Micromanagement in Remote Work: Balancing Control with Empowerment

Micromanagement is a common problem in the workplace, and it becomes even more challenging in a remote work environment. Some leaders may feel the need to monitor their employees more closely to ensure they meet expectations, leading to decreased productivity, low morale, and high turnover rates. Balancing control and empowerment is crucial to creating a productive and successful team.

This blog will explore how to strike a balance between control by empowering employees, allowing autonomy, providing effective communication and feedback, and recognizing micromanagement tendencies.

Understanding Micromanagement in a Remote Workplace

Micromanagement involves excessive control and supervision over employees' work. But when you add “remote” to the equation the challenge is even bigger as managers may feel a need to monitor their employees more closely in order to ensure that they are meeting expectations. Deferred communication only makes things worst.

The truth is some people may have had past negative experiences with previous employees or may simply not have been trained to delegate tasks effectively causing them to:

• Fear failure
• Become perfectionists
• Lack of trust in employees.
• Need to maintain a sense of power

A 2021 survey conducted by Zenefits found that 61% of employees who had experienced micromanagement said that it had negatively impacted their mental health, and 32% said that it had caused them to look for a new job. With an industry going through a big talent shortage, rising turnover is not good news.

For employees, micromanagement can lead to feelings of frustration, anxiety, and a lack of autonomy in their work. For the organization, micromanagement can lead to decreased productivity, low morale, and high employee turnover rates. In addition, micromanagement can result in missed opportunities for growth and innovation, as employees may be less likely to take risks or propose new ideas if they feel they are being closely monitored and scrutinized.

Balancing Control and Empowerment

Of course, some level of reporting and supervision is necessary for any organization. The key is to strike a balance between control and empowerment. When employees feel empowered and trusted to do their work, they are more likely to take ownership and initiative in their tasks.

In fact, empowering your team can actually reduce your workload as a manager. Micromanagers often don't realize that constant monitoring and stressing employee performance is more work for them. By delegating tasks and allowing employees to take ownership of their work, managers can free up their time to focus on strategic planning and other higher-level responsibilities.

#1 Empower their field of action

Providing employees with the resources and support they need to make decisions and take ownership of their work usually makes them feel more engaged, motivated, and committed to their work.

When employees get to take the best out of their natural skills, they are also more likely to feel a sense of purpose and fulfillment, which can lead to increased job satisfaction and decreased turnover intentions. Empowered employees are more likely to take initiative and propose new ideas, which can drive innovation and growth within the organization.

To lever this, try:

• Provide needed resources like training and software
• Promote problem-solving
• Recognize hard effort from the workforce

#2 Allow Autonomy and Embrace Mistakes

Encouraging autonomy means allowing employees to make decisions and take ownership of their work while providing support and guidance when needed. This also means embracing learning from their mistakes. Many micromanagers fear letting their team make decisions for the fear of mistakes, but that’s the way to learn. Start small, delegate tasks and responsibilities to employees based on their strengths and abilities, and provide more opportunities for growth and development.

To do so, ty:

• Allow side projects on specific topics.
• Conduct brainstorming sessions with the rest of the team to problem solve

#3 Effective Communication and Feedback

Here is where the balancing control part takes place: effective communication and feedback are essential. Managers should communicate clearly and transparently with their employees, setting clear expectations and providing feedback on performance. A way of doing this is by creating transparent reporting boards and follow-up tools that can be checked at any time without the need of asking directly to the employee. There’s is nothing worst in micromanaging than constantly asking the same question.

Creating a culture of open communication and collaboration is also important. Managers should encourage employees to share their ideas and provide feedback, creating opportunities for open dialogue and feedback loops. Regular check-ins and performance evaluations can help identify areas for improvement and provide employees with the resources they need to succeed.

Self-awareness and Recognizing Micromanagement Tendencies

You know you are micromanaging when:

• You constantly check in on your employees to make sure they're doing their work correctly, even though you've already given them clear instructions.
• You take on tasks because you don’t like when they make mistakes.
• You make changes by yourself to work that your employees have already completed.
• You think nobody can do the job as you do it.
• You get mad when they make mistakes, even if it is the first time.
• You have difficulty accepting feedback or criticism from your employees and may become defensive or dismissive.

One effective way to overcome micromanagement tendencies is by delegating tasks and responsibilities to employees. This not only shows trust in their abilities but also frees up time for managers to focus on other essential tasks. Managers should also establish clear expectations and guidelines, and provide regular feedback and support to their employees.

Trusting employees and letting go of control can be difficult for some managers, but it's crucial for building a productive and successful team. This can be achieved by building relationships with employees, fostering open communication and collaboration, and celebrating successes and achievements as a team.

Final thoughts

Micromanagement can significantly harm employees' mental health and job satisfaction while reducing an organization's productivity and growth. The key to creating a successful team is to strike a balance between control and empowerment and to foster a culture of trust and collaboration.

By trusting employees and relinquishing control, managers can increase engagement, job satisfaction, and innovation. Though it may be challenging, it is essential for building a productive and successful team.

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Kevin Mitchell, CPA

Senior Manager and CPA with over 20 years of experience in accounting and financial services, specializing in risk management and regulatory compliance. Skilled in managing audits and leading teams to deliver exceptional services. Proud father of two.

🔗 Kevin Mitchell | LinkedIn

References:

When Empowering Employees Works, and When It Doesn’t. (2018, March 2). Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2018/03/when-empowering-employees-works-and-when-it-doesnt

Panel®, E. (2021, June 30). Council Post: 16 Ways To Preserve Company Culture In A Remote Environment. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/06/30/16-ways-to-preserve-company-culture-in-a-remote-environment/

9 Empowerment Benefits in the Workplace and 5 Ways to Empower Employees. (2023, January 16). Workhuman. https://www.workhuman.com/blog/empowerment-benefits/