Unknown Origin and Author, 2021

Miles Antony Smith, a famous Digital Marketer who sprung back from the 2008 Market crash famously said “Micromanagement is the Destroyer of Momentum” and frankly, I agree. We have all had those one jobs that have had that ONE manager. The helicopter style of micromanager that criticizes every move you make, or the manager that acts more like a drill sergeant and is constantly making orders and demands.

To me, Micromanagement is one of the biggest reasons that a team in any business setting will fail. Because Micro-managers cannot give their team members a basic foundation or moniker of trust. Believing only in the motto “trust is earned, not given.”. Allowing a micromanager to thrive in a leadership position will not only damage business but eventually will create a toxic and unhealthy work environment that will kill once great and effective teams.

But how do you know that your business is plagued with an untrusting micromanager? In some industries, it is easier to spot, while in others micromanagers have engrained themselves into the very culture of your business and are harder to see. You may love these employees as they are seemingly dedicated and are incredibly loyal. However, even these micromanagers are having a negative effect on your business that includes the following consequences:

Lack of Morale and Creativity in Employees:

When people are micromanaged they lose the feeling of autonomy, which affects their motivation and drive to problem solve, not to mention going the extra mile to fix said problem. If employees start to fear that any and all work that they do will be questioned, edited, and highly critiqued. They would rather leave the issue to somebody else causing rifts between managers, employees, and even customers.

High Turnover and Inability to Retain New Hires:

Nobody likes to be micromanaged, and your smart employees will begin to notice and look for opportunities elsewhere should the issues never be fixed. They might cite their reasons for leaving as “I found a healthier work environment that aligns with my views” or “I just felt like I was being held back from my potential” You will find that your funds will be constantly be going to onboarding, labor, and training. But never really being able to see the same costs decrease.

Dependent and Unproductive Teams:

In high school I often found myself being the one that was the “grunt” of the group project. I made everything, from the speech to the PowerPoint. While I could say a lot of that was the fact that my fellow teammates and I were teenagers. I have also sat back and wondered how different group work could have been if I but only complemented their strengths and allowed my need for a perfect grade to not detriment my relationships. I theorize that my teammates would have come together, strengthened by the fact they were being allowed to use their talents and helped complete the project. Adults are much of the same except perhaps with a more developed work ethic. Micromanagers will rarely delegate tasks allowing their fear to be a bigger priority than their teammate’s personal growth, and when they do it is in a strict and commanding tone that decreases confidence and makes employees feel like they need to be told what to do at all times.

Employee Burnout Apocolyses:

You may have heard many definitions of employee burnout, but for the purpose of this essay I will define it as a kind of work-related stress, that results in the loss of personal identity and purpose. I also call them: Work Zombies. These employees mindlessly perform their tasks, unfazed and undaunted. Counting for the day that they “might” leave the job that they are disillusioned with. They don’t value their interactions with others- including customers. While not all employee burnout is created solely by micromanagers. They do help to create these work zombies by stripping them away of all control creating a toxic environment that breeds depressed and disillusioned workers. This infectious trait can plague an entire business causing a sort of apocalypse that unless vaccinated against by the elimination of all micromanagers will eventually be the detriment of any business.

To finish, one of my favorite leadership lessons is from Simon Snek. Who made the analogy that “a boss who micromanages is like a coach that wants to play the game.”. It is not a leader’s place to control every aspect, but to trust their team members that they will give their best. A leader doesn’t have the job to harshly criticize or correct, but to guide people to the right processes. But the biggest job a leader has is to support, serve, and cheer their team on as they work. Micromanagers do none of this which will cause irreversible damage to your team, employees, and business. If you have read this article and have a specific employee already in your mind- I would urge swift and immediate redirection of that leader. Because while it may seem harsh, any business that allows a micromanager to create its own small empire, is not only doomed but should fail.