Micromanagement - Good Or Bad?

The word which hurts many teams in the corporate world is “micromanagement”. I’m sure many of you too heard this word from Generation X to the Generation Y [Millennials] who talk about “micromanagement” of someone who tends to do excessive control trying to check / aware of every tiny detail. Though we understand micromanagement as “A management style whereby a manager closely observes and/or controls the work of his/her subordinates or employees, which is considered to have a negative connotation”. 

Here are few examples for you, if you are not sure that yours / someone’s management style is micromanagement:  

• Prefer monitor and assesses every step of a business process and avoids delegation of decisions
• Prefer giving detail instructions on smaller tasks than giving general instruction and focus on supervising larger concerns
• Get frustrated if your subordinate makes the decision without checking with you, though it’s their responsibility
• Prefer detailed reports for your purpose
• Focus more on procedural trivia 
• Exhibit narcissistic tendencies most of the times
• Delegate the work but closely monitor the work and still look in details of the delegated work

If you answered “yes” to most of the points, the style is “micromanagement”.

What impact it would have on the team/team members

• Annoyed
• less loyal or no trust at all
• less productive than when they work independently 
• Won’t give respected feedback
• Start to avoid talking or keep conversations to a minimum
• Major impact would be: People stop thinking or analyzing, they just deliver without thinking what they are doing and why

It’s not all bad, there are few pros where it might work well 

• Where there’s a mechanical skill required
• When a new team is setup
• When people who are new to industry

Millennials are challenging everything and changing the traditional practices, so "What do millennials prefer?"

The information which I gathered from articles, books and talking to Millennials here's what they give “preferences to:”

• Mentors over managers
• Fewer levels of management
• Discussions than directions
• Listening than orders
• Vesting others to succeed
• Work life balance was their biggest reservation about being a leader
• Flexibility and facilitate “disturbed thinking”

My conclusion: Millennials are believed to be the Most tech-savvy, who think beyond the possibilities, leverage opportunities, and Most "enthusiastic" generation - So “micromanagement” style will be doing more harm than good .so it's time for a change who believe in traditional Micromanagement. It's time for a change who believe in traditional Micromanagement.

If you like to know your style is micromanagement or Leader/empowerment – Check this. Also, consider reading Un-contain-able by Kip Tindell 

Feel free to add your comments or point for any further discussion.