Managing without micromanaging can be tough, especially when you’re always handling big projects, like customising a revenue management solution for a multinational corporation. But to be an effective manager, you should learn to let your employees work without you looking over their shoulders every minute. Here are some tips.
Build rapport
Communication is important in any setting, more so in the office. You should not only keep your lines open, but you should also accommodate and even encourage casual lines of communication.
Building a rapport with your employees is essential if you want to manage them effectively. One of the reasons some employees feel that they are being micromanaged is their manager only talks to them when they want an update on their tasks.
If you build a rapport with your team, they’ll likely be more eager to accommodate any task you give them. Employees need to feel that their value is more than just having to finish their work. So, you need to communicate with them about their well-being, too, and not only their progress at work.
Set expectations early
Some managers micromanage their employees when it isn’t clear what they expect from the team. When it comes to larger projects, it’s important that you set the deadlines and even the manner of performing some tasks.
However, you have to balance your role here and not cross over to becoming a micromanager. Give detailed instructions to your employees. But at the same time, give them enough room to let them do their work.
What you can do is to discuss the whole project with your employees and just give them a broad view of how you want the end result to be like. Then, ask the team how they plan to accomplish their tasks to achieve your goal. If necessary, you can implement some changes.
Be clear with deadlines
You also need to be clear when it comes to setting deadlines. Don’t give your employees a task and expect them to finish it right away without setting a proper deadline. If you let an employee work on a task without a deadline, they will probably finish it in their own good time.
But, it also won’t help if you become too strict with deadlines. The best way is to talk to your employees and ask them when they can finish the task. If they say right away, ask for a specific date and time.
If their deadline is too far away, on the other hand, tell them to finish it sooner. If they give a half-hearted nod, it means that they are not confident that they will be able to finish it by then. Ask them why and if it’s because they have many other tasks, it’s your prerogative to help the team identify which ones to prioritise or let them work it out on their own.
Managing employees without micromanaging is much more effective. Not only will you boost your team’s morale, but you’ll also free yourself from monitoring their every move. This way, you can focus more on helping your company expand, which is what an effective manager should really be doing.
