Research has found that people who micromanage tend to have large egos, are insecure, perfectionists, arrogant and/or lack experience. OUCH! I don’t know of anyone who would like to be described that way.
Micromanagement destroys trust and when trust is gone, two things can happen: There is a serious loss of productivity, along with a loss of employees. AND … having to constantly train and re-train staff not only robs your department of momentum, it affects the company’s bottom line and destroys morale. Take a lesson from Steven Jobs, General George Patton, President Ronald Reagan and Lao Tzu:
JOBS -
“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”
PATTON -
“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”
REAGAN -
“Surround yourself with the best people possible, delegate authority, and don’t interfere.”
TZU -
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”