Manage v/s Micromanage

Imagine a workplace with a number of staff being micromanaged.  In the extreme this would mean that the manager has to fix the photocopier EVERY time it jammed, or at the very least would have written the step-by-step procedures followed in minute detail.

We often complain about the difficulties in managing our staff, our work, our children, our partners - in fact, everything in our entire rich and chaotic lives.

But - do we have trouble managing or are we stuck trying to micromanage?

Micromanaging means that we are acutely aware of every change in the details of things - regardless of what those changes are, and we try to control every single one of them!

You know you are micromanaging if:

• You are always "on call"
  
• Your open door office is never closed
  
• You can't focus on your work because you are doing everyone else's
  
• You are the bottleneck in the productivity flow.
  

If you find that you are micromanaging - try these simple steps:

• Think BIG picture
  
• Remember what your true role (and worth) is
  
• Clarify and communicate how you best serve your organisation
  

Remember - by micromanaging your are stopping EVERYONE from shining.  You cannot do your best, and nor can they.