Most people would not have the self-awareness to know that they are micromanaging or even worst they might think they are doing a great job. However, a survey conducted by Trinity Solutions revealed that 79% of employees had experienced micromanagement at some point and it made employees think about quitting their job and it affected their performance negatively.
Possible reasons why a manager micromanages are:
Their own insecurity
People who like to control are actually people who are afraid of the unknown and unfamiliar so they try to plan, forecast and control everything within their reach. That does not mean that planning, forecasting and controlling is not good, it means that there is a fine line between what is healthy and what is not. If you are leading people and you tend to control a lot, try to consider whether you have a fear of failure and feeling ashamed. If that is the case try to rewrite those negative thoughts and remember that we all make mistakes and we learn from them and that is part of the experience of being a manager.
Not having explained what you expect as a manager
Very often managers might have mastered amazing skills one of the reasons they are managers in the first place,however, they might be lacking the skill to explain and communicate their ideas. So what they end up doing is checking every so often what their employees are doing. In this case, if you a manager and you find that your employees never submit the work you want, analyze what is your "must" criteria and decide in which areas you can be more flexible.Then provide that information and ask question to ensure that your employees have understood you correctly before you let them get on with their tasks.
Pressure from above
There might be managers who genuinely do not want to be micromanaging but they might find themselves in a situation where there is a short deadline and their promotion is at stake or even worst whether or not they will continue with the team. Although, this should not be an excuse most people enter into flight or fight mode and the result is just monitoring their subordinates too much.
If you are still unsure whether you micromanage then think whether you do that in other areas of your life and a good idea is to get feedback from the people you work with. If you have a boss that micromanages you, try to have a talk to discuss your boundaries and the areas where they are willing to give you more freedom.In addition, express the areas where you feel most confident showing results in order to convince them to give you more flexibility.
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