We see you! For micromanagers, 2020 has been a struggle. How are you doing?
Last year, when Jo asked for flexible working to help juggle caring responsibilities and work a day a week from home. You considered it, you followed the rules. But then decided it couldn’t be done. What about the rest of the team who have to be in their seats by 9 am sharp? How could you tell if they were doing their work, or if they were sitting outside having a cup of tea and scrolling through Instagram? If people are not being seen as working - they surely were not, huh?
When Covid hit… everyone had to lockdown and work from home. Did you try to keep them coming to the office? How did you cope? You couldn’t see them working? How were you sure they were at their computers? Did you schedule in lots of zoom/teams/skype/whatever calls to check they were not in their PJs? How long did it take for your people to stop attending these calls? Making excuses that they have to finish bits of work off?
How was productivity during this time? Did it suffer as you were not there to manage them? Do you really think that they need you to do their work well? Was the work completed to your high standards? Did they do it the way you wanted them to? Did they figure out for themselves some different ways to work? More efficient ways?
I’m not criticising; it must be so stressful being a micromanager. Having to control every minute of every day for everyone. Imagine what your life could be like if you empowered your people to make some of their own decisions. If you could give them an end goal you wanted them to achieve and they could come to you with any problems they had along the way, but allowed them to get to the outcome themselves?
It is hard to let the control go, to let things potentially be below your standards, to bite your tongue when people are CLEARLY doing things the “wrong way”. You hired people to work in your team, not robots. Go on, give them a chance to surprise you with their ideas and brilliance.
I dare you.