro management comes from a place of mistrust.
As we know Trust is built over time based on evidence, is there a track record? if Alice has always gotten her work done on time let’s assume that Alice will get her work done on time, so communicate often and look at the track record.
Certain people need more attention than others other people work very well unsupervised, let them do what they do.
second is, the perception of micromanaging often comes because it’s one-way communication, the constant barrage of emails drowning people in information, commands, requests, good two-way communication gives you what you need and actually lowers the number of instances of communication that have to happen
if you have good two-way live communication with someone you can identify barriers to success, you can identify potential problems, you can find out when the next good time to talk to them is and it helps you control the amount of information which of course is where that perception of micromanagement comes in.
micromanaging communication is often unexpected and unscheduled, it comes out of the blue, it interrupts people, it makes them crazy. Get what you need and set expectations for future communication
you’re not trying to bust anyone, you’re not trying to catch them being unprepared, you really want to make this a comfortable communication for everybody and so if you schedule the communication, give them a heads up when you’ll be calling or checking in it will feel less like big brother is watching them.
then finally at the beginning of your working relationship with people communicate expectations and standards including what you need to get your job done, your request for information at the end of the week is not about making sure they’re getting their work done, it’s because you need that information to go to your boss.
If people know what your expectations and needs are they might actually help you meet them without your being overly demanding so the line between micromanaging and staying in touch can be awfully thin but it can also be very clear.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Do you prefer to work unsupervised or with a stronger connection to others / more communication?
- Have you ever experienced micromanagement? Describe some of your experiences with managers in the past
- How does your current boss stay in touch with you? How do you manage your subordinates?
KEY WORDS AND PHRASES
- thrown around = used loosely or without enough consideration
- stay in touch = keep in contact, stay connected
- coming across = appears to be, gives the perception of, how it seems / looks like
- dreaded / feared.
- mistrust / distrust = lack of trust. Distrust comes from experience, Mistrust more instinctual, not evidence but feeling about someone/something
- built / build a relationship / friendship / trust / rapport = a close and harmonious relationship, great communication
- track record = history of behaviour / achievements
- Perception / How they see it + understand it
- barrage / bombard (military term) verb = continuous attack
- “drowning people in information” = overwhelming
- instances / occasions / times
- barriers to success – refer to personality test
- “it comes out of the blue” / surprise, shock, unexpected
- bust = be caught in the act of doing something wrong. / seen doing something wrong
- heads up = warning in advance / before something happens
- checking in (on someone) = visit, call, or write to them to find out how they’re doing
- big brother is watching them. (From 1984) = they are being monitored by the government as a means of controlling and suppressing them
- meet – Expectations, requirements, standards
ANSWERS
barrage of emails drowning people in information, commands, requests
awfully thin but it can also be very clear.
